What do you think Jar of Hearts means?

Christina Perri: Jar of Hearts Meaning

Album cover for Jar of Hearts album cover

Song Released: 2010


Jar of Hearts Lyrics

I know I can’t take one more step towards you,
Cause all that's waiting is regret.
Don’t you know I’m not your ghost anymore?
You lost the love I loved the most.

I learned to live, half alive,
And now you want me one more time.

And who...

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  1. anonymous
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     Nov 23rd 2013 !⃝

    I love this song you just hear the sadness in her voice. She sings of a man who can't be true to one. She must have fallen in love with him and he hurt her. This is what he does he needs to much attention. When he gets it and the women fall for him he moves on the next but trying to still hang on to the others. "Collecting his jar of hearts". I can relate I have been there before and watched the man who stole my heart say the same words to others right in front of me. It was so hurtful it takes time to heal. "Your gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul, but don't come back to me". Perfect words for this type of person he has an Icey soul but one I can almost feel sorry for. Someone like this is lacking feelings and needs emotional help. Hurting others and leaving a path of broken hearts.

  2. anonymous
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     Nov 11th 2013 !⃝

    I agree with the May 3, 2012 poster completely. Some men are like that and they will never be cited. You can offer them all the love you have and it will never be enough. They just move on to the next victim. Whatever or whoever can give them a fix.

  3. anonymous
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     Aug 3rd 2013 !⃝

    Well my interpretation maybe off but when I hear it, it reminds me of a situation I was in. So I'm going to tell you a little story. There was this guy that I knew that became friends with. I will call him "Ben". After a while I got to really like Ben and he kept flirting with me and I flirted back. After a while Ben got a girlfriend and he started to ignore me and I was shy so I never could start a conversation with him. One day we happened to be going on a trip with a whole bunch of other kids and his gf wasn't there because she was to young. This is when the major flirting started. I think the only reason Ben was flirting with me is because there was no one else to flirt with there. I think my story really relates to this song because the song is about a guy that the singer used to date? and later he cheated on her or ditched her. Afterwards he tried to get her back but she didn't want to be hurt again.

  4. anonymous
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     Jun 17th 2013 !⃝

    The first time I heard this song I was immediately reminded of the book, Howl's Moving Castle, for several reasons. In the book it said that Howl collected the hearts of young girls, and Sophie pictured him keeping them in a jar in his bedroom. Howl was notorious for breaking hearts, certainly "leaving scars" and "tearing love apart." Also, at one point in the story Howl catches a cold from going out in the rain each day to court a woman Sophie is sure will hold his attention for only a short while, like the rest of them, relating to the part "You're going to catch a cold, from the ice inside your soul." I'm certainly not saying the song is about the book; the concept in general doesn't really fit. But perhaps certain parts were inspired by it?

  5. anonymous
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     Jun 5th 2013 !⃝

    In reality, it’s about Scorpion and Sub-Zero’s fight to the death in Mortal Kombat! Forget backmasking, Perri has planted a hidden message to Mortal Kombat fans everywhere in a sad song about a cheating boyfriend. Don’t believe me? Just look at the lyrics:

    No, I can’t take one more step towards you
    ‘Cause all that’s waiting is regret
    Don’t you know I’m not your ghost anymore
    You lost the love I loved the most

    As the singer, Perri’s role in the song is that of Scorpion. In the first few lines of the song, she admits to being a ghost (Scorpion is considered a “spectre” in Mortal Kombat lore) and lamenting a lost love (Sub-Zero killed Scorpion’s family prior to the events of the first tournament).

    I learned to live, half alive
    And now you want me one more time

    As a spectre, Scorpion can be considered “half alive.” After avenging his family’s death by finishing Sub-Zero in the first tournament, he again sees the Lin Kuei ninja in Mortal Kombat II. This new Sub-Zero (the original’s younger brother), wants to find the killer of his brother.

    Who do you think you are?
    Runnin’ ’round leaving scars
    Collecting your jar of hearts
    And tearing love apart

    It’s in the chorus that Perri truly hammers home the Scorpion/Sub-Zero connection. Perri (as Scorpion) is confused about seeing Sub-Zero again, as if to say, “Who do you think you are? I killed Sub-Zero with my bare hands.” But regardless of who the man in blue is, Scorpion cannot stand to allow this new Sub-Zero to continue fighting (“Runnin’ ’round leaving scars”) and killing (collecting a literal “jar of hearts”) other innocent people (“tearing love apart”).

    You’re gonna catch a cold
    From the ice inside your soul
    So don’t come back for me
    Who do you think you are?

