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glo32 · 06-25-2015, 10:24 AM

When he says that his new songs are not "love songs" he's not saying they're not about "love", but that they're not from a "love" point of view. He thinks that he's unable to really love, so his songs are not "love songs".

But this song is undoubtedly about love, I think.

Analysing the lyrics:

i tried to repress it
then i carried its crown
i reached out to undress it
but love let me down

this is where he tells us he's talking about love. He tried to repress love, then carried its crown, but in the end love let him down. Probably not his lover, but his "idea of love".

so i tried to erase it
but the ink bled right through
almost drove myself crazy
when these words led to you

So he tried to erase this idea of love, or even bury the love for a specific person, but he found this love was everywhere and he couldn't really erase it (as the "ink" is everywhere) so he kind of got ****ed up realizing that every song he writes is about that specific lover.

and all these useless dreams
of living alone
like a dogless bone…
this is more obscure I think, but it could be that he used to dream of being alone (when he was with her) and now all those dreams turned out to be useless and he's like a dogless bone.
Or it could also be that pursuing his useless dreams led him to be alone and become a dogless bone (I think this is it)

The second verse is clearer if you imagine *that* specific lover: a lover to "cover up", "it was all part of the show" and the "never enough" bit that he then reprises in Long Long Way. He actually knew that he'd regret this love, but he couldn't imagine that he would end up like this ( = a dogless bone).

I get the "colour me in" part with the metaphorical meaning of "teach me how to love". If we think of Lisa being the "you" in this song, we can actually think of some other lyrics that refer to Lisa as the "colourful one" in the relationship (I'm thinking of Lisa's "A Sail" but there is some other song that references it too, I think?)
It's like he feels "black and white" without her, and needs her to bring some colour inside him.
I don't really think it has a "count me in" meaning. But yes, it could also be that Damien wanted to be ambiguous...

Another hint that he's talking about Lisa, anyway, is the last part:

so come let me love you
come let me take this through the end
of all these useless dreams of living
in all these useless dreams…
of all these useless dreams of living
in all these old noes…

he's living in all her old "noes" and he's begging her to stop saying "no", let him love her, let him end these useless dreams, etc...

I think he probably says that this is not a love song because I feels this "begging" isn't really love.
And that's why he says that the only "love song" on the album is I Don't Want To Change You - the only song where he doesn't feel any nostalgia, any regret, doesn't ask her to forgive him or anything. Change You delivers a different message ("i don't want to change you and i don't want to change your mind, if you need me i'm here, but if you don't, I wish you a happy life") which is probably what Damien thinks love is really about.

But the thing he says, that in most of the songs on the album he's talking about/to himself - that's absolute bull**it to me

the only song that really does is probably The Box.
All the others are songs about love - lost love, regretting love, ****ed up love, re-elaborating love, etc...

06-25-2015, 10:24 AM	#7
glo32 Eskimo Regular Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,244	When he says that his new songs are not "love songs" he's not saying they're not about "love", but that they're not from a "love" point of view. He thinks that he's unable to really love, so his songs are not "love songs". But this song is undoubtedly about love, I think. Analysing the lyrics: i tried to repress it then i carried its crown i reached out to undress it but love let me down this is where he tells us he's talking about love. He tried to repress love, then carried its crown, but in the end love let him down. Probably not his lover, but his "idea of love". so i tried to erase it but the ink bled right through almost drove myself crazy when these words led to you So he tried to erase this idea of love, or even bury the love for a specific person, but he found this love was everywhere and he couldn't really erase it (as the "ink" is everywhere) so he kind of got ***ed up realizing that every song he writes is about that specific lover. and all these useless dreams of living alone like a dogless bone… this is more obscure I think, but it could be that he used to dream of being alone (when he was with her) and now all those dreams turned out to be useless and he's like a dogless bone. Or it could also be that pursuing his useless dreams led him to be alone and become a dogless bone (I think this is it) The second verse is clearer if you imagine that* specific lover: a lover to "cover up", "it was all part of the show" and the "never enough" bit that he then reprises in Long Long Way. He actually knew that he'd regret this love, but he couldn't imagine that he would end up like this ( = a dogless bone). I get the "colour me in" part with the metaphorical meaning of "teach me how to love". If we think of Lisa being the "you" in this song, we can actually think of some other lyrics that refer to Lisa as the "colourful one" in the relationship (I'm thinking of Lisa's "A Sail" but there is some other song that references it too, I think?) It's like he feels "black and white" without her, and needs her to bring some colour inside him. I don't really think it has a "count me in" meaning. But yes, it could also be that Damien wanted to be ambiguous... Another hint that he's talking about Lisa, anyway, is the last part: so come let me love you come let me take this through the end of all these useless dreams of living in all these useless dreams… of all these useless dreams of living in all these old noes… he's living in all her old "noes" and he's begging her to stop saying "no", let him love her, let him end these useless dreams, etc... I think he probably says that this is not a love song because I feels this "begging" isn't really love. And that's why he says that the only "love song" on the album is I Don't Want To Change You - the only song where he doesn't feel any nostalgia, any regret, doesn't ask her to forgive him or anything. Change You delivers a different message ("i don't want to change you and i don't want to change your mind, if you need me i'm here, but if you don't, I wish you a happy life") which is probably what Damien thinks love is really about. But the thing he says, that in most of the songs on the album he's talking about/to himself - that's absolute bullit to me the only song that really does is probably The Box. All the others are songs about love - lost love, regretting love, **ed up love, re-elaborating love, etc...