Damien Rice: Nine Crimes Meaning
Song Released: 2006
Nine Crimes Lyrics
This is not what I do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be thinking of you
It's the wrong time
For somebody new
It's a small crime
And I've got no excuse
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is...
-
About the gun issue, which I find the most hard to understand.
I try to read it with least metaphoric explanations possible, assuming she talks to the guy she cheats with in this segment.
You ask someone else to take your gun when you don't count on yourself to use it cautiously, or to use it at all when needed. She conditions it on the gun being loaded, meaning, please take my gun - intervene in my very personal realm, when you see I am about to shoot it (you load the gun if you are going to use it). I guess that she means that if he sees she is about to fall apart (meaning committing suicide, or metaphoric suicide), then she allows him to intervene, meaning take control of her. The gun seems to be her power to hurt herself using the guilt (which is the ammunition). This seems prima facie as a call for him to guard her.
but then we proceed to "if you don't shoot it, how am I supposed to hold it" - if the guy will not shoot the gun in order to aid her with her suicide(!), why she bothers to carry it. The meaning is: when I am about to fall apart, please help me because I will not be able to do so. If you can't promise me that, it means you don't love me enough, so this cheating isn't worth it, meaning it's not fair that I pay this price of building this guilt inside me.
Since he repeats these lines afterwards, it seems to me they both ask the other one to be true enough about their feelings in order that the price will be worth it, on one hand, and if the price will be to high mentally, then the other needs to help to finish it, on the other hand.
Disclaimer: I am not a native speaker. Actually, I am Israeli :) -
I think this song is not about a couple at all.
I think its about abortion. -
Nine Crimes
“Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I'd do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be thinking of you
It's the wrong time
For somebody new
It's a small crime
And I've got no excuse”
She feels like she has been discarded and put out with the trash;
He has made her feel like this for so long, she feels like a burden and that he should leave her there; guilt overwhelms her from not being enough & being rejected.
She is angry at her self for feeling like this ~ "This is not what I'd do"
She wants to move on with someone else but is haunted by him.
He has destroyed her confidence and she now questions every decision and thought.
“Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright, yeah, with you?”
Is that alright, she is still asking for permission to own to her own feelings.
Validation for loving him that it’s not her fault he discarded her.
The reference to the gun is sexual in nature.
He has rejected her and she wants to be wanted.
The gun is loaded, she is longing for the intimate connection of sex.
He won’t shoot it; can she give it away?
And since he doesn’t want her she wants his permission to seek it elsewhere.
Trying to spark a flame of recognition for what he is about to lose.
“Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I'd do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be cheating on you
It's the wrong time
she's pulling me through
It's a small crime
And I've got no excuse”
He knows he’s losing something but can’t bring himself to admit it or fix it.
He moves to another woman as a distraction from the reality of how he’s hurt her.
The guilt he feels over his own lack of regard for her is palpable.
He is seeking her forgiveness, but only to leave with a clean conscience.
His desire to fix the situation does not match his ability.
"Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright
Is that alright with you?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?
No..."
They both acknowledge that its not alright, and hasn’t been for a long time but are both too exhausted to take one more step towards each other. -
Nine Crimes
“Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I'd do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be thinking of you
It's the wrong time
For somebody new
It's a small crime
And I've got no excuse”
She feels like she has been discarded and put out with the trash;
He has made her feel like this for so long, she feels like a burden and that he should leave her there; guilt overwhelms her from not being enough & being rejected.
She is angry at her self for feeling like this ~ "This is not what I'd do"
She wants to move on with someone else but is haunted by him.
He has destroyed her confidence and she now questions every decision and thought.
“Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright, yeah, with you?”
Is that alright, she is still asking for permission to own to her own feelings.
Validation for loving him that it’s not her fault he discarded her.
The reference to the gun is sexual in nature.
He has rejected her and she wants to be wanted.
The gun is loaded, she is longing for the intimate connection of sex.
He won’t shoot it; can she give it away?
And since he doesn’t want her she wants his permission to seek it elsewhere.
