Explain The Lyrics

In a little while from now
If I’m not feeling any less sour
I promise myself to treat myself
And visit a nearby tower
And climbing to the top will throw myself off
In an effort to make it clear to who
Ever what it’s like when you’re shattered
Left standing in the lurch at a church
Where people saying: “My God, that’s tough
She’s stood him up”
No point in us remaining
We may as well go home
As I did on my own
Alone again, naturally

To think that only yesterday
I was cheerful, bright and gay
Looking forward to well wouldn’t do
The role I was about to play
But as if to knock me down
Reality came around
And without so much, as a mere touch
Cut me into little pieces
Leaving me to doubt
Talk about God and His mercy
Or if He really does exist
Why did He desert me in my hour of need
I truly am indeed Alone again, naturally

It seems to me that there are more hearts
broken in the world that can’t be mended
Left unattended
What do we do? What do we do?

Alone again, naturally
Now looking back over the years
And whatever else that appears
I remember I cried when my father died
Never wishing to hide the tears
And at sixty-five years old
My mother, God rest her soul,
Couldn’t understand why the only man
She had ever loved had been taken
Leaving her to start with a heart so badly broken
Despite encouragement from me
No words were ever spoken
And when she passed away
I cried and cried all day
Alone again, naturally
Alone again, naturally

It is an introspective ballad, starting with the singer telling of his plans to commit suicide after being left at the altar, and then telling about the death of his parents. O’Sullivan has said that the song is not autobiographical, as he did not know his father (who died when O’Sullivan was 11) very well, and that his father had mistreated his mother.

I’m lying alone with my head on the phone
Thinking of you till it hurts
I know you hurt too but what else can we do
Tormented and torn apart
I wish I could carry your smile and my heart
For times when my life feels so low
It would make me believe what tomorrow could bring
When today doesn’t really know, doesn’t really know

Chorus:
I ‘m all out of love, I’m so lost without you
I know you were right believing for so long
I ‘m all out of love, what am I without you
I can’t be too late to say that I was so wrong

I want you to come back and carry me home
Away from this long lonely nights
I’m reaching for you, are you feeling it too
Does the feeling seem oh so right
And what would you say if I called on you now
And said that I can’t hold on
There’s no easy way, it gets harder each day
Please love me or I’ll be gone, I’ll be gone

Chorus

Oh, what are you thinking of?
What are you thinking of?
Oh, what are you thinking of?
What are you thinking of?

If you only knew
What I feel for you
If you only lived for me
The way I lived for you
I’d be in heaven
My dreams would come true

‘Cause all I’ve ever wanted
Is you
And you alone
And I love you so
More than you could ever know
All I’ve ever wanted
Is you

If you were my own
To caress and hold
I would shower you with love
And drown within your soul
Because I live and breathe for you
And I really need to know

That all I’ve ever wanted
Is you
And you alone
And I love you so
More than you could ever know
All I’ve ever wanted
Is you

Everything I do is for you
You are every part of me
And I don’t want to face
Another day
Alone
Without your love

‘Cause all I’ve ever wanted
Is you
And you alone
And I love you so
More than you could ever know
All I’ve ever wanted
Is you
All I’ve ever wanted
Is you

I will not relent no no
Never live with defeat, never falter
It’s like the air that I breathe(like the air I breathe)
I will not choke on failure
Cause I will not choke on failure

I am a mortal man
But I’m not falling, I’m not broken yet
I am a mortal man
But I hold tight to my beliefs now

I have suffered defeat, pain, loss
Still I push to the edge, never falter
For this cements my beliefs (this cements my beliefs)
I’ll remain my own master

I will not relent no no
Never suffer defeat, never falter
For this cements my beliefs (this cements my beliefs)
I will not choke on failure

I am a mortal man
But I’m not falling I’m not broken yet
I am a mortal man
But I hold tight to my beliefs now

I am a mortal man
But I’m not falling I’m not broken yet
I am a mortal man
But I hold tight to my beliefs now

I will not relent
I will not relent, no no
I will not relent
Never suffer defeat never falter
I will not relent, no no

Never suffer
Never falter
I will not relent, no no
Never suffer
Never falter

So I sing you to sleep
After the lovin’
With a song I just wrote yesterday
And I hope you can hear
What the words and the music have to say.

