‘We were young and
drinking in the park’
The past tense determiner ‘were’ suggests that the voice of
the singer is looking back to the past, and they are no longer young anymore,
this carries throughout the song. The way he refers to him and the other people
as simply the collective noun phrase ‘we’ also creates a feel that there is
only one other person in this song other than the singer, and that they had a
connection, suggesting that they were very close friends or in a relationship.
Also the scenery of a park is usually linked to children and being young, which
is quoted within the lyrics. The present tense verb ‘drinking’ intensifies
these lyrics and brings a rebellious, dark element to the song and allows the
audience to piece together more about these people, and how they are not the..
let’s say, classiest of people.
‘There was nowhere else to go’
The fact that the people have ‘nowhere’ to go could connote
that they were rebellious and have been kicked out of their houses or simply
are homeless. Although this is very unlikely, I think what the lyrics are
trying to say is that as they are young, this ‘nowhere’ is used to mean that
they are trapped in this late teenager stage, and are not old enough to go to
nightclubs, and no late teen likes to stay at home. Overall I think ‘nowhere’
is used in an exaggerated, hyperbolic sense, such as how teenagers say that
they have ‘nothing’ to wear, when they really mean that they don’t like any of
their clothes.
‘And you said you always had my back’
The term ‘I’ve got your back’ is commonly used between
friends to simply mean that they will look after one another. In this song I
think that the other character has promised that they would look after the
speaker. The word ‘always’ only stretches this idea that the two have a very
close bond which will ‘always’ be there.
‘Oh but how were we to know’
The conjunction ‘but’, puts a straight-edged end to this
idea that the other character will look after the speaker. The term ‘how were
we to know’ in this context literally means that no one knows if the other
character will follow through with their promise to look after the voice that
is speaking this lyrics.
‘That these are the days that bind you
together, forever’
The collective reference ‘these’ suggests that the speaker
has come out of this reminiscent stage and now he is speaking from present day,
talking about these days from the past. ‘Bind’ is a very strong term to mean
that two things can bind together and become one, tightening and fastening the
two together, meaning that these two people were brought together by these days
in the past. The abstract relation to time with the hyperbolic use of the word
‘forever’ also exaggerates that the two will be together until they die, due to
these days in the past. Which is quite unlikely and adventurous, yet shows that
the speaker is passionate about the girl.
‘And these little things define you forever,
forever’
The adjective ‘little’ identifies that
it’s the small things that others would class as unimportant, that make the
biggest difference. The word ‘define’ means to state or describe exactly the
nature, scope, or meaning of something. With these word choices, the speaker is
saying that the small things that happened in these days that they are looking
back on, made the other character the person that they are today.
All this bad blood
here, won't you let it dry?
The metaphorical term of ‘bad blood’ representing bad
memories between the two characters here adds a deeper, poetic edge to the
statement in the lyrics instead of it being plain and simple. Along with the
following interrogative question ‘won’t you let it dry?’ is a further play on
words of the metaphor of bad blood, meaning that once the ‘blood’ has ‘dried’
everything will be put to rest and fine again. The word ‘won’t’ suggests that
the other character is reluctant to let these bad memories go, and the speaker
has to ask this and get permission.
It's been cold for years, won't you let it
lie?
Another continuation of the metaphor, the
adjective ‘cold’ is used in the sense that ‘these days’ from the past, the
‘blood’ has been ‘cold’. This means that the bad memories have stayed present
in their minds but not mentioned. The repetition of the interrogative ‘won’t
you let it’ from the last segment once again shows the speaker pleading to the
other character. To ‘lie’ is to rest, the speaker wants nothing more than for
the bad memories or ‘blood’ to rest.
If we're only ever
looking back
The word ‘we’re’ shows that the collective two are always in
sync and thinking of these things, not just the speaker, showing that these
days from the past were important to the both of them. ‘Looking back’ is also
just another metaphorical term for thinking about the past, with this
reoccurring subject showing that it is constantly on the characters minds.
We will drive
ourselves insane
The collective noun ‘we’ is repeated many times within the
lyrics of the song, with each of the characters supposedly having the same
frame of mind and always carrying out things at the exact same time. This is
shown by the word ‘ourselves’ also. The lyrics ‘drive ourselves insane’ means
to be pushed to the breaking point of where each character will lose sanity. Of
course this is not literal but the word choice means they will get upset and
angry over memories of the past here.
As the friendship goes resentment grows
I especially like the rhyme scheme of the words ‘goes’ and
‘grows’ in this part. It is ironic due to the fact that the two words of choice
contrast and their meanings are the complete opposite of each other. At this
point it is identified that the two are friends, by the abstract noun
‘friendship.’ ‘Resentment is also a rather complex word choice, and instead of
using a word such as ‘dislike’, resentment is a really strong, powerful, and
harsh term to use. From ‘friendship’ to ‘resentment’, these are definitely
direct opposites and show how quickly things can change.
We will walk our different ways
The term ‘walk our different ways’ here
means that the two will walk separate ways, growing further and further apart.
The modal verb ‘will’ supports this and says that the two definitely WILL do
this, and that it is inevitable that the two will become distant.
Hook
But those are the
days that bind us together, forever
And those little
things define us forever, forever
All this bad blood
here, won't you let it dry?
It's been cold for
years, won't you let it lie?
(previously
explained)
‘I don’t wanna’ shows that it is the speaker that doesn’t
want this to happen, with a slightly colloquial and social edge, with the
informal, slag word ‘wanna’ and represents that the speaker can have use
relaxed word choices around the other character as they were once close
friends. The verb ‘hear’ shows that the speaker is listening and having be
spoken to about this ‘bad blood’, which means the other character must be
talking about it these bad memories bringing them up until present day,
suggested by the word ‘anymore’.
I don't wanna hear you talk about it anymore
Once again this informal social contraction of the words
‘want to’ in the form of ‘wanna’ is used to show that they were friends and
relaxed around each other, at one point. It is here that the other character is
confirmed that they are the ones bringing up these events from the past by the
quote ‘hear you talk about it.’ The repetition of this similar structure and
wording of lyrics in this section suggests that the speaker really does not
want to delve into this subject, and wants to be friends with the second
character.
I don't wanna hear about the bad blood anymore
I don't wanna hear you talk about it anymore
(previously explained)
Final hook
All this bad blood
here, won't you let it dry?
It's been cold for years, won't you let it
lie?
(previously explained)
End.
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