Crown of Love
Arcade Fire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love was made to forget it
I carved your name across my eyelids
You pray for rain, I pray for blindness
If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love has fallen from me
If you still want me, please forgive me
Because the spark is not within me
I snuffed it out before my mom walked in my bedroom
The only thing that you keep changin'
Is your name, my love keeps growin'
Still the same, just like a cancer
And you won't give me a straight answer
If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love has fallen from me
If you still want me, please forgive me
Because your hands are not upon me
I shrugged them off before my mom walked in my bedroom
The pains of love, and they keep blowin'
In my heart, there's flowers growin'
On the grave of our old love
Since you gave me a straight answer
If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love is not upon me
If you still want me, please forgive me
'Cause the spark is not within me
It's not within me, it's not within me
You gotta be the one
You gotta be the way
Your name is the only word that I can say
You gotta be the one
You gotta be the way
Your name is the only word
The only word that I can say
Only word that I can say
No, no, no, no, no
No, no, no, no
The song Crown of Love by Arcade Fire is a reflection on the painful realities of love and its fleeting nature. The lyrics suggest that love fades and is meant to be forgotten, and that the singer has lost the crown of love, symbolizing his position as a lover. The use of imagery in carving the lover's name across his eyelids and praying for blindness indicates the intensity of the singer's feelings, as well as his conscious choice to reject love. The chorus, "If you still want me, please forgive me / The crown of love has fallen from me," reveals the singer's awareness that his actions have hurt his lover, but he can no longer feel the spark of love that once existed between them.
The second verse of the song stresses the difficulties of clinging to love when the object of affection keeps changing, and the singer longs for a straightforward answer from his lover. The third verse continues the theme of pain caused by love, suggesting that the pain persists even after love has died. However, the final lines express a hope that the singer's lover can bring back the spark of love.
One interpretation of the song is that it portrays the inevitable decay of relationships, and the sense of loss and pain that comes with it. Another interpretation is that it reflects on the difficulties of choosing to reject love and the consequences of that choice.
Line by Line Meaning
They say it fades if you let it
People say love fades away if you don’t nurture it
Love was made to forget it
Love was created to help us forget about our pain
I carved your name across my eyelids
I have your name engraved in my memory
You pray for rain, I pray for blindness
You hope for a new start, I hope to escape my reality
If you still want me, please forgive me
If you still love me, I beg for your forgiveness
The crown of love has fallen from me
I am no longer the ruler of our love
Because the spark is not within me
I do not have the passion I used to have
I snuffed it out before my mom walked in my bedroom
I extinguished the flame before my mom entered the room
The only thing that you keep changin'
The only thing that changes is your name
My love keeps growin'
My affection for you keeps getting stronger
Still the same, just like a cancer
Despite the growth of my love, it feels like a burden that keeps coming back
And you won't give me a straight answer
You won't give me an honest answer
Because your hands are not upon me
I don't feel your touch anymore
I shrugged them off before my mom walked in my bedroom
I ignored your hands before my mom entered the room
The pains of love, and they keep blowin'
The torment of love continues to exist in my heart
In my heart, there's flowers growin'
In my heart, there is new love growing
On the grave of our old love
My new love grew in the place of our old love
Since you gave me a straight answer
Since you provided an honest reply
The crown of love is not upon me
I am no longer in charge of our love
'Cause the spark is not within me
Because I don't have the passion I used to have
It's not within me, it's not within me
I have lost the feeling of love that I once had
You gotta be the one
You are the only one for me
You gotta be the way
You are the only path for me
Your name is the only word that I can say
Your name is always in my mind
Only word that I can say
The only thing I can think of is you
No, no, no, no, no
The singer is expressing some kind of pain or sadness
No, no, no, no
Repeating the same feeling of sadness from the previous line
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Regine Chassagne, Richard R Parry, Tim Kingsbury, William Butler, Win Butler
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@alejandropardiniL
This song is a Masterpiece!.
Here's an explanation I copied from the internet:
“They say it fades if you let it
Love was made to forget it
I carved your name across my eyelids
You pray for rain, I pray for blindness”
He is reflecting on a relationship that has just ended. People (i.e. his mom) tell him that love is something that you can get over and forget; however, he feels that he will never love anyone other than this girl (carving = permanent). The girl believes that getting over him will be easy (i.e. she only WROTE his name across her eyelids, so it can simply be washed away by the rain). He believes it will be infinitely harder to get over her, as only blindness will rid him of his carving.
