Jack's Mannequin: Dark Blue Meaning
Song Released: 2005
Dark Blue Lyrics
I don't (don't know) what you could possibly expect under this condition so
I'll wait (I'll wait) for the ambulance to come (ambulance to come)
Pick us up off the floor
What...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:Now I could be completely wrong in this interpretation, but here's what I think:
Now the first verse, 'i have you breathing down my neck/i don't know what you could possibly expect under these conditions', I believe is saying that this girl that the author is with has such high expectations of him and out of the relationship. The next part, 'I'll wait for the ambulence to come/pick us up off the floor', is saying that because her expectations are so high, everything was meant to fail in the long run, and he's just hoping that someone or something can save them before time runs out.
The bridge to the chorus, 'what did you possibly expect under these conditions so.../slow down/this night's a perfect shade of dark blue', is the author informing his loved one that she needs to let her guard down and take in the beauty of what they have. Since blue is assosiated with feelings of saddness and melancholy, he's telling her that even though they were bound for disaster and sadness in the end, they can still appreciate what they have together before it's too late.
The rest of the chorus, 'have you ever been alone in a crowded room when I'm here with you/i said the world could be burning down/dark blue (dark blue)/have you ever been alone in a crowded room/well I'm here with you/i said the world could be burning till there's nothing but dark blue', is more obviously stating that he's still very much in love with her and that the world could completely turn inside-out or fall to the ground, but she'd still have him.
In the next verse, the author himself is admitting that he's taking the pressure of his relationship too seriously and needs to slow down to enjoy the sight.
This next part, the whole 'boxing the stars' part, yeah. That's confusing, but here's what I think. Well, many people say things like 'it was written in the stars' and metaphors like that. 'it was written in the stars' means basically that it was fate for something to happen. The author is saying by 'we were boxing/we were boxing the stars/we were boxing/you were swinging for mars' that they were both trying to fight fate by staying together as long as they had. 'and then the water reached the west coast/and took the power lines/and it was me and you (this could last forever)/and the whole town under water/there was nothing we could do/it was dark blue' I assume that the author means by 'the water reached the west coast', he means that disaster finally struck them (most likely where they lived) and that they couldn't fight the stars any longer, thus making everything a bit sadder and bluer, so to speak. Hence 'it was dark blue'. -
Really? Does nobody get that this song is really about global warming? It's actually kind of obvious...
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I have (I have) you breathing down my neck (breathing down my neck).
I don't (don't know) what you could possibly expect under this condition so
I'll wait (I'll wait) for the ambulance to come (ambulance to come)
Pick us up off the floor.
What did you possibly expect under this condition so?
[The guy has everything he wants with the girl. Everything is perfect for him, but she is not fully satisfied. She wants to move faster in it than he does, so he tells her to slow down.]
Slow down...this night's a perfect shade of
Dark blue (dark blue).
Have you ever been alone in a crowded room when I'm here with you?
I said the world could be burning down
Dark blue (dark blue).
Have you ever been alone in a crowded room well I'm here with you?
I said the world could be burning 'til there's nothing but dark blue..
Just dark blue.
[Everything is perfect. His amount of love is just right for now. He notices no one but her no matter where they are. He feels like the world is burning with love.]
This flood (this flood) is slowly rising up swallowing the ground
Beneath my feet, Tell me how anybody thinks under this condition so
I'll swim (I'll swim) as the water rises up, the sun is sinking down
And now all I can see are the planets in a row
Suggesting it's best that I slow down.
[The girl still isn’t satisfied. She still doesn’t love him like that, and she feels that she won’t unless they speed things up. The guy begins to understand the girl and is feeling pressure from everything. He takes some time to think.]
This night's a perfect shade of
Dark blue (dark blue).
Have you ever been alone in a crowded room when I'm here with you?
I said the world could be burning (burning) down
Dark blue (dark blue).
Have you ever been alone in a crowded room? Well I'm here with you.
I said the world could be burning dark blue.
[See above]
We were boxing.
We were boxing the stars.
We were boxing (we were boxing).
You were swinging for Mars,
And then the water reached the West Coast
And took the power lines (the power lines),
And it was me and you (this could last forever),
And the whole town under water.
