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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This song is about a boy that tries to find his place in his girlfriends diary to see if she really cares about him. The mirrors in the music video means she is too obsessed with her self to love her boyfriend completely. Of course, turn the other way means look to see if the girlfriend is coming. He is sore and sick over worrying, the girls obsession with herself keeps getting in the way of their relation ship. Burn another page either means just looking through the pages or burning the ones without him in it.
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Jane is any girl i.e.: Jane Doe. The diary is a metaphor for her life. Stay with me here. Something is getting in the way of him finding his place in love and relationships. He's been there as most of us have and has been left with more questions than answers. He is not asking anyone specifically these questions, he's just shouting them to the sky to the gods to himself to whom or what ever he can in hopes of getting this frustration off his chest. He's lonely, he once thought he knew how to work a relationship. But now what has he become? He'll throw himself headlong into a relationship with anyone. To find a place in her life. The last verse : "Desperate I will crawl...What have I become" I think sums up this theory of mine. As for the video well there has to be a pretty girl right? Why can't she see herself? Because she's not there. She is no one and anyone. And the grave at the end...Dramatic effect it's a metaphoric death of past love.
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Somebody theorised to me when they first showed me the song that it was about how he was with this girl and whatever and he just sort of, I dunno got pissed with her or something and forced himself upon her. He's going through her diary to find all the entries about him, removing them, like he's trying to erase what he did to her.
I mean, the lyrics probably aren't autobiographical, but it does seem sort of fitting. Sort of.
"do you like that?
do you like that?
NO!"
just a thought. -
Agreeing with pieces of what everyone else said.
But in the video, the girl (Jane) is touching herself a lot and looking into the mirror where she isn't being seen. I don't know how to interpret that, but just throwing it out there for other people to maybe come up with something. Because if they were trying to show that she's not seeing herself, and worried, she could be looking down at herself, or rubbing her arms. But she's specifically putting a hand to the side of her throat, arm, heart or whatever that would be. Anyone got ideas on that? -
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.
I think this part talks about how something is always in the way of being with Jane, and something's about to break is about how desperate he is about the whole situation.
the plac ein the diary, means that even though all those problems, he's still trying to earn his place in teh girl's life.
Try to find out what makes you tick.
As I lie down
Sore and sick.
Do you like that?
Do you like that?
He tries to find out what the girl likes, and how to get her attention, but the whole situation makes him sad, and more desperate. He also wonders what the girl would say about his feelings
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 resents the girl a little bit, because she doesn't like him, or she doesn't notice him. But he doesn't mind.
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.
Even though he tries to forget about her, to look the other way when it comes to her, and to let it go, he can't help to keep searching for a place in the life of the girl. And he wants to know what he could do about it.
Desperate, I will crawl
Waiting for so long
No love, there is no love.
Die for anyone
What have I become?
He's desperate, and he's "crawling" for jane, waiting so long for her affection, but she won't return those feelings. Now, he would just die for anyone, since he can't have Jane, and he realizes how low he has fallen. -
Well, this is only my interpretation, and mostly likely influenced by personal experience. I think this is about a boy that really loves this girl, Jane, although he doesn't know if he plays a part in her life, and if he does'nt he wants to, and tries to. But many things get in the way, and even though he tries to ignore the situation and move on, he still tries to be a part of the girls life. He wants to move on, but he still loves Jane, and the song shows you the despair and pain of loving someone, not being loved in returned, and basically, being ignored or failing into getting the other person to notice you.
I feel really identified with this interpretation, because this is the same situation I'm going through. I've been in love with this guy for such a long time, and even though I'm trying to look the other way, and move over (burn another page) I cannot just let go, and I'm still trying to find my place in that man's diary, or in that man's life, actually.
The dead girl thing, could also be, but I think the interpretation is personal stuff. -
I think this song has to deal with a guy who likes/loves a girl. He is willing to do anything for her no matter what but there is something getting in the way from them being together completely like he isn't good enough for her. He wants to do everything and anything for her but something is keeping them apart. He is trying to figure out why or how he plays a role in her life (Diary) . He wants her to tell him how things should be he will do anything for her. He is so desperate and waiting for her and trying his hardest to do everything right. He crawls just to find there is no love and he is basically dying inside for her all in vain. When it gives reference to him burning the pages of the diary he is trying to forget about all of what they had and her because in the end no of it really mattered that it was a false love and she never really wanted him.
