Breaking Benjamin: The Diary of Jane Meaning
Song Released: 2006
The Diary of Jane Lyrics
I would put myself right beside you
So let me ask
Would you like that?
Would you like that?
And I don't mind
If you say this love is the last time
So now I'll ask
Do you like that?
Do you like that?
No!
Something's...
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From wikipedia (just go to wikipedia and type in diary of jane) The video for "The Diary of Jane", directed by Ryan Smith, made its world premiere on Yahoo! Music on June 21, 2006, after originally being scheduled for release on June 16. The video features a woman named Jane. Jane wakes up suddenly in a bathtub, getting out and getting dressed. However, her vanity's mirror is gone, and only the frame remains. Jane runs around her house, with similar results wherever there should be a mirror. She eventually stumbles across a room where all the mirrors are, and she cannot see her reflection in any of them. The video ends with Ben Burnley (lead singer and guitar) placing a rose in a book atop her tombstone, explaining the story of the video: she fell asleep and drowned in the tub.
Jane is played by Sarah Mather from Season 4 of American Idol. The video ends with Ben closing a diary on Jane's tombstone. The last name was obscured, but in the second episode of the band's podcast, the name can be clearly seen as Bryan during a shot of the tombstone. You can also see the Breaking Benjamin celtic knot on the tombstone in a brief shot before he closes the diary.
Jane Bryan was a female filmstar in the 1930s and 1940s. She was in many films, including one titled We Are Not Alone, which also happens to be the name of Breaking Benjamin's second album. Her filmography and biography are here. However, whether or not the band meant for her name to be of significance is unknown, and unconfirmed -
If I had to
I would put myself right beside you
So let me ask
Would you like that?
Would you like that?
-If he had to he would try to see things from her side of it, instead of just seeing it the way he does himself
And I don't mind
If you say this love is the last time
So now I'll ask
Do you like that?
Do you like that?
-She was depressed by the break-up and has become suicidal, wanting to end her life because he broke her heart
No!
-Screaming for her not to kill herself
Something's getting in the way.
Something's just about to break.
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane.
So tell me how it should be.
-there's interference, a misunderstanding between them, most likely the cause of the break up, but it's almost over and he's trying to find his place in her life and is asking her directly. It seems like a mere metaphor to me.Music videos for alternative bands often reflect another isue than the song, but correspond with one another in some way.
Try to find out what makes you tick.
As I lie down
Sore and sick.
Do you like that?
Do you like that?
-he's trying to find out more about her, but he is in pain from the break up and lovesick for her.He's wondering if she likes him when he's like that.
There's a fine line between love and hate.
And I don't mind.
Just let me say that
I like that
I like that
-He is torn between his emotions, he still loves her, but he hates her for the break-up.But won't mind if she takes him back, so he asks if she likes the way he's thinking.
Something's getting in the way.
Something's just about to break.
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane.
[As I burn another page,
[As I look the other way.
I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane.
So tell me how it should be.
-The page, like the diary is metaphorical of reminicing of his days with her, the burning is him trying his best to forget about it.His looking the other way if forgiving her for everything she has done wrong to him as he looks back on everything.
Desperate, I will crawl
Waiting for so long
No love, there is no love.
Die for anyone
What have I become?
-He's desprate for her, crawling back to her, asking her to take him back, and so he waits for her reply, for her to decide on her feelings.She doesn't love him in the least anymore, and he has become suicidal too, but realizes how insane it is to kill himself over an ex.
Something's getting in the way.
Something's just about to break.
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane.
As I burn another page,
As I look the other way.
I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane.
-And so, he still looks back, still tries to find his place in her life.
-And finaly, I don't think it was about an actual girl named jane.Havnt you ever heard the expresion "Plain Jane"?It means just an ordinary girl, nothing special. -
I was talking to my friend about how I think it's a really pretty song the way it's sung and she agreed it was pretty but the meaning was sick. Shocked I asked why she felt that way, as I saw the lyrics as something to do with a girl who is lost in her life and is being observed by this guy. My friend then told me I was totaly wrong and that I have to look at it a totaly different way; she said that it is what's going on inside a guy's head as he's raping a girl. If you put on your sick, twisted, and slightly creative thinking hats there might be something there. I don't know. I do like the song though. :)
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I would put myself right beside you means he would die to be with her next to her...six feet under
She was the love of her life but looking through her things he finds her diary and realizes that he meant nothing to her... -
Have you noticed that mostly everyone has the same interpretation of this song, just in different words?
