Breaking Benjamin: Breath Meaning
Song Released: 2007
Breath Lyrics
Is it over yet, in my head?
I know nothing of your kind, and I won't reveal your evil mind.
Is it over yet? I can't win.
So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's...
-
1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:It's about a guy who's madly in love with a woman who does not share his feelings, so he's desperately trying to convince her that he knows she'd love him the same way if she'd only drop her guard and give him the chance. At the same time, he hates himself to a certain degree for having to try so hard with her while he doesn't get the same degree of passion in return.
I see nothing in your eyes, and the more I see the less I like. (He sees that she has no passion for him, and the longer her disinterest goes on, the more he kind of hates her for it.)
Is it over yet, in my head? (His heart wants to keep trying, but only once he convinces his mind that she's not interested will his efforts be truly futile. The whole heart vs. Head battle.)
I know nothing of your kind, and I won't reveal your evil mind. (He's typically not good with women, and to try and understand why that is he assumes that as a gender, they have malicious intent. He knows that's not really true but its the only thing that makes him feel better.)
Is it over yet? I can't win. (Again, he knows its futile but doesn't want to give up.)
So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left.
I know that I can find the fire in your eyes. (If she would just drop her guard and her defenses, she'd be better off for it and he'd have the good and passionate woman, the "real" woman, in the end.)
I'm going all the way, get away, please. (He's gonna try as hard as he can to make this happen, and by "get away," he's again telling her to just get out of her own way and let him show her why he's good for her.)
[Chorus:]
You take the breath right out of me. (He loves her so much it's like he can't breathe)
You left a hole where my heart should be. (There's a hole there now because his heart "belongs" to her and not himself.)
You got to fight just to make it through, (Relationships don't come easy and you have to work at it.)
'cause I will be the death of you. ("Death" could mean an ending, so by this he's saying that he could be the end of her search for the right man. Or, to put it another way, her acceptance of his love would be the “death” of her current disinterested self)
This will be all over soon. (He knows what he's trying is not working and that she's gonna give up on him soon.)
Pour salt into the open wound. (He opened up and she doesn't care and plans to leave anyway, further hurting him more than he already is.)
Is it over yet? Let me in. (Just more begging in vain)
So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left.
I know that I can find the fire in your eyes.
I'm going all the way, get away, please. (See above)
[Chorus:]
You take the breath right out of me.
You left a hole where my heart should be.
You got to fight just to make it through,
'cause I will be the death of you.
[Bridge]
I'm waiting (he'll wait her out), I'm praying (he's hoping she'll come around), realize (he's realized his efforts are fultile), start hating (so he hates himself and her for trying so hard when she couldn't care less. Wasting time on her, basically).
[Chorus:]
You take the breath right out of me.
You left a hole where my heart should be.
You got to fight just to make it through,
'cause I will be the death of you. (see above) -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:i think this song is about a fading relationship. He is searching for a sign that she still cares even though he knows deep down that it's over between them and she doesn't. He must have felt that she cared before because he wouldn't keep seaching for her to again
"I see nothing in your eyes" - she doesn't care for him anymore and he can tell. He can't find her desire to make it work
"Is it over yet, in my head?" - he feels he needs to let go but a part of him still wants it to work even though he knows it won't. He has tried and tried but still can't find her heart
"I know that I can find the fire in your eyes.
I'll throw it all away, get away, please" - he's searching to find some sign that she cares like she use to but then again he realizes that he can't find it because he threatens to throw it away and tells her to get away
"You take the breath right out of me. You left a hole where my heart should be" - he's empty inside she's hurting him so much that he's losing or lost his will to try -
3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:I think the song is about a love hate relationship with a chick...
I see nothing in your eyes
and the more I see the less I like. (the girl wants to leave for another guy and has no remorse for leaving or things she may have said or done, and that hurts him)
Is it over yet in my head? (it's like she's playing mind games with him)
I know nothing of your kind
and I won't reveal your evil mind. (he's kinda clueless about women)
Is it over yet?
