anonymous Apr 6th 2011 !⃝Wow, never knew there's quite a discussion on this song over the years... well I think there are many ways to interpret this, but here's what i understand when i first heard this song (which is not too long ago, unfortunately for me :P)
I think the song arrangement is pretty meaningful that the hook of the song is played backwards in the background throughout the song (esp in the stanzas) as though he singer wishes to turn back time.
Well back to the lyrics, I think it's about the closure of a guy whose ex-girlfriend used to take him for granted, and finally left him entirely.
So the bulk of the song is written in 3rd person as a form of escapism as the guy reflects on their relationship.
In summary, i think it's about a guy reflecting and lamenting about his break-up. He tried to be the perfect guy but he can never understand why the girl is leaving him, and why is he never good enough, and why does she treat him as though he's dispensable.
1st stanza talks about the motivation at the back of the girl's mind that drives her actions, which the guy can never understand ("you could never get it unless you were fed it").
2nd stanza is about the guy knowing the girl is hurt and regretting the damages done to their lives ("skinned knees and skid lines") and she needs someone but he can't be there for her anymore ("echoes of angels who won't return")
chorus is the guy lamenting "he's the one for you, so why do you treat him as though he doesn't mean anything to you??"
3rd stanza shows the guy is confused with what does the girl want in a relationship ("waiting someone to put you together" vs "waiting someone to push you away") In the end, nobody can ever match up because there's so much insecurities and she'd always need more than whatever the guy can give.
Then chorus... and the feelings in 3rd stanza gets amplified in the bridge.
In the bridge, as the song builds up, i think guy's emotion gets stronger, and starts to blame the girl for not putting in enough in the relationship. I think he's trying to express that "if you just sit tight and wait for something to happen (i.e. not putting in enough in this relationship), then this break-up is exactly what you want."
then we come to 4th stanza, where it paints an imagery where the girl is leaving the 'island', which i believe is the concept of a world where the guy and the girl used to live in... a kind of common space where their lives overlap during their time together.. and she's going out of this 'island' and out of his life entirely.. He feels that they could've worked it out but she chose not to ("past the places where you might have turned"). She's trying to avoid him because she knows very well that even though the guy may not show it, he is very angry with her ("never did notice but still hide away (from) the anger of angels who won't return").
The song ends with the chorus as per normal and then turned into 1st person, as his raw emotions crumble the escapism. The guy still feels that he's the right person for the girl but he can never understand how things turned out the way they did...
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