Jack's Mannequin: The Mixed Tape Meaning

Song Released: 2005

The Mixed Tape Lyrics

This is morning
That's when I spend the most time
Thinking 'bout what I've given up
This is a warning
When you start the day just to close the curtains
You're thinking 'bout what I've given up

Where are you now?
As I'm swimming through...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   buttercup

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   Aug 1st 2006 !⃝

   Well, I think my interpretation of this song is pretty alright, but I may be wrong on some parts.
   
   In the 80s, people used to make mixed tapes of their favorite songs (because technology we have today wasn't available back then) and many people nowadays assosciate mixed tapes with romantic songs that a boyfriend would compile for his girlfriend and either listen to them to remind him of their love, or give them to her as a sweet gesture. In this song, the author is basically compiling a bunch of different songs that reminds him of his girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend in this case.
   
   The first verse 'this is morning/that's when I spend the most time/thinking 'bout what I've given up' means that the author has broken up with his girlfriend, she is the object that he's thinking about and what he's given up. 'this is a warning/when you start the day just to close the curtains/you're thinking 'bout what I've given up', he's now describing his ex-girlfriend's depression in the break-up.
   
   The chorus 'where are you now?/as I'm swimming through the stereo/i'm writing you a symphony of sound/where are you now?/as I rearrange the songs again/this mix could burn a hole through anyone/but it was you I was thinking of' is basically all about him compiling a powerful combination of songs and trying to arrange them just perfectly for the mixed tape.
   
   The next verse 'i read your letter/the one you left when you broke into my house/retracing every step you made/you said you meant it/and there's a piece of me in every single/second of every single day/but if it's true, then tell me how it got this way', means that his ex-girlfriend wrote him a letter basically telling him that she was still very much in love with him.
   
   'and I can't get to you/i can't get to you/i can't get to you' is basically saying that he's realizing he still loves her, but it seems like it's already too late.
   
   The last part of the song 'and this is my mixed tape for her/it's like I wrote every note/with my own fingers' means that he feels that the mixed tape is a powerful gesture and describes every single emotion and feeling he has toward this girl down to the t.
2. fanofroy

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   Mar 28th 2009 !⃝

   this song is about how andrew loved making mixed tapes and how he made the ultimate one (though never recorded it) and wrote this song about it. Youtube andrew mcmahon interview and im sure you'll find the interview he gave explaining this song.
3. anonymous

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   Aug 3rd 2008 !⃝

   This is morning
   It's when I spend the most time
   thinking 'bout what I've given up
   (the writer is talking about how hw wakes up and constantly thinks about his ex)
   
   this is a warning
   When you start the day
   just to close the curtains
   you're thinking 'bout what I've given up
   (he saying that if you wake up and just think about how bad the day is going to be than you'll never get better, but also that when your going through a break up its soo difficult to think positive)
   
   
   Where are you now?
   as I'm swimming through this stereo
   I'm writing you a symphony of sound
   ( he misses her and he's making a mixtape, and very song hef inds just makes him think of her)
   
   Where are you now?
   as I rearrange these songs again
   this mix could burn a hole in anyone
   It was you I was thinking of
   It was you I was thinking of
   (the songs are so emotional and would as he said "burn a hole in anyone"
   but he chose the songs with her in mind and that makes them a lot more powerful and emotional for him)
   
   I read your letter
   The one you left when you broke into my house
   i'm retracing every step you made
   and you said you meant it
   there's a piece of me in
   Every single second of every single day
   but if its true to tell me how we got this way
   
   (she came around to his house because she missed him, but he wasnt there so she left him a note telling him that in 'every single second of every single day' she thinking about him and his response is that 'if you love me so much than how did it get to the point where we broke up')
   
   
   this is my mixed tape for her
   Its like I wrote every note with my own fingers
   (its like the songs that he put on the mix tape where written solely about his situation)

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