I can't win. (he want's the fight to be over but he wants to stay together, but she wants to leave)
So sacrifice yourself,
and let me have what's left.
I know that I can find the fire in your eyes.(he knows that there is something deep down, making her stay, she wants to work it out too)
I'm going all the way,
get away, please.
(he wants her to open up and tell him what she's really feeling so they can work it out. He is giving up everything he has and it is scaring him because he hasn't done it before, and now he is kinda regretting it because she isn't telling him what she is feeling)
You take the breath right out of me. (she's breath taking)
You left a hole where my heart should be. (she's killing him, because he loves her so much)
You got to fight just to make it through, (2 options...1-sometimes you have to fight in relationships so you can be honest and have what you feel in the open or 2-her leaving is killing him and he has to really struggle to get through a day without her)
'cause I will be the death of you. (he's gonna keep pestering her until she caves)
This will be all over soon. (the fight will eventually end and they can get back to normal)
Pour salt into the open wound. (it hurts bad)
Is it over yet?
Let me in. (he just really wants her to open up so they can fix tings)
I'm waiting, (he was being patient, but its hard now)
I'm praying, (duh)
realize,
start hating. (hates himself for pushing too hard and making them spilt up) -
Like the people mentioned below. The beauty of music is that anyone can interpret it however they want. And everyone sees it differently. And it's great to look at someone else's perspective because if someone wrote something completely different but it still actually makes sense it's amazing. And in fact it has a lot of meanings, however, if it comes to my interpretation which I deduced more or less:
He can't deal with the loss of her (who may have betrayed him) and just talks about his suffering. She kills him and hurts him. Even though he realized that it wouldn't be a relationship anyway. She can't stop haunting him in his head and he can't get over the breakup and starts to hate her. He has to survive this and get over it or he will kill himself because she left him. He has a total confusion in his head because he doesn't know whether he loves her or has already lost love for her. But he still wants to try because he thinks that there is still hope for them even though she hurt him so much, he still gives her another chance. -
stfu you guys sound like y'all know all about life and no matter what you say and do you really don't bc reality is harder than you think even if you going through reality or not reality is hard either way so you guys need to stfu
-
I think it's about ending a relationship with a narcissist. Hes talking to himself her and to everyone. Narcissists fear being exposed " I wont reveal your evil mind" that's just one of many examples I can give you.If you ever been in a relationship with one you'll probably see my point of view. That's why I love music. A song can mean different things to different people. That's what makes music beautiful.
-
This song is about addiction in my opinion. He is explaining the thoughts he has before he shoots up. His mind is wrestling with the addiction. This song always resonated with me as my ex was going through the struggle when it came out, like so many other people. I know I'm late on this lol
-
I think it’s about leaving a toxic trauma bond relationship. Abusive to the core.
-
Listen..
to the song.
"is it over yet...
in MY mind.
(his mind)
Ill (he'll) be the death of you.
Revert to beginning.
...over in his mind..
obviously..
then..
he will be the "death" of HER..
in his mind..
..simply..
he knows love is only in ones mind..
He need to end it (this love)
ie: the death of this relationship with HER !
ppl..
stop,
the cut throat drama ! -
I think this is a breakup song. Anyone who has ever been walked out on would know how it feels. You basically feel empty and alone.
"You left a hole where my heart should be"
I think it's a pretty straightforward song. -
I could see this having multiple meanings so I'll just write about how this song translates to me.
A guy is in love with a woman who doesn't return his affections. They're at the end of their relationship and she's moved on to another guy.
So he waits for her fling with the other guy to end but it doesn't. It seems to be working out and he wants her to [start hating] the new guy so he can go out with her again.
[You left a hole where my heart should be] He realizes how much he did love her and how much she's crippled him in life.
[I know that I can find the fire in your eyes] He knows he can give her the kind of love she deserves and make her feel the same way about him if she gave him the chance. Their relationship could have ended prematurely so she never got too attached or fell too deep in love with him.
