I Lost You
Fleeting Love's Costume: Elvis Costello's Haunting Tale
Lyrics
I lost you
The speaker acknowledges the loss of someone.
I lost you
Reiteration of the acknowledgment of losing the person.
You slipped from your costume
The person has metaphorically changed or transformed.
Like an actress in this tragedy
A simile comparing the person's change to an actress shedding a costume in a tragic play.
You're just an apparition in a haunting mystery
The person is now like a ghost in a mysterious and haunting situation.
I fear that you've passed over me
The speaker feels ignored or overlooked by the person.
And there's nothing I can do because
A sense of helplessness is expressed; the speaker can't change the situation.
I lost you
Reiteration of the profound loss experienced.
Just like a rich man who is careless of his change
Comparison to a rich man who neglects something valuable.
I took you for granted
The speaker took the person for granted.
And then you went to strangers
The person left for strangers, indicating a departure from familiarity.
Deep within my heart I feel a distant fading pulse
A metaphor for the diminishing connection, like a fading pulse.
A poor woman looking for last coin in her purse
Describing a desperate search for something valuable, mirroring the speaker's loss.
I lost you
Reiteration of the emotional impact of losing the person.
I lost you
Expressing the emotional impact of losing the person.
You slipped from your costume
Repetition of the metaphorical change in the person.
Like an actress in this tragedy
Comparison to an actress in a tragic situation, emphasizing the dramatic nature of the change.
You're just an apparition in a haunting mystery
Reiteration of the person becoming like a ghost in a mysterious and haunting situation.
I fear that you've passed over me
The fear of being overlooked or ignored by the person.
And there's nothing I can do because
Restating the helplessness in changing the situation.
I lost you
Reiteration of the profound loss and the inability to change it.
Just like a counterfeit you pass from palm to palm
Comparison to a counterfeit object passed from hand to hand, suggesting deception or lack of authenticity.
I chased the one I surely loved to someone else's arms
The speaker pursued the person they loved, but the person found comfort in someone else's arms.
I mislaid my senses, now that's easy to say
The speaker lost their rationality or awareness, possibly due to the emotional impact of the loss.
A fool who took his pleasure but then threw his love away
Regret for indulging in pleasure at the cost of losing love.
I lost you
Reiteration of the emotional impact of losing the person.
I lost you
Expressing the emotional impact of losing the person.
You slipped from your costume
Repetition of the metaphorical change in the person.
Like an actress in this tragedy
Comparison to an actress in a tragic situation, emphasizing the dramatic nature of the change.
You're just an apparition in a haunting mystery
Reiteration of the person becoming like a ghost in a mysterious and haunting situation.
I fear that you've passed over me
The fear of being overlooked or ignored by the person.
There's nothing I can do because
Restating the helplessness in changing the situation.
I lost you
Reiteration of the profound loss and the inability to change it.
I lost you
Expressing the emotional impact of losing the person.
I lost you
Final acknowledgment of the loss.
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