It’s so hard to explain
Everything that I’m feelin’
Face to face I just seem to go dry.
But I love you so much
That the sound of your voice can get me high.

Thanks for takin’ me
On a one way trip to the sun.
And thanks for turnin’ me
Into a someone.

So I sing you to sleep
After the lovin’
I brush back the hair from your eyes.
And the love on your face
Is so real that it makes me want to cry.

And I know that my song
Isn’t sayin’ anything new.
Oh, but after the lovin’
I’m still in love with you.

So I sing you to sleep
After the lovin’
I brush back the hair from your eyes.
And the love on your face
Is so real that it makes me want to cry.

And I know that my song
Isn’t sayin’ anything new.
Oh, but after the lovin’
I’m still in love with you.

Yes, after the lovin’
I’m still in love with you.

Hmmm, after the lovin’
I’m still in love with you.

Above all powers
Above all kings
Above all nature
And all created things
Above all wisdom
And all the ways of man
You were here
Before the world began

Verse 2
Above all kingdoms
Above all thrones
Above all wonders
The world has ever known
Above all wealth
And treasures of the earth
There’s no way to measure
What You’re worth

CHORUS
Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

Verse 1
Above all powers
Above all kings
Above all nature
And all created things
Above all wisdom
And all the ways of man
You were here
Before the world began

Verse 2
Above all kingdoms
Above all thrones
Above all wonders
The world has ever known
Above all wealth
And treasures of the earth
There’s no way to measure
What You’re worth

CHORUS
Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

CHORUS
Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

keep on blessing me
over and over and
over and over and
over and over again
over and over and over
and over and over and
over again above all
again
above all

Life is a waterfall,
we’re one in the river,
and one again after the fall.

Swimming through the void
we hear the word,
we lose ourselves,
but we find it all…

Cause we are the ones that want to play,
always want to go,
but you never want to stay.

And we are the ones that want to choose,
always want to play,
but you never want to lose.

Aerials, in the sky,
when you lose small mind,
you free your life.

Life is a waterfall,
we drink from the river,
then we turn around and put up our walls.

Swimming through the void,
we hear the word,
we lose ourselves,
but we find it all…

Cause we are the ones that want to play,
always want to go,
but you never want to stay.

And we are the ones that want to choose,
always want to play,
but you never want to lose, ooooo.

Aerials, in the sky,
when you lose small mind,
you free your life.

Aerials, so up high,
when you free your eyes,
eternal prize.

Aerials, in the sky,
when you lose small mind,
you free your life.

Aerials,so up high,
when you free your eyes,
eternal prize

oooooooooo , ooooooooooo
oooooooooo,
oooooooooooooooo.

If you like to gamble, I tell you I’m your man
You win some, lose some, it’s – all – the same to me
The pleasure is to play, it makes no difference what you say
I don’t share your greed, the only card I need is
The Ace Of Spades
The Ace Of Spades

Playing for the high one, dancing with the devil,
Going with the flow, it’s all a game to me,
Seven or Eleven, snake eyes watching you,
Double up or quit, double stakes or split,
The Ace Of Spades
The Ace Of Spades

You know I’m born to lose, and gambling’s for fools,
But that’s the way I like it baby,
I don’t wanna live forever,
And don’t forget the joker!

Pushing up the ante, I know you’ve got to see me,
Read ‘em and weep, the dead man’s hand again,
I see it in your eyes, take one look and die,
The only thing you see, you know it’s gonna be,
The Ace Of Spades
The Ace Of Spades

For the lyrics, Lemmy, the lead singer, said he “used gambling metaphors, mostly cards and dice – when it comes to that sort of thing, I’m more into the one-armed bandits actually, but you can’t really sing about spinning fruit, and the wheels coming down”.

Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see-
I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy-
Because I’m easy come,easy go,
A little high, little low,
Anyway the wind blows, doesn’t really matter to me,
To me

Mama, just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead,
Mama, life had just begun,
But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away-
Mama ooo,
Didn’t mean to make you cry-
If I’m not back again this time tomorrow-
Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters-

Too late, my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine-
Body’s aching all the time,
Goodbye everybody-I’ve got to go-
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth-
Mama ooo- (any way the wind blows)
I don’t want to die,
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all-

I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche, scaramouche will you do the Fandango-
Thunderbolt and lightning-very very frightening me-
Galileo, Galileo,
Galileo Galileo
Galileo figaro-Magnifico-
But I’m just a poor boy and nobody loves me-
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family-
Spare him his life from this monstrosity-
Easy come easy go-, will you let me go-
Bismillah! No- we will not let you go-let him go-
Bismillah! We will not let you go-let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go let me go
No, no, no, no, no, no, no-
Mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go-
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me-

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye-
So you think you can love me and leave me to die-
Oh baby-Can’t do this to me baby-
Just gotta get out-just gotta get right outta here-
Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters, nothing really matters to me,
Any way the wind blows….

This is rather self-explanatory- the singer has murdered someone, and is on death row, awaiting execution. In the operatic portion of the song towards the end, he appeals. It is rejected, and he fades away… Here are some meanings of some of those names:

Scaramouche – originally ‘Scarramuccia’, one of the stock figures in Italian Commedia del’Arte theatre; a swashbuckling beau dressed in black who was never quite as brave as he pretended

Figaro – a Spanish first name, best known from the witty and rebellious barber in Beaumarchais’ novels Le Barbier de Séville and Le Mariage de Figaro, both later made into operas

silhouetto – Italian for silhouette, an outline seen against a lighter background, named, for unknown reasons, after Etienne de Silhouette, 18th century French finance minister. The cutting of silhouette shapes and profiles became a fad.

Bismillah – an Arabic interjection meaning ‘in the name of God’

Beelzebub – chief spirit of evil, the name means ‘lord of the flies’ and was first used for a Philistine god. Milton uses the name for Satan’s right-hand fallen angel in Paradise Lost. The name is sometimes used as a synonym for ‘Satan’.

magnifico – Italian word for magnificent or, by extension, a Venetian nobleman or any high ranking person

fandango – a Spanish courtship dance in triple time, performed by a couple, often employing castanets

Galileo – Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer and philosopher (1564 – 1642)

Two, three, four

(woo-hoo,woo-hoo)
(woo-hoo,woo-hoo)

Well my heart knows me better than I know myself
So I’m gonna let it do all the talking.
(woo-hoo, woo-hoo)
I came across a place in the middle of nowhere
with a big black horse and a cherry tree.
(woo-hoo, woo-hoo)

I fell in fear, upon my back
I said don’t look back, just keep on walking.
(woo-hoo, woo-hoo)
When the big black horse that looked this way,
Said hey lady, will you marry me?
(woo-hoo, woo-hoo)

But I said no, no, no, no-no-no
I said no, no, you’re not the one for me
No, no, no, no-no-no
I said no, no, you’re not the one for me

(ooooo,woo-hoo)

And my heart had a problem, in the early hours,
So it stopped it dead for a beat or two.
(woo-hoo, woo-hoo)
But I cut some cord, and I shouldn’t have done that,
And it won’t forgive me after all these years
(woo-hoo,woo-hoo)

So I sent her to a place in the middle of nowhere
With a big black horse and a cherry tree.
(woo-hoo, woo-hoo)
Now it won’t come back , cause it’s oh so happy
And now I’ve got a hole for the world to see
(woo-hoo,woo-hoo)

But it said no, no, no, no-no-no
I said no, no, you’re not the one for me
No, no, no, no-no-no
Said no, no, you’re not the one for me

(ooooo,woo-hoo) (not the one for me, yeah)
(ooooo,woo-hoo)
Said no, no, no, no, no, no, no
You’re not the one for me
Said no, no, no, no, no, no, no
You’re not the one for me

Big black horse and a cherry tree
I can’t quite get there cause they’ve all forsaken me
Big black horse and a cherry tree
I can’t quite get there cause they’ve all forsaken me

This song was basically copied from The Pointer Sisters’ song “Neutron Dance”.  Some lesbian rumors were fuelled by a demo version of “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” which surfaced on the Internet in April 2005. It has different backing vocals to the released version, with the phrase “pubes in the teeth” being chanted between the “woo hoo” refrain. Tunstall told lesbian magazine Diva in June that the recording had been made as a joke during some drunken hijinks at a recording session and was later leaked without her knowledge.