Song Meaning
Sharon Van Etten's "Peace Signs" isn't a call for global harmony; it's a raw, internal reckoning. The track, with its repetition and cyclical structure, burrows into the disorienting aftermath of a relationship's implosion. Van Etten isn't sketching a linear narrative but rather circling a psychic wound, probing the blurry lines between self and other. The opening lines, "I woke up, I was already me / I was somewhat afraid, I was something,” immediately establish a fractured sense of identity, a feeling of being both present and fundamentally altered. The repeated "Peace Signs" refrain is less an offering of truce and more an ironic commentary on the superficial gestures made amidst deeper conflict.
The lyrics suggest a power struggle, a push and pull where boundaries dissolved. "I felt no longer used / I had nothing to do, I was so you,” Van Etten sings, highlighting the unnerving experience of losing oneself within another person. This loss of self is a central theme, a kind of psychological merging that leaves the speaker struggling to reclaim her own identity. The lines "I had questions in mind why you were strong / Hit back, it was already too" hint at a desire for retribution, or at least understanding, but the response is always too late, emphasizing a profound sense of helplessness and the feeling of being outpaced in the dynamic.
Ultimately, "Peace Signs" circles back to the initial state of uneasy self-awareness. The dreamlike quality of "I still dream that I think of you / In the calm of the night and I don't know what to do" reveals the lingering power of the relationship, even in its absence. The final repetition of "Peace Signs," followed by a return to the opening lines, emphasizes the ongoing process of self-discovery and the struggle to redefine oneself after a significant emotional experience. The song, therefore, is a haunting meditation on identity, loss, and the difficult path toward reclaiming one's own sense of self.
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