So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
She was sixteen and six feet tall
In a crowd of teenagers comin' out of the zoo
She stumbled, started to slip and fall
Teeter-tottered on the top of patent leather shoes
I happened to catch her and said
"Maybe these ruby shoes are a little cumbersome for you"
Maybe for you, now
But not as shaky as I must have seemed
Talkin' junk through her giggle, little teenage dream
And on the phone I could not compete
My dumb-luck fake competence was getting weak
And for a sec' I thought I sounded sweet
But sure enough in a gruff, faint voice, I heard myself speak
I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we could share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone
Leave you alone, now
I'm beginning to like you
So you probably won't get what I'm going to do
I'm walkin' away from you
It probably don't make much sense to you
But I'm trying to save you
From all of the things that I'll probably say or do
I'll probably do
I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we might share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone
Leave you alone, now
You'll probably call me a fool
and say I'm doin' exactly what a coward would do
And I'm beginning to like you
It's a shame, what a lame way to live, but what can I do?
I hope you appreciate what I do
I'm a martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you, now
A martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you
In a crowd of teenagers comin' out of the zoo
She stumbled, started to slip and fall
Teeter-tottered on the top of patent leather shoes
I happened to catch her and said
"Maybe these ruby shoes are a little cumbersome for you"
Maybe for you, now
But not as shaky as I must have seemed
Talkin' junk through her giggle, little teenage dream
And on the phone I could not compete
My dumb-luck fake competence was getting weak
And for a sec' I thought I sounded sweet
But sure enough in a gruff, faint voice, I heard myself speak
I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we could share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone
Leave you alone, now
I'm beginning to like you
So you probably won't get what I'm going to do
I'm walkin' away from you
It probably don't make much sense to you
But I'm trying to save you
From all of the things that I'll probably say or do
I'll probably do
I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we might share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone
Leave you alone, now
You'll probably call me a fool
and say I'm doin' exactly what a coward would do
And I'm beginning to like you
It's a shame, what a lame way to live, but what can I do?
I hope you appreciate what I do
I'm a martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you, now
A martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you
Lyrics submitted by jackieboy37
A Martyr For My Love For You Lyrics as written by Jack White
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
Siberian Kiss
Glassjaw
Glassjaw
its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Fortnight
Taylor Swift
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The song 'Fortnight' by Taylor Swift and Post Malone tells a story about strong feelings, complicated relationships, and secret wishes. It talks about love, betrayal, and wanting someone who doesn't feel the same. The word 'fortnight' shows short-lived happiness and guilty pleasures, leading to sadness. It shows how messy relationships can be and the results of hiding emotions. “I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she kickstarts the song in the first verse with lines suggesting an admission to a hospital for people with mental illnesses. She goes in the verse admitting her lover is the reason why she is like this. In the chorus, she sings about their time in love and reflects on how he has now settled with someone else. “I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary / And I love you, it’s ruining my life,” on the second verse she details her struggles to forget about him and the negative effects of her failure. “Thought of callin’ ya, but you won’t pick up / ‘Nother fortnight lost in America,” Post Malone sings in the outro.
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I get the vibe that it's about someone being too young, from a number of lines:
"She was sixteen..." - Well, there's her age right there. "In a crowd of teenagers..." - Identifying them as teenagers seems to suggest that the narrator is -not- a teenager and sees her and her friends specifically as "teenagers." "...little teenage dream" - Again, he seems to identify her as being a "teenager" and her dreams as those of a "teenager" and not necessarily on par with how he sees her dreams. Also, the idea of forbidden love permeates these lyrics, and the age difference could be the problem.
However, the way she seems to talk to him, calling him a coward and a fool, suggests otherwise. They could be the same age, narrator and girl. I don't know; I just know that this is one of my favorite songs off the new album. Fantastic stuff!
Terrific Song! In my opinion this is about a guy who loves a girl so much he leaves her. The reason is because he knows that eventually he will destroy the relationship in some way. He would wrether leave her than have that happen. Jack is a great lyricist. Great album
I think this song is about someone falling in love with someone who's way to young for his age
I think there's alot of value in everyone's opinions, and the great thing is that music and lyrics don't necessarily have a set meaning but can mean different things to people.... obviously.
The thing I think most people are over-looking is that while the "Martyr" in the song doesn"t want to hurt the girl, he also doesn't want to be hurt- the self destructive behaviour he knows he'll repeat may come from the fear he has of making himself vulnerable. As soon as he starts to "like" her he begins to open himself up, and this is terrifying- therefore he needs to end it before he becomes to vulnerable. by doing this under the guise of protecting her, he tries to rationalise it and make it seem like the best thing to do, even though he knows that he may have an amazing future with her.
"sooner or later I'll beginto choke."
<Vrede>
I also think that he's singing about a younger girl . . . He makes sure to mention her age in the very first line of the song: 16. There has to be a reason that the age of the girl is so important to this song.
This girl seems innocent and young in some ways . . . the zoo, the ruby shoes and not being able to walk right, the giggle, the phone (a very teenage-ish mode of communication) . . . but at the same time he fears her calling him stupid and cowardly.
