I Can Learn

I'm going to break this one down. This song is extremely complex. Now, this is just my opinion, as with all songs, whoever is listening and whatever they're feeling at the time is what gives the song meaning.

"I wish we were stuck up a tree... then we'd know that it's nicer below." --- The character is wishing that they had a different frame of reference. Kind of a "grass is always greener" thing. This opening line is so loaded and sets the tone for the rest of the song. In a nutshell, the character is feeling sorry for himself and wishes he could simply appreciates what he had instead of the discontent that is consuming him. The relationship HAS ENDED, and ended badly, and he's longing for the days when things were simpler and happy.

"Don't know any lullabies, I don't know how to make you mine, but I can learn..." ---- He's not sure how to make everything ok again. He doesn't know what his former lover wants, or what he can do to keep her, but he's willing to work at it, if given the chance.

"Drive you home, and then wait by the phone. For that call, for a walk in the fall..." ---- He's reminicing at this point. How everything was new, butterflies in the stomach, but these are mixed with feelings of loneliness... treasuring every moment they had together and aching for eachother when they were apart.

"No harm will come of this, one little midnight kiss... it will not burn..." --- Remember how I said whoever is listening and what they're feeling is what gives the song meaning? Well, this is where it gets personal. I dated a guy for 4 years, at one point, we broke up, but it was awful for both of us. We knew it wasnt working, but we couldn't help second-guessing ourselves. We wanted eachother so badly. One night, we got together to catch up, and I drove him home. We sat there for a while in the car and talked... one thing led to another, tears were shed, and we ended up kissing. I remember it being the most painful experience of my life. I loved him then, but he was all wrong for me. The kiss was out of pain, not of love. This line is rationalizing that kind of indulgence. It still makes my heart hurt so many years later.

"Too many lonely days, I feel like a throw away. Well now it's my turn," When you've rejected a lover, or have been rejected by one, you want so badly to move forward and get on with your life. This is the turning point in the song where the character realizes that he's probably better off... even though it still hurts so bad.

"Falling down is no longer around, Feeling sun... alone on the run. Well isn't this fun?" Falling down = falling in love. Feeling sun, alone on the run = he's finally turning around and reaching the point where he's ok with being alone. HOWEVER, you have this sarcastic ending of: "Well isn't this fun?" wherein we see that the character resents being alone.

This song means so much to me personally - and while I admit I have a biased opinion about it's meaning, I'm pretty sure I'm at least close. The lyrics (as with most of J. White's songs) are extremely complex and filled with imagery and deep emotion... so who really knows what he thinks it's about. But who cares? Why does it matter? It's different for everyone.