Song Meaning
These lyrics paint a poignant picture of life after a breakup, marked by a pervasive sense of emptiness and lingering sorrow. The speaker struggles with the mundane, finding mornings "heavy" in a "widened bed." It's a stark portrayal of how absence can reshape daily existence.
The emotional core of the lyrics lies in the speaker's futile attempts to escape the past. The once "empty room" filled with love has left a "stain that won't come off," a powerful metaphor for indelible memories. Even physical acts of change, like cutting "long hair" that was "always for you," fail to dislodge the "memories" that stubbornly remain, leaving the speaker feeling numb, where "whatever I eat, it has no taste."
A central tension revolves around the titular "わがまま" (selfish wish or desire) that the speaker "couldn't say." This unspoken plea, coupled with the admission "With this, I can't come to hate you," reveals a profound attachment. The lyrics suggest a deep regret for not asserting a final desire, which perhaps could have altered the outcome or provided a sense of closure, leaving the speaker caught in a painful limbo.
What makes these lyrics particularly effective is the subtle yet devastating shift in the repeated chorus. Initially, the speaker laments that after "nights we loved, mornings we embraced," the person is simply "not there." But in the final chorus, this transforms into a deeper, more painful realization: "just loving wasn't enough to love." This evolution from simple absence to a profound understanding of the relationship's inherent flaw elevates the narrative, suggesting that the speaker's continued "love in memories" isn't just longing, but a complex, almost resigned acceptance of a love that, despite its intensity, was ultimately unsustainable.