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For No One
The Beatles Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Your day breaks, your mind aches
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
When she no longer needs you
She wakes up, she makes up
She takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry
She no longer needs you

And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years

You want her, you need her
And yet you don't believe her
When she says her love is dead
You think she needs you

And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years

You stay home, she goes out
She says that long ago she knew someone
But now he's gone, she doesn't need him
Your day breaks, your mind aches
There will be times when all the things she said will fill your head
You won't forget her

And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years

Overall Meaning

The Beatles’ song “For No One” is about the disintegration of a romantic relationship. The lyrics paint a painful portrait of a man who is still desperately in love with a woman who has already moved on, with the man trying and failing to come to terms with the fact that their love has ended. The song is notable for its sparse arrangement, consisting of only piano, French horn, and McCartney’s vocal.


The first verse describes the man’s state of mind as he tries to deal with the end of his relationship. He is frustrated that even though the woman no longer loves him, her words of kindness still haunt him. The second verse describes the woman’s perspective, as she wakes up, takes her time getting ready, and leaves without any sense of urgency. She no longer needs the man, a fact made clear by the absence of any love in her eyes.


Line by Line Meaning

Your day breaks, your mind aches
You wake up feeling upset and troubled


You find that all her words of kindness linger on
You remember all the nice things she said to you


When she no longer needs you
She doesn't want to be with you anymore


She wakes up, she makes up
She's not upset anymore and is ready to face the day


She takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry
She's not in a rush and can take things at her own pace


She no longer needs you
She's moved on and doesn't require your presence in her life


And in her eyes, you see nothing
You can't see any love or affection in her gaze


No sign of love behind the tears
Her tears aren't a result of missing you or wanting to be with you


Cried for no one
She's crying but it's not because of you


A love that should have lasted years
Your relationship was supposed to be long-lasting and enduring


You want her, you need her
You still have strong feelings for her


And yet you don't believe her
You doubt that her love for you is truly gone


When she says her love is dead
She has told you that she doesn't love you anymore


You think she needs you
You believe that she still wants to be with you


You stay home, she goes out
You choose to stay in while she goes out and does other things


She says that long ago she knew someone
She had a past relationship that she talks about


But now he's gone, she doesn't need him
That relationship is over and she doesn't miss him


Your day breaks, your mind aches
You're still feeling upset and troubled


There will be times when all the things she said will fill your head
You'll remember all the things she told you and they will haunt you


You won't forget her
She'll always be on your mind, even if she's not with you anymore


And in her eyes, you see nothing
You still can't see any love or affection in her gaze


No sign of love behind the tears
Her tears still aren't because of you


Cried for no one
She's still crying but it's still not because of you


A love that should have lasted years
Your relationship was really supposed to last a long time and it's unfortunate that it didn't




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@thomfmify

Always tears in my eyes!! They was and are so great!!! Fan until eternity! Amities du Allemagne!! Les Beatles!!!!

Your day breaks

Your mind aches

You find that all her words of kindness linger on

When she no longer needs you

She wakes up


She makes up

She takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry

She no longer needs you

And in her eyes you see nothing

No sign of love behind the tears

Cried for no one

A love that should have lasted years

You want her

You need her


And yet you don't believe her when she says her love is dead

You think she needs you

And in her eyes you see nothing

No sign of love behind the tears

Cried for no one

A love that should have lasted years

You stay home

She goes out

She says that long ago she knew someone


But now he's gone

She doesn't need him

Your day breaks

Your mind aches

There will be times when all the things she said

Will fill your head

You won't forget her

And in her eyes you see nothing

No sign of love behind the tears

Cried for no one

A love that should have lasted years



All comments from YouTube:

@lindahill7873

brilliant song by a brilliant singer

@paktype

This is clearly a rehearsal version, not the version released on the album. What a great song - poignant and sad yet cheerful. The Beatles are timeless. They’ll be great in another 100 years.

@gloriatmagno

No it wasnt rehearsal. The original Paul was developing the music. It took 5 takes. When he died in 1966 and was replaced by the fake Faul, this was one of the original Paul's unrecordedunreleased songs. While the 3 remaining Beatles were out of town, the fake Faul recorded this alone using hired musicians which is why the released son had violin accompaniment and no Ringgo drums. John Lennon was so mad at the fake Faul because he really stole this song and claimed he did it without the help of the John , George and Ringgo. Oh and by the way, Paul died on Sept 11, 1966. He was tortured and killed in a Satanic Illuminati ritual. The cover story was he died in a car crash. No one dared to speak because M15, M16 were on top of this upon the instruction of Queen Elizabeth and the Prime Minister. Whou would dare go against them? Many of those around the circle died of "suicide".

@cafinario

How the fuck you put all that beauty into two minutes..It is insane!

@thomfmify

Always tears in my eyes!! They was and are so great!!! Fan until eternity! Amities du Allemagne!! Les Beatles!!!!

Your day breaks

Your mind aches

You find that all her words of kindness linger on

When she no longer needs you

She wakes up


She makes up

She takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry

She no longer needs you

And in her eyes you see nothing

No sign of love behind the tears

Cried for no one

A love that should have lasted years

You want her

You need her


And yet you don't believe her when she says her love is dead

You think she needs you

And in her eyes you see nothing

No sign of love behind the tears

Cried for no one

A love that should have lasted years

You stay home

She goes out

She says that long ago she knew someone


But now he's gone

She doesn't need him

Your day breaks

Your mind aches

There will be times when all the things she said

Will fill your head

You won't forget her

And in her eyes you see nothing

No sign of love behind the tears

Cried for no one

A love that should have lasted years

@greenwich1754

Always bette than "your wind breaks".

@junereyes191

My favorite beatles song

@DizKord1600

This is a very pretty version of the song... Natural and simple.

@gloriatmagno

That was the original Paul recording this from take one to take 5 with Ringo on the drums.5 takes because he was developing the music and taping it along the way.

@saraflynn5984

I heard this song playing in a tattoo parlor in Corpus Christi last summer. I knew it was Paul McCartney, but I'd never heard the song before then. I spent this entire past year searching for it; I thought it was some rare recording that wasn't commercially released during their career as a band. Only after deciding to listen to every song in their discography by playing the iTunes samples last night (I get fixated easily) did I find it.

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