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SUBJECT: Too much love will kill you...POSTED: 13/03/03 BY: SAM
Again this started life as an email conversation between me and my girlfriend. We had some quite differing opinions about the meaning of this song. Have a read and decide for yourself. we've just decided to agree to disagree. on this one. As before, mine first, hers second.
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I'm just the pieces of the man I used to be
[penfold] he's an emotional wreck, things have gone very wrong for this guy, he's physically and emotionally drained, mainly emotionally
Too many bitter tears are raining down on me
[penfold] "bitter tears" usually indicate thats people are crying thru fear, anger or desperation. he's done something to make his partner angry and unhappy
I'm far away from home and I've been facing this alone for much too long
[penfold] he's been keepin a secret from friends and familly (away from home) in that he hasnt "returned home" to talk to anyone about it
Oh, I feel like no-one ever told the truth to me
About growing up and what a struggle it would be
[penfold] he's found that life is unfair and isnt all cut and dry and happy ever after. (wot a surprise) and is havin a whinge cos "someone should have told me"
In my tangled state of mind, I've been looking back to find where I went wrong
[penfold] he's confused, tryin desperatly to see what went wrong and what he can do to "make it all better"
Too much love will kill you, if you can't make up your mind
[penfold] about his partner and some other person, could be male, female, many, i dont know
Torn between the lover and the love you leave behind
[penfold] the "lover" being the bit on the side and the love he leaves behind being the partner that he's just about to lose. (or rather teh original trustin realationship he had and is about to lose)
You're headed for disaster because you never read the signs
[penfold] he knew it was wrong but just didnt care, just followed his hormones, not his head
Too much love will kill you every time
[penfold] he had it all, he wanted more, he's now got nothing
I'm just the shadow of the man I used to be
[penfold] see above
And it seems like there's no way out of this for me
[penfold] fraid not buddy, you cant turn back time, even if ur wife (im goin with wife for now to make this easier to get my head round) did take you back and forgive, she'd never forget. whatever happens the original realationships dead. it may be replaced by a new realationship with the said wife but it will never be the way it was, it will always be less
I used to bring you sunshine now all I ever do is bring you down
[penfold] as i said above, no matter what happens now, his wife will always look at him and see the man that cheated on her.
How would it be if you were standing in my shoes
[penfold] aha, tryin to point the finger elsewhere while takin the moral high ground. "oooh, i'd forgive you if it was the other way around" aint gunna work matey
Can't you see that it's impossible to choose
[penfold] he's really havin a hard time here, is it the wife, or is it the mistress? his indecision isnt helping matters
No there's no making sense of it
[penfold] he's gettin really confused now, does he stay with the wife and the stability she represents, or the mistress and the lust, passion and reckless abandon. hmmm
Every way I go I'm bound to lose, oh yeah
[penfold] as above, the wife will never really trust him again, the mistress will not last, or will cheat on him with another man. what a pickle he's got himself in to
Too much love will kill you, just as sure as none at all
[penfold] "too much" leads to lies, distrust and the dark side, "none at all" leads to lonelyness and depression, its finding the bit in the middle, the happy medium we're lookin for here
It'll drain the power that's in you, make you bleed, and scream, and crawl
[penfold] apparently he's goin thru a lot of stress here, doesnt know what the hell he's doin, or is goin to do
And the pain will make you crazy, you're the victim of your crime
[penfold] he just cant control the lust he has for the mistress, the desire he has for the stabilty of his marriage, and in the end he gets neither, he knows he's done wrong, but in his own eyes hes the victim. but is he thinkin of the other parties at all?
Too much love will kill you every time
[penfold] he's gettin it
Yeah, too much love will kill you
[penfold] yep, he's figured it out
It'll make your life a lie, Yes too much love will kill you
[penfold] aha, back to the lies, deceit and mistrust goin on here, not to mention all the sneaking around he's been doin so wifey doesnt find out. he's been a very bad boy
And you won't understand why, you'd give your life you'd sell your soul
[penfold] still whinging, he's made a deal with the devil, and the problem is the devil always wins
But here it comes again
[penfold] ooh, you'd have thought he'd allready learnt his lesson, but apparently not, someones caught his eye again. oh well
Too much love will kill you
In the end...
[penfold] is that it?
In the end
[penfold] apparently not... looks like this is
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"I'm just the pieces of the man I used to be"
The effect of the illness.
"I'm far away from home and I've been facing this alone for much too long"
A reference back to being 'naked and far from home' in Save Me.
"In my tangled state of mind, I've been looking back to find where I went wrong"
Looking back to where he 'went wrong' and contracted the disease.
"Too much love will kill you, if you can't make up your mind
Torn between the lover and the love you leave behind
You're headed for disaster because you never read the signs
Too much love will kill you every time"
As I already said, about having too many lovers.
"I'm just the shadow of the man I used to be And it seems like there's no way out of this for me"
Self explanatory really.
"I used to bring you sunshine now all I ever do is bring you down
How would it be if you were standing in my shoes
Can't you see that it's impossible to choose
No there's no making sense of it
Every way I go I'm bound to lose, oh yeah"
For me, this doesn't really fit with the rest of the song, there seems to be another person brought in... although it could be Mercury saying that in his failing state of health he may not be as much fun as he used to be.
"Too much love will kill you, just as sure as none at all
It'll drain the power that's in you, make you plead, and scream, and crawl
And the pain will make you crazy, you're the victim of your crime
Too much love will kill you every time"
Perhaps saying no regrets - would have preferred this way of going rather than have going old and alone and never experienced the joy of loving someone or the pleasure of sex. I'm sure he says 'bleed' instead of 'plead'. Reference to the physical pain perhaps, also being the 'victim' could be being discriminated aginst for having such a disease - there is still a stigma attached to HIV.
"Yeah, too much love will kill you
It'll make your life a lie, Yes too much love will kill you
And you won't understand why, you'd give your life you'd sell your soul
But here it comes again
Too much love will kill you
In the end...
In the end"
I'm working on this bit, maybe the 'here it comes again' bit is that he can't get away from the fact that he's dying,
v1.0 14/03/03