There was nothing we could do.
It was dark blue.
[He was fighting to keep a failing relationship going, but they knew it was no use. A flood of emotions poured out, and they both knew it was over.]
Dark blue (dark blue)
Have you ever been alone in a crowded room well I'm here with you
I said the world could be burning (burning) down
Dark blue
Have you ever been alone in a crowded room well I'm here with you
I said the room could be burning now there's nothing but dark blue
[He now feels all alone. His world is crashing down. He still loves her dearly, but he knows that she doesn’t love him.]
If you've ever been alone in the dark blue
If you've ever been alone you'll know (you'll know)
[You’d understand his feelings if you loved someone who didn’t love you back.] -
I think the part where he says we were boxing the stars/but you were swinging for mars means they were have a fun, light relationship but she wanted more and more commitment and was going to fast, while he just wanted a fun 'fling'
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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To finish the last part of my interpretation, I think that the bridge part is very confusing. The metaphors could mean anything. But I think that they were just foucusing on the stars, that's what the line, "We were boxing the stars" could mean. Then the line, "you were swinging for Mars.." could mean that she wanted to go right past where he wanted to stay in their relationship, maybe past the stars. Then the next part...."And then the water reached the west coast, and took the power lines. And it was me and you (this could last forever). And the whole town under water, there was nothing we could do." That might mean that many tragic events are happening in this world, so she finally agrees to slow down and in a way their relationship progresses with what they have now.
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I think that it's about a girl and a guy that are dating and the girl wants so much out of their relationship. That's what the line, "I have...you breathing down my neck...I don't know what you could possibly expect under this condition," could mean, that she is trying really hard to get more out of him but he just doesn't think its working. The line in the verse, "I'll wait...for the ambulance to come...and pick us up off the floor." means that he is waiting for someone to come and save him before she gets mad. "Slow down, this nights the perfect shade of dark blue..." could mean that he is telling her to stop pushing their relationship to go faster and just enjoy that night.
But while their out he just tells her, "Look its a beautiful night, just enjoy what we have now...isn't me being here with you enough?" That's pretty much the whole chorus. The line at the end of the chorus is "The world could be burning till there's nothing but dark blue," that could mean that there could be nothing else in the world besides me and you and the dark blue color of the sky tonight.
In the second verse, the line "This flood...is slowly rising up swallowing the ground beneath my feet, tell me how could anyone think under this condition." could mean that he's being put under the pressure by his girlfriend to move their relationship faster and to the next step, but he doesn't know what to choose because he loves her but he isn't sure that they're meant to be. He decides to move faster but his mind is telling him that its the wrong thing to do and that they should slow down, "And now all I can see are the planets in a row suggesting its best that I slow down..." -
I think it is sad that people feel the need to assume that their interpretation is the only correct one. It all depends on a person's experience, and the way they feel is obviously biased. Sure, the writer wrote it to mean one thing... but unless you ask him personally.. you can't determine its true meaning.
Personally... I lost my virginity to this song, so it has a much deeper and possibly completely different meaning than someone listening to it in another situation.
So calm down people. Take a chill pill. And. Just enjoy the song. Take it how you'd like it. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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I think 'dark blue' is a metaphor for feeling sadness/depression etc.
'i have you breathing down my neck' you being the feeling of sadness etc.
'have you ever been alone in a crowded room, well I'm here with you' - where you're not the only one whos feeling this way
and at the end 'it was me & you, and the whole town underwater, there was nothing we could do' .. when depression hits author & the entire town. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Dark Blue and She Paints Me Blue are both about a blue light bulb that he and his wife shared in some room of their apartment, although I'm not sure if it was their bathroom.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Actually you are both wrong. Andrew of course couldn't have written this song about his cancer since he was on tour for this album when he was diagnosed. Also the album wasn't released the day he was diagnosed because he had his bone marrow transplant the day it was released.
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Actually Andrew didn't write this song about his cancer. The album was released the day he was diagnosed with cancer.
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I always thought though that dark blue was written before he was diagnosed, because he always tells the story of having just finished the album when he got that call from his doctor about his blood work.
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