    It’s shown in the Mortal Kombat series that the entire Lin Kuei clan can’t command the power of cold. Only Sub-Zero can because of something icy in his very being. Perri’s use of the word “soul” (a word that appears in Mortal Kombat frequently) to denote this power is a clear Mortal Kombat reference.

    I hear you’re asking all around
    If I am anywhere to be found
    But I have grown too strong
    To ever fall back in your arms

    Once again, the new Sub-Zero is searching for his brother’s killer. Scorpion knows this, but he also knows that his increased hell powers can take on any challenger.

    It took so long just to feel alright
    Remember how to put back the light in my eyes

    Due to his status as a spectre, Scorpion’s head has been replaced with a flaming skull. He, quite literally, has light in his eyes.

  6. anonymous
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     Jun 5th 2013 !⃝

    This is from the horse mouth is not about a guy is real life, she is a gamer and she love Mortal Kombat and the song is about Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Its because Sub-Zero killed Scorpion family and clan, and "I learned to live half alive and now you want me one more time" that is Scoping a spectrum, and knowing that Sub-Zero want to finishing off, and "You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul" that is because Sub-Zero is a ice ninja. If you know the story between these two Characters you can see what she was doing with the song. She know's how it sound but that is the truth story how this song came to be. It's not a love song about a girl and a boy. It's about two friend's and one back stab the other one.

  7. anonymous
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     Mar 18th 2013 !⃝

    This song is about a girl who is his girlfriend and he cheats on her and continues to cheat and brakes her heart and he cheats on other girls like a player and plays with their emotions and he wants her back but she cant go back. I love this song:)<3

  8. anonymous
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     Jan 23rd 2013 !⃝

    This is about a guy who is a total player , And she does not like him anymore because he broke her heart and now he wants her back and she refuses, This is just like this kid in my school , he went out with a bunch of girls and he hit on me I said yes got my heart broken in a couple of days and now he wants me back and I will refuse this time for sure , I think this song is a huge inspiration for girls like me , love this song:)

  9. Kaz
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     May 19th 2012 !⃝

    I agree with the people who say this song is about a narcissist (in the pathological sense). I have dealt with one over the last couple of years and the lyrics in this song ring so true and yes had an empowering affect on me too!

  10. anonymous
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     May 3rd 2012 !⃝

    I agree with #2. This is a metaphor -- not about a particular relationship, but a particular KIND of relationship with the unhuman, the emotional dead among us -- psychopaths, Axis II, "Cluster B" personality disorders. They have various clinical names, and come in various degrees of severity, and they are not all serial killers as depicted in the meda. What they ARE is emotional vampires, and SOUL serial killers. I should know: I was involved with one and I am a therapist now. Beware: you will not always detect them, they are real, and you will never forget once you've lived to tell the tale (or the song). Read "Without Conscience" by Robert Hare.

  11. anonymous
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     Apr 18th 2012 !⃝

    It abuot a girl who was very much hurt and now she is not wiiling to go back and get hurt again. The guy now ask around if she is anywhere to be found but she has gone too strong to ever go back to his arms. She want mothing to do with him she even wishes to turn back the time because the guy broke all his promises.........

  12. anonymous
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     Apr 1st 2012 !⃝

    I believe this song is about love and it can be for man or wonan that have had there hearts broken by someone that took there love for granted. Basically they break up and the one that got there heart broken beyond repair and he or she is struggling to go on cuz they feel half alive cuz he or she stole there heart and they don't feel normal anymore cuz part of them is missing and gone. They finally get strong enough to say no you can't come back now cuz they already stole there heart and whats left of themselves is trying to move on with there lives cuz they feel half alive cuz he or she has there heart and they still love one another and they feel empty without the other but they are to afraid to work things out in fear that there heart will just end up in the jar again
    There can be many meanings to this song

  13. anonymous
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     Feb 17th 2012 !⃝

    I think it means Cancer. think about it, who do u think you are going around leaving scars?! And he says dont come back to me, cuz she had someone in her famliy have cancer, and she doesnt want it to come back to her! THINK ABOUT IT!

  14. leejustine
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     Dec 22nd 2011 !⃝

    I guess this woman realized that the man she loved the most was cheated to her. He dont deserves to her love. She gave everything to make his happy,however,this man has another love already and he didnt feel the love she gave to him. For her realization, thats the right time to set his free and it wont happen again what he did to her.(If love a person dont give everything to her/him because if you do it, you cant assure if she/he will stay to you forever.)

  15. anonymous
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     Nov 1st 2011 !⃝

    i think it was about a player who used to date her and then dumped her for another woman and dumped her too and so on, only to want Perri back, but she didn't want anything to do with him

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