“If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love has fallen from me
If you still want me, please forgive me
Because the spark is not within me”
These are actually the words of the girl; this is her “straight answer”. (This does not become clear until later in the song). Basically, she understands that he is still in love with her, but she admits that she is not in love with him anymore.
“I snuffed it out before my mom walked in my bedroom”
This line is misleading because you do not yet realize that the previous stanza is the girl speaking. So at first glance it seems to refer to “the spark” being snuffed out. In reality, it is referring to him snuffing out his “pains of love” so that his mom doesn’t see him cry. This is actually genius word choice, as he is able to mislead you and hide his feelings the same way that he hides them from his mom.
“The only thing that you keep changing
Is your name, my love keeps growing
Still the same, just like a cancer
And you won't give me a straight answer”
He is remembering back to the end of their relationship when the girl could not decide if she loved him or not (thus, her name (or label) kept changing between ‘his lover’ and ‘not his lover’, for example). And while she could not decide if she still loved him, his love for her was growing.
“If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love has fallen from me
If you still want me, please forgive me
Because your hands are not upon me”
Again, this is the girl’s “straight answer” that she does not love him anymore. When she says that “[his] hands are not upon [her]” she is saying that he cannot control or change her love for him.
“I shrugged them off before my mom walked in my bedroom”
As before, this line is misleading, as “shrugged them off” seems to refer to “hands”. In actuality, it refers to “the pains of love” that are referenced in the next line. Thus, once again, he is hiding his pain from his mom (and in effect, from the listener).
“The pains of love, and they keep growing
In my heart there's flowers growing
On the grave of our old love
Since you gave me a straight answer
If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love is not upon me
If you still want me, please forgive me
Because this crown is not within me
It's not within me, it's not within me”
Now it becomes clear that the chorus is in fact the girl’s “straight answer” that she no longer loves him. He reveals that she ended the relationship (“grave of our old love” = relationship is dead) and that this is the cause of his anguish, as he still loves her. In fact, even though their relationship is over, his love for her continues to grow (i.e. flowers growing on the grave). It is also interesting to note that Regine sings the chorus with Win this time (whereas the previous two times he sang the chorus alone). This seems appropriate, as he has finally revealed that the chorus represents the girl’s words. Having Regine sing it with him verifies this.
“You got to be the one
You got to be the way
Your name is the only word that I can say
You got to be the one
You got to be the way
Your name is the only word
The only word that I can say”
He continues to be convinced that this girl is “the one” for him, that she is the only girl that he will ever love, and that he will never get over her
@Cuenh
They say it fades if you let it
Love was made to forget it
I carved your name across my eyelids
You pray for rain, I pray for blindness
If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love has fallen from me
If you still want me, please forgive me
Because the spark is not within me
I snuffed it out before my mom walked in my bedroom
The only thing that you keep changin'
Is your name, my love keeps growin'
Still the same, just like a cancer
And you won't give me a straight answer
If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love has fallen from me
If you still want me, please forgive me
Because your hands are not upon me
I shrugged them off before my mom walked in my bedroom
The pains of love, and they keep blowin'
In my heart, there's flowers growin'
On the grave of our old love
Since you gave me a straight answer
If you still want me, please forgive me
The crown of love is not upon me
If you still want me, please forgive me
'Cause the spark is not within me
It's not within me, it's not within me
You gotta be the one
You gotta be the way
Your name is the only word that I can say
You gotta be the one
You gotta be the way
Your name is the only word
The only word that I can say
Only word that I can say
No, no, no, no, no
No, no, no, no
@guilhermecavalcante8093
I feel so bad for only getting to know this band now. OMG this song alone is better than the entire discography of so many artists.
@christofyre
You will find many gems as you explore the Arcade Fire discography. Welcome to the club, my friend.
@eddiemitchell5280
never too late bud. I found them around the same time. its worth it right?
@mr.x9646
I liked funeral alot when it came out, and now I like it even more. It's aged like fine wine, and might be the best album I've ever listened to front to back.
@jasonjames6383
It's a great album
@Metalpug79
Is it time for an awesome deluxe edition of the Funeral album with demos, outtakes and b-sides?? That would amazing!
@TECfan1
Probably. They're doing a 15th anniversary thingy.
@moosesgalore
the demos, outtakes, and b sides are better than the album itself
@TECfan1
@nothing personnel Ehhhh. Not really. There's a reason they're B-Sides, as is the case with most B sides, lol.
@moosesgalore
@Th.El.Co._1 just dont comment if you dont know their work. the 2001 bootlegs and 2002 christmas album are obviously beyond your mental capacity. i get that it was almost two decades ago, but cmon. dont go and say stupid stuff without thinking