Broken
Audio Learning Center Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Stranglehold days
Wear you away
Pacing holes in linoleum
Stuck in a rut
Still love him too much
Hard to believe
How far down you have come
Bottle to glass
Glass to your mouth
A ritual you've grown
Accustomed to these days
Windows no lights
Alone in a room
The afternoon sun abandons you

You're frozen stuck in the past
'cause nothing good seems to last
You broke down somewhere along
'Cause nothing good lasts very long.

Your children all raised
No one to tend
You burned all the bridges
With all of your friends who
Stood by your side
In sorrow and hate
You've driven them
Driven them all away

You're frozen stuck in the past
'Cause nothing good seems to last
Afraid you'll fade till you're gone
'Cause nothing good lasts very long

You make the worst
Of everything you
Childhood dreams that never came
Still can't accept
He up and left you
Wedding vows still remember the day

Your children raised
No one to listen
Pull the drapes shutting out the sun
You pour yourself - yourself another
While the out - the outside world
Moves on leaving you behind

Looping it inside your head
'til it becomes frayed




Stuck in a rut
Minutes turn hours into days

Overall Meaning

The song "Broken" by Audio Learning Center is an emotional ballad about the pain and despair of a woman who has been left alone with her regrets and addiction. The lyrics suggest that the woman has been in a stranglehold for a long time, as she is worn away and stuck in a rut. She misses the man who left her and still loves him too much, but he is long gone. She has turned to drinking as a ritual and spends her days pacing holes in linoleum, watching the afternoon sun abandon her through the windows with no lights. She is frozen stuck in the past, as nothing good seems to last, and she feels she has broken down somewhere along the way.


The second stanza furthers the imagery of despair and loneliness as the woman has burned all her bridges with friends who stood by her side in sorrow and hate. She is left all alone in a room with no one to tend to her, and her children are all raised with no one to listen. The lyrics suggest that the woman cannot accept the fact that her dreams have never come, and her wedding vows still reverberate in her mind. She is pouring herself another drink, while the outside world moves on leaving her behind. The song ends on the note of how the woman loops everything inside her head, becoming frayed and stuck in a rut, as minutes turn hours into days.


Line by Line Meaning

Stranglehold days
Days that hold you tight and suffocate you.


Wear you away
Gradually wear you down over time.


Pacing holes in linoleum
Walking back and forth, causing stress related holes in floor covering.


Stuck in a rut
Unable to move on from a stagnant and unsatisfactory situation.


Still love him too much
Unable to let go of a love that has proved to be destructive.


Hard to believe
Difficult to comprehend how far one has fallen.


Bottle to glass
Pouring liquor from bottle to glass.


Glass to your mouth
Drinking liquor to cope with life.


A ritual you've grown
A habit developed over time that feels necessary.


Accustomed to these days
Used to living a life that might otherwise seem unbearable.


Windows no lights
No natural light is allowed in.


Alone in a room
Isolated from others.


The afternoon sun abandons you
Just like everything else, even the sun seems to have left you behind.


You're frozen stuck in the past
Unable to move on from past pain.


'Cause nothing good seems to last
Afraid to hope for a better future because past experiences have shown disappointments.


You broke down somewhere along the line
Something became too much and caused a breakdown that was hard to recover from.


'Cause nothing good lasts very long
A pessimistic view that good things do not last.


Your children all raised
Children are grown and gone, and the present is without purpose.


No one to tend
No one to care.


You burned all the bridges
Pushed everyone away because of self-destructive tendencies.


With all of your friends who stood by your side
People who were there before, who tried to help and have now given up.


In sorrow and hate
Both misery and animosity towards self and others.


You've driven them, driven them all away
Lasting relationships are gone because of one's own self-destructive behavior.


Afraid you'll fade till you're gone
Fear of disappearing or fading away because life feels empty and without purpose.


You make the worst of everything you
Nothing is ever good enough or positive; always seeing the worst in even the most positive experiences.


Childhood dreams that never came
Dreams from early life are lost and never fulfilled.


Still can't accept
Unable to come to terms with reality.


He up and left you
Significant other left, causing feelings of abandonment and emptiness.


Wedding vows still remember the day
Memories of a time that elicited hope and optimism.


No one to listen
No one to share thoughts and feelings with.


Pull the drapes shutting out the sun
Intentionally darkening and shutting out the good in life.


You pour yourself - yourself another
Continuing unhealthy habits and routines.


While the out - the outside world moves on leaving you behind
Life progresses without them, leaving one feeling alone and disconnected from everything.


Looping it inside your head
Replaying negative thoughts and scary memories over and over.


'til it becomes frayed
Until thought patterns and behaviors become unhealthy and unproductive.


Minutes turn hours into days
Time seems to drag on as life feels monotonous and filled with negative events.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JACK HODY JOHNSON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found

More Versions