Everything I Want to Do

Song Meaning

The lyrics to "Everything I Want to Do" paint a picture of absolute, all-consuming devotion. The speaker's world revolves entirely around one person, making every desire and future plan conditional on their presence. It's a stark declaration of profound emotional dependence. The core tension here isn't an external conflict, but an internal one: the speaker's personal desires versus their overwhelming need for this specific companion. They articulate preferences — "I don't ever want a house and garden," "I don't want kids of mine" — only to immediately reverse course, stating they'll embrace these things if "that's what you require me." This reveals a profound willingness to reshape their very identity for the beloved. The craft lies in the escalating stakes. The speaker begins with daily routines, declaring "I won't eat / 'Cause I don't want to eat alone." This simple, almost childlike vulnerability quickly expands to major life choices like settling down and having children. The repeated structure of stating a personal preference then immediately conceding it for the other person's sake powerfully underscores the depth of this self-abnegation. What makes these lyrics hit hard is their unflinching honesty about a love so intense it borders on codependency. The ultimate fear isn't just a lonely life, but a lonely death: "I don't ever want to die alone / To face the shadows of my life / But never never on my own." This final, raw plea for companionship through life's ultimate solitude grounds the entire song in a deeply human, if extreme, desire for connection.