Steven (You Don’t Eat Meat)

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of a relationship marked by grand pronouncements and underlying emotional turmoil. The narrator recalls Steven arriving "off the street," a "King of the promised land," who offered his heart and was accepted. This initial, almost mythical, entrance sets a tone of high expectations, which are quickly juxtaposed with a sense of struggle and perhaps inevitable disappointment, as the narrator notes, "At least we tried. How we tried." The central tension emerges in the chorus: "You don't eat meat / But you eat your heart out, Steven." This striking contrast suggests Steven is outwardly abstaining from something substantial (meat, perhaps symbolizing indulgence or a certain lifestyle) while inwardly consumed by his own anxieties or emotional pain. The narrator feels compelled to "get even" or make things up to him, indicating a desire to alleviate his suffering or perhaps to rectify a perceived wrong. The lyrics employ potent imagery to convey Steven's internal state. He is described as dressing the narrator in "glad rags" and himself in "gladioli," suggesting a performative or even theatrical approach to life's challenges. Later, he "took to your bed again," and the repeated question, "Oh, are you still ill?" implies a pattern of withdrawal or sickness, whether physical or emotional. This cyclical illness contrasts sharply with his initial grand arrival and the declaration, "I have enough faith for both of us." Ultimately, the effectiveness of these lyrics lies in their ability to capture a complex dynamic of idealized beginnings, persistent internal struggle, and the narrator's determined, albeit perhaps weary, commitment. The central metaphor of "eating your heart out" while not eating meat perfectly encapsulates a character who appears disciplined on the surface but is deeply tormented within, leaving the listener to ponder the nature of Steven's "illness" and the narrator's enduring resolve.