[I'm going all the way, get away please] He knows that when she's around him it only hurts him to see her and not be able to show his feelings. Maybe he makes one last attempt to win her over but it doesn't work.
[I know nothing of your kind and I won't reveal your evil mind] He sees her with her new boyfriend but he won't tell him how evil she is or how evil she can get. He knows the guy is going to end up feeling as low as he does when she's done with him. Her evil mind because she's a flirt or a person who plays around with different men, maybe not faithful, Idk. So he doesn't know much about her type.
[Is it over yet, let me in] He's asking her and wondering if she done with the relationship. Even though she's played with his head, left him, and found someone else, he still wants to be in her life and win her over.
Jane's name is mentioned in the song, so I believe it's about unrequited love.
[I see nothing in your eyes and the more I see the less I like] He notices that when she looks at him, she doesn't have that look of love for him. She feels nothing for him and he realizes that so he hates her for not caring. -
This is about addiction and self loathing and an internal struggle between the part of the person who has given up and the other part who wants to live and be free from the pain of addiction and the struggles that come with it.
-
This song is about someone you still love but they lost the "fire in their eyes" like their passion for life. He says "let me in" and I picture a girl who is going through the motions of living, waking up, going to work, and having a boring routine but won't let him in her life to help with her depression. I picture her totally content with being numb to everyone and everything so he asks her to sacrifice herself and let him have what's left... like let me have you and I'll bring you back to life. "You left a hole where my heart should be." Maybe she was empty when they began the relationship or maybe she later became it after dealing with him but he is now also empty... Like his heart is hers and until she returns to him he'll still have that hole there. "I'm waiting, I'm praying, start hating!" Well, maybe she is with another guy and he wants that relationship she has with the other guy to go down in flames... like with a lot of hate and be over with or maybe he's in a relationship with another woman and wants the girl in this song to start hating him. If she does that it will be easier for him to accept that he doesn't have a chance with her. "You take the breath right out of me" she's probably stunning like someone else said and different than other girls so it's really hard to resist and not fall in love with her. "You gotta fight just to make it through cause I will be the death of you" I think it's like if I can't have You I might hurt you which would mean he's obsessed with her or she has to fight any feelings that learn to grow for him because she'll end up even more emotionally dead than what she already is because he can't leave the other woman. Like family and friends would look down on him for choosing the beautiful one instead of the one who he has built a life with.
"I can't win" is like him knowing she's not even trying for him or wanting to open up for him so it's a fight he can never win. He's still in love.
He's this hopeless romantic guy that anyone else would love to have chasing after them but she's too dead inside to care probably.
They both loved each other once because that's what he's fighting and arguing to get back... but it might've been just an affair or a relationship she cut off because he wasn't helping with her growing depression and only making it worse. -
My interpretation, but his lyrics are vague, so they really could mean anything. To me it seems like a dialogue between a rapist and what he thinks his victim is saying.
I think he was infatuated with a girl who was extremely hard to get with. He already knew there was something wrong with her. He probably stalked her. He sees her empty but she sees him as empty too. He gives into the lust and temptation and rapes her. She doesn’t fight him off or scream, and he warns her that she needs to because she’ll end up dead if she doesn’t try to get away. He has mixed feelings about her and the evil deed because a part of him wants her to give herself completely to him. He wants to own her. Someone else mentioned dominance and I get that vibe out of this too. She’s very submissive, but probably because of an abusive past or something fucked up that happened to her. He wants to find the fire in her eyes… meaning he wants to make her feel loved and he wants it back in return. At the end of the song he claims he’s waiting, meaning he gets nothing out of her. He screams “Start hating” this is because she’s too submissive for him and he wanted it to be more of a struggle. She was too easy because she didn’t care. If she fought him, he might not have went through with it. His feeling for her leaves him angry. Also in the song he says Jane four time right before the “I’m waiting” part. So I think this song, like many of his songs is about “Jane”. Jane is probably like a Jane Doe. Someone he doesn’t want us to know about and someone who doesn’t want to be known either? Here’s what I got out of it; Reminds me of 50 shades of Grey for some reason.