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I think that the words "Diary of Jane" actually mean the "heart of a girl" people write what their heart says in their diary, and Jane is a very common name, so Ben Burnley is trying to say the heart of the everyday girl.
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In think it's about a guy who loves a girl but she dating someone else, "something's getting in the way" but they're breaking up "something's just about to break" and he's going to try and be with her, "I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane". Oh and to the person who wrote the Highest Rated Interpretation, don't just base your interpretations on the music video. Because that's all you're doing.
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A boy loves a girl but she is depressed and does`t accept his love so he keeps trying to get her to love him back (try to find out what makes you tick) he loves her so much that he is willing to die for her (I would put myself rite beside you, do you like that, do you like that)but he has no idea where he stands with her (theirs a fine line between love and hate)so he reads her diary to find out what she likes because he wants her to love him so bad that he wants to change for her (desperate I will crawl) he finds that isn`t sure about how she feels for himbut he can`t help but to still love her (as I burn another page as I try to look away) when the girl commits suicide he wants to die also because she was basically his whole life (no love there is no love die for anyone what have I become) he still desn`t know how she feels about her when she dies and he feels measurable because he thinks he will never find another love
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i think that it doesn't really matter what the intended meaning is. The lyrics strike everyone in their own unique way. For me i am going through a slow self discovery and it is being aided by a friend who happens to be named Jane. i heard this song and immediately thought of my relationship with her and my own struggle. For me this song represents a struggle with self identity and with the line between friendship and more than friends, it represents how you define yourself and how your friends define you and whos really important to you.
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This song is really awesome ... It took a while to get a hold on it but this is my view.
Firstly I think the video means alot, the house is so alone, the pathetic fallacy of the weather been grey and cloudy adds to the mood. The big building I think shows "The Diary Of Jane".
The way she wanders ... The lack of reflection ... Been so alone and not even been able to see yourself ... Even when you can see yourself from all directions ... Just shows the mental state of the girl who may very well portray Jane.
If I had to
I would put myself right beside you
So let me ask
Would you like that?
Would you like that?
(Normal boy love girl, girl loves boy ... The guy would do anything to be with this girl ... He asks her ... Trying to get through to her ... Trying to be next to her ... Trying to help ... The repetition just reinforces that.)
And I don't mind
If you say this love is the last time
So now I'll ask
Do you like that?
Do you like that?
(The guy will settle for the girl ... as he says "and I don't mind ..." And again saying his part yet still asking qustions to get through to the girl who is so alone, no matter how much he loves her.
No!
Something's getting in the way.
Something's just about to break.
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane.
So tell me how it should be.
(Something? ... Maybe Someone's mental state is in the way and someone is about to break been Jane ... He is trying to find a place in this girls life, by giving her control ... By giving her the choice and showing his love)
Try to find out what makes you tick.
As I lie down
Sore and sick.
Do you like that?
Do you like that?
(He is trying to work out how the woman he loves thinks or what is wrong with her ... But he is getting worn down ... And it get's bitter as it's like he is shouting "Do you like what you have made me do, what you have made me become?!")
There's a fine line between love and hate.
And I don't mind.
Just let me say that
I like that
I like that
(Stating even if he loves her doesn't mean she has to love back, because even if it's hate it's close enough to love for him ... And he is putting his view across ... Letting her know that he was there for her)
Something's getting in the way.
Something's just about to break.
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane.
As I burn another page,
As I look the other way.
I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane.
So tell me how it should be.
(He is trying to find his place, no matter where in this girls life, no matter how small, no matter how bad he feels, he loves her so much, he would die for her ... Then it turns saying as he leaves as he goes because it's to much .... Lyrically it says "STILL, I try to find my place" That no matter how much he tries ... He can not say good by because he is bound by love ... Plus at the end He is still waiting for her view "So tell me how it should be" Again waiting for her)
Desperate, I will crawl
Waiting for so long
No love, there is no love.
Die for anyone
What have I become?
(He will crawl, fight and scrape, wait forever for this one girl who he I in love with. He see's she can not love him as she is so lost however he will die for her but she dies first ... And he see's what he has become ... All his effort wasted? ... Still is back to loving her no matter what even though she isn't there any more)
Something's getting in the way.
Something's just about to break.
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane.
As I burn another page,
As I look the other way.
I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane.
(Again ... Still ... He loves her ... No matter what and will settle for anything, just so he can say, and know that The girl who he loves is his ... And would do anything to be with her)
There we go rather long I'm sorry but it means a lot to me this song and I wanted to fully explain my view :)
So read it and discuss lol :) xoxox -
I'd just like to say, a the diary is probably more or less a literal in reference to her life, diary referring to life, life written in diary, finding place in one's life.
