By: James Morrison Ft. Nelly Furtado
Let me hold you
For the last time
It's the last chance to feel again
But you broke me
Now I can't feel anything
When I love you,
It's so untrue
I can't even convince myself
When I'm speaking,
It's the voice of someone else
Oh it tears me up
I try to hold on, but it hurts too much
I try to forgive, but it's not enough to make it all okay
You can't play on broken strings
You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel
I can't tell you something that ain't real
Oh the truth hurts
And lies worse
How can I give anymore
When I love you a little less than before
Oh what are we doing
We are turning into dust
Playing house in the ruins of us
Running back through the fire
When there's nothing left to save
It's like chasing the very last train when it's too late
Oh it tears me up
I try to hold on, but it hurts too much
I try to forgive, but it's not enough to make it all okay
You can't play on broken strings
You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel
I can't tell something that ain't real
Well the truth hurts,
And lies worse
How can I give anymore
When I love you a little less than before
But we're running through the fire
When there's nothing left to save
It's like chasing the very last train
When we both know it's too late (too late)
You can't play on broken strings
You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel
I cant tell you something that ain't real
Well truth hurts,
And lies worse
How can I give anymore
When I love you a little less than before
Let me hold you for the last time
It's the last chance to feel again
I try to forgive, but it's not enough to make it all okay
You can't play on broken strings
You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel
I can't tell you something that ain't real
Oh the truth hurts
And lies worse
How can I give anymore
When I love you a little less than before
Oh what are we doing
We are turning into dust
Playing house in the ruins of us
Running back through the fire
When there's nothing left to save
It's like chasing the very last train when it's too late
Oh it tears me up
I try to hold on, but it hurts too much
I try to forgive, but it's not enough to make it all okay
You can't play on broken strings
You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel
I can't tell something that ain't real
Well the truth hurts,
And lies worse
How can I give anymore
When I love you a little less than before
But we're running through the fire
When there's nothing left to save
It's like chasing the very last train
When we both know it's too late (too late)
You can't play on broken strings
You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel
I cant tell you something that ain't real
Well truth hurts,
And lies worse
How can I give anymore
When I love you a little less than before
Let me hold you for the last time
It's the last chance to feel again
2. The form of this song is fairly straight forward, however this is beneficial as it definitely emphasizes the meaning of the lyrics. This song is about a hopeless relationship, and the heartache that realizing that and accepting it brings. The writer uses short, quick lines to portray this hurt. For example "Let me hold you. For the last time. It's the last chance to feel again." This is effective as it brings out the speakers emotion, almost like you can feel the pain in the lines. This same idea is evident again in the fact that there is no rhyme scheme. Generally, when a song has rhyming, the mood is light and the meaning isn't so serious. Seeing that the upsetting mood of this poem is just the opposite of that, the use of a rhyme scheme would almost contradict the meaning. Lastly, the meter being short and choppy is also effective in adding to the meaning. The reader is forced to read the lines almost as someone in this situation would be speaking. When someone is upset they often don't speak in long, descriptive sentences, but short, quick lines as is seen in the lyrics. This is once again effective in portraying the mood of the poem, and thus giving the reader a sense of what the speaker is feeling.
3. I feel this poem is very effective as it is addressing a situation that many readers may find themselves in. The speaker is a person that is currently ending a relationship with someone that they obviously have had intense feelings for, the addressee. The tone is very emotional, there is a lot of regret, sadness, and even some bitterness. This is evident as both parties are clearly torn as to whether or not they should be ending this. They are still in love, but they know it can't work, which is a very painful place to be in. For example, "It's the last chance to feel again. But you broke me. Now I can't feel anything." Here, the speaker is saying that being together this last time is his/her "last chance to feel", clearly upset about the break up he/she then states "but you broke me", proving that there is also a lot of bitterness towards the addressee. Another aspect that I particularly like about these lyrics is the extended metaphor that is seen in the title and throughout the song. The writer is comparing this complicated relationship to broken strings on a guitar. He states "You can't play on broken strings, you can't feel anything", figuratively referring to their relationship. Literally he means that you physically cannot play on broken strings, but figuratively he is saying that you can't be in a relationship that has this much damage, it is impossible to make it work.
4. I specifically chose this song because of the meaning of the lyrics. I think that the writer has not only captured a moment between two people in this piece, but also the exact feelings that they are having. This song is just so relatable to so many people, as this is a situation that so many people have gone through, and these feelings are ones that so many have felt. I feel that the best songs are songs like this one, because they aren't only fun to listen to, but they can also help listeners that are going through this same situation. Almost like a sort of musical therapy.