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I think that Jane is the girl that doesn't see herself in the mirrors is they way ben sees her in his dreams. I think that the diary is a cover up of the real reason why he has writing the song. He loves her in a way but has no reason why he can not find her. Maybe he thinks she's lost but I think he can hear her say it would be nice to met you I need your help can you find me and he saying if I had to I would put myself right beside you and he's trying to hear what she says when she's talking about herself so he wants to know what makes her tick but he lies down sore and sick because he's stressing about her so much. I think that he's desperate considering that he will crawl to her if he finds her and his way of getting to her he will because he has waited so long to find this love of his life but can not see her so he asks her how it should be between them. He wants to get to the bottom of all of this confusion he wants to meet her.
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I believe that he loves a girl but she doesn't treat him right, hence "look the other way" and he keeps trying to find the good in the relationship by "burning another page" or ignoring the facts. I had a relationship like that once... It sucked lol
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Just felt like adding that in terms of the video, the grave you see at the end need not to be her actual death but symbolic for the end of their relationship..
To sum it up:
This guy has a relationship with this girl, he obviously wants more out of it than her. The relationship isn't all good (fine line between love and hate), had a lot of ups and downs, very strong ups and downs, but making it worth for the guy. He wants to be with her and only her, but she does not seem to be on the same level. In total anger he then rants sarcastically that he would stay with her till the end, possibly marry her. The fact that he repeats the questions shows his anger. He knows the answer, as he grunts no at the end of the second verse, so he's not actually asking her. He is convinced she feels different.
"Something's getting in the way, something's just about to break"
The relationship is just about to break, he doesn't know why she wants to cut it off, but he feels something is wrong. Maybe he thinks she met someone else (not necessarily seeing her)
"Try to find out what makes you tick
As I lie down
Sore and sick
Do you like that?
Do you like that?"
He still wants to fix the relationship and is desperate to do anything for her to please her. He's messed up because of the situation, where he has no clue what to do. Again the anger and desperation show in the double question. Maybe even demeaning as in, he's going through a serious down in this song and is trying to pick up an argument with her to confront her with the fact that he's not getting enough back from her.
"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"
Actually we fast forward in time her, as this part of the chorus is when the breakup actually occurred and he is trying to get over her. He "burns another page", i.e. He tries to forget about her, and as he "looks the other way", he tries to do something completely different to forget about her and to move on, but still he only wants to get back with her.
"Desperate, I will crawl
Waiting for so long
No love, there is no love
Die for anyone
What have I become"
This is also after the break-up, quite some time after. All this time he cannot forget about her and tries to get her back, but she obviously doesn't want to. There is no love, meaning no love from her to him. Die for anyone is to be interpreted as he is so angry inside with her that he no longer calls her someone, but claims he would die for anyone, meaning that he is willing to go so far for this one girl that is not worth it, that it feels like he would die for just about everyone. He then reflects upon his period of utter distress after the break-up and realises what has become of him, an angry and hurt guy who should have moved on a long time before.
The diary of jane is not literal, it's her life, including her thoughts. The song ends with the chorus, implying that despite the self-reflection, he Still cannot get over her. -
Just my two cents worth in here but the Jane part could represent any girl out there if you think about it "John Doe" "Jane Doe" that kind of thing and the "I STILL try to find my place in the diary of Jane" part definitely says to me that she doesn't care too much about the guy compared to how he cares about her and he's angry because he says "as I burn another page" I understand that that could be just the expression form but its a strange choice of words
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He wants to mean so much to her, that she constantly writes about him in his diary.
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The song is about a man who has deep-seeded feelings for a girl who doesn't reciprocate such emotions as strongly as he does. She is elusive and he can't figure out why she is so aloof towards him. He was to get closer to her but is in a constant struggle to get anywhere with her "I would put myself right beside you, would you like that?" His attempts to get closer to her "I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane" don't amount to anything true "as I burn another page". Every time he thinks he achieves a breakthrough it is foiled "something is getting in the way, something is just about to break". It causes him much distress and he comes to the conclusion that she has "no love" for him and throws him into desperation. He needs someone to love him as he loves another, he would "die for anyone" to reciprocate the love he has. After realizing his desperation, he is concerned by what he has turned into "what have I become". In spite of all of this he still desires to be with her "I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane"
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Has anyone thought that mabey Ben just makes songs by putting lines into a hat then as he draws them out, he writes them down? The Diary of Jane could possibly have no meaning what so ever. Look at Ben's previous songs, all most all of them have random screaming (just look at the end of Lady Bug). Not everything has a "deeper" meaning. Plus the whole connection to Jane Bryan could be like RHCP's Dani, just a girl to sing about.
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