Gas on Skin
Innocence Lost: Flames and Regret
Lyrics
I said, don't put gas on skin
Warning against putting gasoline on the skin
What if it catches, that's not like our leather jackets.
Concern about the danger if it ignites, especially not like protective leather jackets
He said, here's when you lose your innocence.
Reference to losing innocence in a significant moment
He said, boy life's not pretend, then lit the matches.
Life advice about reality, followed by lighting matches
And I'm afraid I've never seen a flame as big.
Expressing fear of a large flame witnessed
Fire in the mattress, things just smoldering.
Describing aftermath of a fire in a mattress, with lingering effects
He's not in love with anything at all,
Someone not emotionally attached to anything
The gas smells like his alcohol.
Association of the smell of gas with the person's alcohol consumption
They weren't fast enough,
Highlighting the lack of urgency in response
Everything just blackened up next door,
Result of delayed action – neighboring area turning black from the fire
I let it burn, I let it burn, I let it burn,
Repetition of allowing something to burn, possibly metaphorical
And I was getting in my car. Getting in my car.
The narrator getting in the car during or after the incident
Why can't someone else be who just witnessed this?
Questioning why someone else couldn’t witness the event
Because you sold me for the note you should have wrote,
Feeling betrayed for not receiving an expected message
I just said you went to bed with cigarettes.
Assertion that someone went to bed with cigarettes, possibly metaphorical
They don't know you've never smoked,
Highlighting a contradiction – the person never smoked
They don't know you've never smoked,
Repetition emphasizing the person's lack of smoking experience
And that you weren't in love with anything at all.
Reiteration of the person's lack of emotional attachments
No one broke your heart, you just never got involved.
Explanation that no one broke the person's heart due to non-involvement
They weren't fast enough,
Reiteration of delayed response resulting in nearby destruction
Everything just blackened up next door,
Confirmation of the neighboring area being affected by the fire
I let it burn, I let it burn, I let it burn,
Repetition of allowing something to burn, with a sense of acceptance
And I was getting in my car. Getting in my car.
The narrator getting in the car, possibly reflecting on the situation
Getting in my car. Getting in my car
Repetition of the narrator getting in the car, reinforcing a sense of departure or escape
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