Trying to spark a flame of recognition for what he is about to lose.
“Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I'd do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be cheating on you
It's the wrong time
she's pulling me through
It's a small crime
And I've got no excuse”
He knows he’s losing something but can’t bring himself to admit it or fix it.
He moves to another woman as a distraction from the reality of how he’s hurt her.
The guilt he feels over his own lack of regard for her is palpable.
He is seeking her forgiveness, but only to leave with a clean conscience.
His desire to fix the situation does not match his ability.
"Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright?
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded
Is that alright
Is that alright with you?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you?
No..."
They both acknowledge that its not alright, and hasn’t been for a long time but are both too exhausted to take one more step towards each other.
-
Like many, this song may have many meanings, and what it is to one person it may not be to another.
I love this song for myself because I am deeply in love with a man, we had a beautiful relationship, and he let things get in the way, he broke up. I can never imagine loving anyone like I love him, even now, years later.
For my own part, I guess the need to be loved and find a companion has led me to date a few other guys, but always I thought of him. I keep realizing it's the wrong time for somebody new.
To deal with the breakup, he slept with someone else, and I found out about it a while later.
I know we both still love each other, but half of us is too stubborn to admit it. -
"Give my gun away when it's loaded..." - I interpreted this as a metaphor for their hearts being "loaded" with feelings for someone that they shouldn't have feelings for. The "loaded gun" has the potential to hurt someone (the partner that is being cheated on).
"If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it..." -
They won't act on the feelings ("if you won't shoot it") but still feel unfaithful. At the same time they can't "hold" onto the heart/gun that is so loaded with emotions that aren't "right". -
what about the 9 crimes???
i can think about cheating....she cheats him...he cheats her...they both cheat themselves!!they both are in love and they don't express their feelings!and they waste their feelings...there's no space for something new in their life...an the most tragical thing..they both feel the love..and how it hurts, not being together!!i think the videoclip is an icon of these "crimes"... -
This song isn't about cheating , but about moving on after a relationship ends. Both the man and woman are trying to move on with new lovers but thoughts of each other keep on invading.
Leave me out with the waste, this is not what I do, : She's telling her old her boyfriend that he should forget about her, move on (leave her out with the waste). The word choice suggests that she feels dirty and sullied by what she's doing. She explains that this one-night stand with whatever guy she's with isn't what she normally does (presumably she's doing it to get over him).
It's the wrong kind of place to be thinking of you: She keeps on thinking about her old boyfriend, even while having sex with/ being with this new guy
It's the wrong time for somebody new: it's too soon for a new relationship
It's a small crime, and I've got no excuse: Thinking of her ex while having sex with someone new is her secret little indiscretion, but she knows that it's wrong.
Is that alright? Give my gun away when it's loaded?: A metaphor for her heart. It's a loaded gun which is going to hurt someone (i.e. The new person she's with)
Is that alright? If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it: Until she can get free of her ex, she can't give her heart to someone else or keep from hurting someone else.
Leave me out with the waste; This is not what I do
: Meanwhile, the guy is also acting uncharacteristically to get over his ex-girlfriend. He likewise tells her to forget about him.
It's the wrong kind of place; To be cheating on you: He feels his actions, apparently with some sketchy person in some sketchy motel room, taint the memory of what he had with his ex-girlfriend. Indicative of the guilt felt when moving on if you're still in love with your ex. He feels like he's cheating on her and the memory of their relationship.
It's the wrong time; She's pulling me through; It's a small crime; And I've got no excuse: the ex-boyfriend is finding comfort in faceless sex to help him get over his ex. He feels like this random sex is wrong but its a 'small crime' to get him through the break up.
Is that alright? I give my gun away when it's loaded.Is that alright? : In this case, I actually think 'give my gun away' is a metaphor for sex. He's giving his body away just to anyone to get over his ex-girlfriend. He's using sex as a means of hurting himself (because he feels it's almost like 'cheating' on his ex) and his partner who he's just using for sex. -
This song hits a complete chord for me as I have just been involved in an affair and I am the person he had an affair with.. it got very complicated as children ended up involved (both me and his girlfriend fell pregnant) and he chose her..
