On Pain
Trust, Pain, and Betrayal: Lloyd Cole's Reflection on Human Relationships
Lyrics
I can’t be trusted with your money
I lack the reliability to handle your finances
Look what I did
Reflecting on past actions and their consequences
Every time that you gave it to me
Each instance you entrusted money to me resulted poorly
I can’t be trusted with your secrets
I am not capable of keeping your secrets
Look what I did
Highlighting past failures in handling entrusted secrets
Every time that you gave them to me
Past instances where secrets were mishandled
Oh you can trust me with your sorrow
Assuring trustworthiness with emotional burdens
And you can trust me with your pain
Expressing willingness to share and bear emotional pain
And I will bury them deep down
Commitment to bury emotional burdens deeply
We’ll never speak of them again
Promising not to discuss those burdens again
We’ll never speak of them again
Reiteration of the commitment to silence on shared pain
I can’t be trusted with your loving
Acknowledging unreliability in handling love
Look what I did
Recalling past failures in managing love
Every time that you gave it to me
Instances of mishandling love when entrusted
We sing on pain and the untrained heart
Introduction of the theme of singing about pain
The cherub in flight and the poison dart
Describing imagery related to pain and vulnerability
Position our players with headlights on highlights
Depicting a setting with strategic positioning and risks
In back rooms with low-lifes
Reference to dubious characters in hidden places
As angels are pole dancing
Unusual imagery of angels engaging in pole dancing
Of course the table is rigged for the house
Acknowledging the rigged nature of the situation
But we play anyway, anyhow, anywhere
Choosing to participate despite the unfavorable odds
We’re all in to win, but the beauty’s in losing
Emphasizing the value in the experience, even if losing
Another knight falls in the Love Coliseum
Reference to a romantic encounter ending unfavorably
And oh, you can trust me with your sorrow
Reassurance of trustworthiness with emotional burdens
And oh, you can trust me with your pain
Reiterating the commitment to share and bear emotional pain
And we will bury them deep down
Commitment to bury emotional burdens deeply
We’ll never speak of them again
Promising not to discuss those burdens again
We’ll never speak of them again
Reiteration of the commitment to silence on shared pain
I can’t be trusted with your money
Reiterating unreliability in handling finances
Look what I did
Reflecting on repeated failures with entrusted money
Every time that you gave it to me
Highlighting the negative outcomes of past financial trust
Look what I did
Emphasizing the negative consequences of love
Every time that you gave it to me
Repetition of acknowledging past mistakes in love
Look what I did
Continued emphasis on past failures in love
Every time that you gave it to me
Reiteration of reflecting on the mishandling of love
Look what I did
Continued reflection on the negative outcomes of love
Every time that you gave it to me
Final reflection on the consequences of entrusted love
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