Also, artist have say in their music video (something i recommend you watch).
With a song like this, a music video is most likely trying to give meaning to the lyrics and what the artist was thinking, if it was truly a piece of work and not just another album to him.
I'd say its pretty real... -
I feel that the song is about a girl who has died/committed suicide, and he is saying "if I had to I would put myself right beside you" saying he would kill himself also and asking her if she likes that, the fact he would commit for her ..then yells no,because that's not what she wants....
and he can no longer find himself in her life (diary of jane) because she is dead
and saying he lays down soar and sick, because he is grieving her death and doesn't understand.. and then asks do you like that I am depressed and stuff because he doesn't get why she would do that, or try to hurt him
and he says there is a fine line between love and hate, and is thinking that maybe she did it over a fight/conflict even tho you love someone you could also hate them
and as he burns another page as he looks the other way (possibly from other girls or suicide), like she is slowly going away from him, he trys to still love her
desperate I will crawl like he is depressed and try to crawl away from her, feeling no love
saying he will die for anyone, and look who I've become
and in the video you can notice how she falls asleep in the bathtub and wakes up at the beginning of the song.. but as she goes to look at her self in the mirror and the mirror is gone its only the frame then she runs around her house to where every mirror is and they are all gone, then she finds them and she cannot see her self (because she is dead and it is just her soul that we are seeing, and she can't see herself) -
I haven't seen the video, but I think some take the things in the video as being literal interpretations. If someone says you're burning bridges or showed it in a video does that mean we should take it literal that you've burnt a bridge? Probably not. I agree with some of the other posts that a diary is a history of someones life, and he's trying to be a part of her life but she won't let him. And the reference to Jane is probably just a vague name reference as in Jane Doe; which also keeps it from being about one person in particular so more people can relate. I know there is a name on the headstone but you can't very well put Jane Doe on a headstone in a music video. They know each other and he's in love with her but she doesn't feel the same way about him. "If I had to I would put myself right beside you/ And I don't mind If you say this love is the last time". He's telling her he'd marry her right now if she would let him. "No!" Is an obvious exclamation that she doesn't feel the same way he does. "Something's getting in the way, Something's just about to break". I think this means there's something in the way of her feeling the same way about him as he does about her, and he's just about to break as in he's fed up and it's about to drive him nuts. "I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane. As I burn another page, As I look the other way. I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane". This means that he's still trying to find a place in her life, even though it's not as her lover. Burning another page is kind of an acceptance of the situation and he's looking the other way to get on with his life and maybe find someone else to love, but he just can't stop forgetting about and being in love with "Jane", so he still keeps trying to find "his place with Jane". Anyway, that's just my interpretation. I'm sure some out there who have been in love with someone who wasn't in love with them back can relate to the song and my interpretation. This is my first ever interpretation so please be gentle with your comments. Thanks.
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Jane is very vain and has kept a diary about how her looks have attracted countless men over the years. On a particular day she falls asleep and drowns in the bath. She wakes up as a ghost not knowing she's died. She looks for mirrors all over the house as is her normal routine. She can't find the mirrors anywhere. Eventually she comes across a room full of mirrors. She can't see her reflection and realises she's dead. The only man who ever truly loved her, and was not just infatuated by her, (Ben) is left mourning for her tragic death.
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The video and song are excellent first of all! Now this is what the song and video are about.
Jane finds herself in a bathtub and she seems lost, she doesn't know why she is there.
Jane walking around it slowly dawns on her that she is not alive, since she cannot see herself is any of the mirrors in the house.
Now he is saying how he was crazy in love with her but he never knew what he meant to her, thus why he is going through her diary. Also proof she is dead is that the diary is perched on a tombstone as well has the band performing in the room with all the mirrors in it, the same one she is trying to see her reflection in (she seems to be looking around as if she hears something as the band is performing with the most energy)
He is torn between knowing the truth and not being able to handle it. His love for her is so great he displays it in the verse "Desperate I will crawl, waiting for so long" When he states " No love, there is no love. Die for anyone. what have I become" it shows that he finally found what he was looking for in the diary and it is that she didn't have the same love for him as he did for her.
With him placing the rose in the diary it is the end of a love for him. He can finally put her to rest.
Send me your ideas/arguments/comments at johnjayperefl@aol.com. I am a huge Breaking Benjamin fan so I would like the feedback!
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