The female part could be me singing it, I don't normally go for unavailable guys, it was the wrong time to be thinking of him as he was unavailable..
The male could be his point of view.. 'It's the wrong kinda place to be cheating on you, it's the wrong time, she's pulling me through'... I know I pulled him through a lot of bad stuff going on in his life at the time..
Anyways, that's just my interpretation and this song makes me ball my eyes out because I still love him.. -
I think this is a song about a severe arguement between a couple. The girl is hurt, feels like waste, and yet she cant stop thinking about her boyfriend, even though he hurts her so much. She then goes on to talk to herself, saying its the wrong time for somebody new...she cant leave him when she feels this bad, and to get with someone else would be like giving someone a loaded gun that is dangerous and has the potential to wound. But if she cant feel loved again, if she cant fire this metaphorical gun, how is she supposed to hold onto all this hurt? So is that alright with you conscience? Is it ok to do this? To move on?
As for him, I think he's handled it in a different way. He feels hurt by this too, but he is finding comfort in the arms of someone else. He feels so guilty and destroyed by everything but 'she's bringing him through'. So is that alright with you conscience? To do this knowing its like a loaded gun? If I dont do this and feel loved, how can I deal with this hurt? How can I hold it?
That's what i think anyway, to be honest I originally thought it was about sex, haha ;) -
Both people are still in a relationship with each other (but, who knows for how long). Now, first things first, as an analysis, this is normally how a man cheats on his spouse, g/f, significant other. He is usually in love with his partner, but his sexual 'needs take over and he succumbs to them.
The song has sexual overtones. Throughout rock history, guns symbolically are cocks. A loaded gun is a cock that needs to reach orgasm, needs release from sexual tension. The only difference with this song, is the woman has turned the tables on the usual cheating male, to show women have 'those' feelings to. She is saying to her partner, "Is that all right with you?" Because, in history, women are suppose to understand cheating males.
The lyrics:
Hers:
Leave me out with the waste (Feel like trash, I cheated)
This is not what I'd do (I really love you, I do not cheat)
It's the wrong kind of place (Situation of having sex with somebody else)
To be thinking of you (in this situation she would think of him and feel guilt, and good sex and guilt don't mix)
It's the wrong time
For somebody new (they are in a relationship, why find someone new?)
It's a small crime (it is 'only' sex, so forgive me, please)
And I've got no excuse (just sexual urges took over)
His:
Leave me out with the waste (Feel like trash for cheating)
This is not what I'd do (I love you, My heart does not cheat)
It's the wrong kind of place (having sex with another)
To be cheating on you (NOTE: he says he is 'cheating', she does not above, she say wrong place to be 'thinking' of you. Men say when they cheat (have sex with another), they do not think of their partners. She on the other hand above is thinking about him, making the cheating more difficult.)
It's the wrong time
She's pulling me through (It could be read the person male is cheating with is helping him with some crisis in his life) Men tend to turn to other women to fulfill a need partner is not fulfilling, including sex)
It's a small crime (I still love you, forgive me)
And I've got no excuse (just had to get off)
Now the chorus for both male and female:
Is that alright? (is it alright with you that I cheated for the purpose of just getting off, I still LOVE you.)
Give my gun away when it's loaded (The 'need' 'urge' had to be taken care of.)
Is that alright? (Sex is not love...I still LOVE you.)
If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it (If you are not there to take care of my needs, how am I suppose to deal with the tension and stress)
Is that alright?
Give my gun away when it's loaded (have sex with another)
Is that alright
With you?
Ending:
The ending verses are asking you to dig deeper into your soul. You have heard the justification for cheating, now if it is alright for males to justify this, how do they feel when the one they love does the same? Love is still love. The cheating was only sex. Is it alright?
The lovers/partners in this song after soul searching say.......No. It is not worth the pain you put your partner through for one (or more) moments of gratification.