He's very self-concious . . . possibly because he is now an adult and his "love" for this girl is throwing him back into the teenage world, where he no longer belongs. He doesn't know how to act as a teenager because he no longer is one, but talking to this girl is causing him to yearn for the teenage life once again. That is why he mentions these teenage-ish traits with a sense of admiration: "Little teenage dream"
He knows he can't have this relationship because she is still too young, but he thinks about some day . . . they could "build a home" and maybe share a life together. He knows she is too young right now and he doesn't want to destroy her teenage world
"Right now the best thing is for me to leave you alone"
He actually does care about her, but he knows that it is wrong to introduce these adult issues into her life right now. That is why he is a martyr for his love for her. He is willing to suffer for awhile in order to hold up the ideal of the potential someday --- when their love will be more acceptable and appropriate.
i totally agree!
@Kibou Perfect. He decides to leave her with the objective of preserv her life. He does not want to harm her and he thinks that he will do that somehow if he stays with her. Very sad. I somehow live this, and it is not good feeling. What a pain it is to love someone 13 year younger than you. A entire life ahead that you do not want to stop her of living it, but still, you love her... I think I\'ll just continue loving her, and do not put anything as obstacle to her live her life in anyways she wants
It seems to me that the fact that Jack makes a point of telling us that this girl is sixteen in the beginning of the song means that her age is relevent to their love in the sense that she is much younger than he. But he also mentions that she is "six feet tall in a crowd of teenagers comin' out of the zoo". The vibe I get is that she's noticeably different from the others in her age group, and that's why she grabs his attention from the beginning. His first intentions upon meeting her were probably to sweep her off her feet, use her and leave her, because she's naive and completely head over heels. But as he gets to know her, he begins to realize that he likes her a lot as a person, and he grows sick with guilt at the thought of what he was originally planning on doing. And though, maybe now, he could love her for her, he knows what he's doing is all wrong, and he decides to back down for her own good. And even though she'll probably be angry with him - "you'll probably call me a fool and say I'm doing exactly what a coward would do" - he knows that in the long run, it would be better for her to be upset with him for not doing anything than to break the heart of a young, innocent girl after making her believe that he could love her.
I agree with you!
Has anyone thought about what life was like for Jack in high school? Does anyone remember what he had planned to do with his life before music? Priesthood. Understand that he had to live his teenage years as tho he were already a priest. Teenage love wasn't going to go very far. Sex sure wasn't going to happen. And he would be gone in a few years to the seminary. He wouldn't want to lead a girl on when he knew it wasn't going anywhere. I'm sure he must have felt awkward and insecure around people and especially girls. Becoming a priest is something hard for most people to understand. Being a priest is also very close to being a martyr.
YES and martyr is such a religiously-relevant word, so he probably used it for a reason.<br /> I'm so glad someone finally touched upon that, because it really doesn't make sense to think that this song is about a man who makes a habit of seducing younger girls (as some commenters have said), when Jack was raised Catholic and has lived his life by high moral standards. As far as we know, for example, he's not a playboy. He's never written a song with a curse word in it. He believes in working hard for what you want, not just getting it the easy way.<br /> For me this brings to mind the scene in "Under Great White Northern Lights" when he's playing White Moon for Meg, and it makes her cry; have you ever seen anyone be more compassionate than he was, comforting her in that scene? I'm pretty sure I haven't.<br /> There are just a lot of things that make me feel that Jack is an extremely caring and emotionally deep person, and I think the facts you bring up highlight that even more.
quite simple really, about a guy who falls in love with a girl but doesnt have confidence in himself to do anything about it, and rather than make things awkward for the both of them he decides to back away and try his best to stop loving her
umm thats exactly what I feel about a girl who is in love with the White Stripes, so without her I wouldnt have started listening to them, and realizing what it meant...
That seems cowardly of him; typical man tho - always thinking of "his" own feelings....especially when the girl has been going through a lot of emotions that he probably doesn't want to understand, or else he would have been the one there fore her when she's been crying for him....begging him DAILY; to call/come. I'm willing to bet that if only the man would speak up; he would save what they have, and end BOTH their heartaches... I'm thinking the girl is confused in how the messages are being delivered to her, and without "proper" communication is still lost.... I'm thinking the girl is scared and wants nothing more than the comfort of the only ONE she will love, instead of his hidden messages...and I believe that this girl has no motivation, or respect for herself, until her inspiration is returned...but, I'm just a girl...
Are you only basing that on the first line though? When he says she's 16?
I think Kipperjoe's spot on. I reckon it's a guy who can appear confident at times, can crack a joke, can hold a conversation with people. But inwardly, he has no self confidence, is convinced the next joke he tries to tell wil not be funny, the next story he tells won't be interesting. Also, he is aware of his own insecurity. He admits himself that it is "a lame way to live". However, he has to live with it - it's who he is. He probably thinks no girl would understand. He doesn't want her to have to deal with a lame guy like him when she could be having fun with the confident guys he wishes he could be.
Jesus, that came out all wrong. Now that I've got clarity of mind let me say what I meant: First, I really like this song. One of my favorites on the album, and I've had an experience much similar to the one described in it. When I said "downgrade", I just meant it was a little more simplistic in composition than other songs on the album (not meaning minimalistic). What I was ultimately getting at was that the song is in-character and kind of a representation of "angsty" modern rock, though that is by no means meant to be a negative thing.