Always

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of a persistent, almost spectral presence that lingers despite a sense of fading away. The narrator feels both present and disappearing, caught in a loop of being followed and yet unable to fully depart. This creates an immediate tension between existence and absence, a feeling of being stuck in a liminal space where movement is paradoxical: "Moving kind of slow / Gone but I don't go / Somehow I'm still here / As I disappear." The central conflict seems to be the narrator's complicated relationship with an external force or person, referred to as "you." This "you" is characterized by inaction and a possessive grip, "You hate to set me free," yet also by a strange ability to influence the narrator's state of being. The narrator acknowledges blame but also feels victimized, particularly by the intoxicating, destructive effect this "you" has, leading to a profound sense of paradox: "I miss you most when you're around." The most striking element is the recurring phrase "It always gets me." This phrase, repeated with variations like "high," "home," "smile," "alone," "takes me out," and "makes me cry," highlights the overwhelming and consistent impact of this external force. The contrast between positive outcomes like "gets me high" and "makes me smile" and negative ones like "makes me cry" and "all alone" underscores the complex, almost addictive nature of this relationship, suggesting a dependency that brings both pleasure and pain. This lyrical construction is effective because it captures the disorienting feeling of being trapped in a cycle of emotional highs and lows dictated by another. The repeated "Do do do" sections act as a sonic representation of this inescapable loop, a wordless hum that underscores the narrator's resigned, almost numb state. The lyrics don't offer resolution but rather a raw depiction of being held captive by a relationship that is simultaneously life-giving and destructive, leaving the listener with a lingering sense of unease and empathy for the narrator's predicament.