Jane’s part-
I see nothing in your eyes (She’s telling him she sees him empty)
And the more I see the less I like (She doesn’t like the way he is seemingly heartless)
Is it over yet, (She’s asking him if he’s done)
in my head? (She’s wondering if this is really happening to her) (Or maybe he’s wondering if it’s only in his head that she wants it to be over with)
I know nothing of your kind (She doesn’t know anything about his type, or it might be him saying he doesn’t know much about women)
And I won't reveal your evil mind (She falls silent instead of screaming. She doesn’t intend to report the incident)
Is it over yet? (Her asking, submissively)
I can't win (She knows it’s a fight she can’t win so she doesn’t try to fight it) (Or maybe he can’t get off, given the situation. Or maybe he feels like he can’t win her love)
The Male’s part-
So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left (This is him asking her to give herself to him. Everything she has left)
I know that I can find the fire in your eyes (He knows she doesn’t care about what happening to her. She’s empty too. He wants her to leave room for him in her heart and be open to falling in love with him)
I'm going all the way(He’s pulling all the stops and going all the way in)
get away, please (He’s begging her to try to leave because he can’t control the way she makes him feel)
[Chorus]
You take the breath right out of me (She leaves him feeling breathless. He’s really into her.)
You left a hole where my heart should be (He’s telling her he loved her and still does. He’s empty without her)
You got to fight just to make it through (He’s warning her to fight him off. I think life made her jaded. She doesn’t fight and the fact that he has to tell her to do what’s only natural means he does care about her, but he’s still going through with the deed because he can’t help himself.)
'Cause I will be the death of you. (He’s telling her if she ticks him off she’ll end up dead. In some of his live shows he signals a cut throat while singing. So he probably would cut her throat open)
This will be all over soon (He sings this and then whispers it. The whisper is like a rapist or murderer letting the victim know it won’t take long)
Pour salt into the open wound (He’s hurt her and he’s aware of it)
Is it over yet? (Again in his mind she’s asking this while he’s doing it)
Let me in (He’s asking her to let him be a part of her heart. His live shows, he sometimes places his hand on his chest at this part)
So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left (Whatever is left of her, he wants to make it his. Something traumatic probably happened in this girls life prior to being raped)
I know that I can find the fire in your eyes.(He thinks he can make her find passion and catch feelings for him)
I'm going all the way, get away, please.(He can’t take the feelings he has for her)
[Chorus]
I'm waiting, I'm praying, realize, start hating. (He’s waiting and literally hoping she’ll start hating him for what he is doing. Throughout the song he struggles with his own emotions while she has none)
[Chorus] -
I always thought it was about a guy who was obsessed with a girl who didn't return his feelings and he snapped (or was mentally ill) and was planning on killing her. Maybe I take the song too literally.
-
I am several years late to this conversation but I have been living with my own interpretation of this surprisingly deep song for quite a while...
I picture a guy having a conversation with himself in the mirror right after slashing his wrist in a suicide attempt. It's a little schizo but don't we all talk to ourselves, at least internally? He's waiting to die but once he realizes what he's done he hates himself even more, and the salt in the open wound is his tears dripping onto his slashed wrist. I won't try to analyze the song line by line but try listening to it in that context... In my opinion this is one of the best songs ever recorded, but I like this kind of stuff... not everyone does. -
Why does everyone say"oh its a bad relationship"? It seems to me that the song could be about anything that troubles you, but you love it too much to realize the pain it's causing you. This song describes the consequences of refusing to let go
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It's Whatever You want it to mean, that's the beauty of music. My take, it's a song about slipping into darkness and being fed up with your own wicked ways, begging the good you to come back to life! I pray that those of you who understand this song the way i do, will find your fire! Live, Laugh, Love!
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