In Love In Vain
André Previn And His Orchestra Lyrics

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It's only human for anyone to want to be in love
But who wants to be in love in vain
At night you hang around the hall
And eat your heart out
And cry your eyes out
And rack your brains

You sit and wonder why anyone as wonderful as she

Should cause you such misery and pain
I thought that I would be in Heaven
But I'm only up a tree
Cause it's just my luck to be in love in vain.

You sit and wonder why anyone as wonderful as he
Should cause you such misery and pain

I thought that I would be in Heaven

But I'm only up a tree
Cause it's just my luck to be in love in vain.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of André Previn and His Orchestra's song, In Love In Vain, capture the feeling of unreciprocated love. The opening line highlights the universal desire to be in love, but nobody wants to be in love vainly. The song's narrator expresses the pain of being stuck in a one-sided love affair, where he spends his nights jilted, heartbroken, crying, and racking his brains, trying to understand why his love interest doesn't return his affections.

He then contemplates the irony of the situation, as he thought that being in love would be heavenly, but instead, he finds himself stuck up in a tree, in vain. The chorus repeats the phrase "cause it's just my luck to be in love in vain" to emphasize the helplessness and resignation that come with unrequited love.

Overall, the lyrics poignantly convey the sadness and resignation that comes with being in love without being loved back.

Line by Line Meaning

It's only human for anyone to want to be in love
It's natural for humans to desire love

But who wants to be in love in vain
No one wants to be in love when it is not reciprocated

At night you hang around the hall
At night you often find yourself in familiar places

And eat your heart out
You feel a deep sadness

And cry your eyes out
You cry uncontrollably

And rack your brains
You try hard to understand and solve the problem

You sit and wonder why anyone as wonderful as she
You question why someone so amazing could cause you pain

Should cause you such misery and pain
Why this person is causing you sadness and discomfort

I thought that I would be in Heaven
You believed you would feel pure happiness

But I'm only up a tree
But instead you feel trapped and helpless