What You Feel

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a stark picture of a relationship at a critical juncture, where one person's wavering commitment is being challenged. The narrator recalls a promise of steadfastness, a time when passion seemed to dictate the terms of their bond. Now, faced with a "crossroads," the choice is presented as stark: seek new affection or salvage the existing one. This sets up a central conflict between fleeting emotion and enduring obligation. The core tension lies in the clash between subjective feelings and objective vows. The chorus directly confronts this, stating, "What you feel / May be real / But that doesn't make it wrong or right." This highlights the narrator's belief that personal emotion, while valid, doesn't supersede the concrete commitment made. The repeated assertion, "What you're feeling isn't right," underscores the narrator's conviction that the current emotional state is a betrayal of the established "black and white" of their vows. The lyrics champion a view of love as an active, deliberate choice rather than a passive emotional state. The lines, "love is sacrificial / It's a decision of the will," and "Sometimes you have to push those feelings / Beyond the point of what you feel," suggest that true love requires effort and perseverance, especially when emotions wane. This perspective frames "love in its purity" as a "labor of the heart," something that endures when feelings inevitably falter, offering a powerful counterpoint to the allure of new passion.