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright?
Is that alright with you? (Is it alright with YOU that I cheat with another, I do still love YOU)
No... -
What are you all talking about? All of you are being way too overly-complex-trying-too-hard. It's SO simple and blatant, yet you still have to grasp the meaning?
Have any of you BEEN in a relationship where ones' cheated?
It's simple, it's BOTH of their perspectives; guilt, shame, confusion, regret. Take it how you will, but hearing it, it's not them together, it's two perspectives: Male-Female.
It's simply a truly AMAZING song, dealing with feelings you endure when you cheat.
-
My interpretation of this song is at one point morals and the "true self" that is loyal, is sacrificed for selfish whims. That even though you feel that you are happy with your "other", temptation is getting the best of you. And while looking to yourself (your conscience) for answers that may yield the most redeeming result, it may be to late to take the deed of adultery or dishonesty back. And then all you are left with is regret.
-
This is just my interpretation. I'm not a literary analyst at all and my interpretation can be up for other opinions :
I believe this song isn't so much about cheating. i feel like it's about two people's inner struggle of trying to moving on from such a strong love and yearn for one another that just wasnt enough. Each one just couldn't express their feelings for one another and now need some way to move on with someone else. They're both trying to put their love behind and start fresh with someone new but cant give away their heart to someone else just yet.
The loaded gun is a metaphor for their heart. The gun is their heart that they both used to hurt one another and yet it's still loaded with their love. Therefore, they cant give it away to someone new.
Essentially, their love just wasnt enough and are trying to move on even though they desperately want one another.
lyric by lyric analysis:
leave me out with the waste
this is not what i do
It's the wrong kind of place to be thinking of you
--i cant seem to move on and get over you even though i'm with someone else.
give my gun away when it's loaded
is that alright
--how can they give someone else their heart when their heart already belongs to someone else..
if you don't shoot it how am i supposed to hold it?
is that alright? yeah
==if you don't express you're feelings in your heart how is this supposed to last.
-
Our story begins with a woman who is committing that highest of relationship sins. She is cheating on her partner. She knows how wrong this is, and is thinking to herself that is nothing more than trash. But she can’t seem to stop herself. Her relationship is facing a rocky point, and that’s why she started her affair. Now she’s picturing the other man while she’s being physically intimate with her true partner. Hence, that is a very wrong place to be thinking of someone else. Referring to cheating as a ‘small’ crime, is to me ironic, and self-deprecating. She knows it’s no small thing, but maybe by calling it small when it first began, she was able at first to justify it.
Next she asks, partially rhetorically, and partially desperate for the true answer, if what she’s doing is permissible somehow. Is there any way what she’s doing is alright? She almost wants her significant other to find out, and place the blame on her shoulders, and tell what she did was wrong. This is what the reference to the gun could mean. She wants her significant other to scream and yell, and react, to prove that their failing relationship means something to him; that her cheating can cause a reaction to him. If he doesn’t blame her, how is she supposed to forgive herself, or move on, or do basically anything?
Now we come to the male half of the tryst. I see two options for his story. First. He has recently ended a relationship with someone he cared very much about, but it ended badly. Even though he’s no longer with her, being with a new woman feels like cheating to him. And, as his lover is already in a relationship, the knowledge that he is letting her cheat as well is driving him kind of crazy. Second option. He is, just as she is, still in a relationship and is cheating. He’s become so involved with his lover, that being with his significant other now feels like cheating to him. He doesn’t want to hurt her, but he can’t resist the temptation of his lover.
He also is looking for the answer. Why are they doing this? Is it really as wrong as it seems? But how can it be so wrong, when it feels quite right at points? Both of them wish for someone to stop them, to scream at them that what they’re doing is wrong. To have some definitive proof that they are in error. As no one has noticed, or placed the blame yet, they feel kind of desperate.
In the end, they realize the truth. Despite everything, despite the pain in both of their relationships, their tryst is doomed. They are forced to admit to themselves, that no, it’s not alright.
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