Bear's Den are a British folk rock band from London, formed in 2012. The ba… Read Full Bio ↴Bear's Den are a British folk rock band from London, formed in 2012. The band consists of Andrew Davie (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar) and Kevin Jones (vocals, drums, bass, guitar). Joey Haynes (vocals, banjo, guitar) left the band in early 2016. Joey has been replaced by Dutch artist Christof van der Ven in the studio and on tours since 2016 but not as an official member.

Bear's Den have released four studio albums: Islands (2014), Red Earth & Pouring Rain (22 July 2016), So that you might hear me (26 April 2019), and Blue Hours (13 May 2022). Islands peaked at number forty-nine on the UK Albums Chart. The band has also issued six EPs: Agape (2013), Without/Within (2013), Only Son of the Falling Snow (2019), Christmas, Hopefully (2020), The Quiet Winter Light (2022), and First Loves (2023).

The band has been nominated for several music awards throughout their career, with "Above the Clouds of Pompeii" earning the band a nomination for the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 2015. The band received two nominations at the UK Americana Awards in 2016, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "Agape".

The Love We Stole
Bear's Den Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I was heaving
Breaths I couldn't bear to breathe in
You came running
And stood there silent, summoning my sin
To let it all out now
Show the world the love that you stole
Let it all out now
Show the world the love that you stole

The love that you stole
The love that you stole

Hey love can't you hear me calling
Hey love, things keep falling
Hey love can't you hear me calling
Hey love, things keep falling
The love that we stole
The love that we stole

I was bawling
In some things you just can't help from falling
And all of your wisdom only makes me feel like I
I don't deserve the freedom
To love with my own heart
To care for another more than myself
To love with my own heart
To care for another more than myself

The love that we stole
The love that we stole

The love that we stole
The love that we stole

Hey love can't you hear me calling
Hey love, things keep falling
Hey love can't you hear me calling
Hey love, things keep falling
Hey love can't you hear me calling
Hey love, things keep falling
Hey love can't you hear me calling
Hey love, things keep falling

The love that we stole
The love that we stole

The love that we stole
The love that we stole

The love that we stole
The love that we stole

The love that we stole
The love that we stole

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Bear's Den's song "The Love We Stole" speaks about a love that was taken away. The song begins with the singer feeling overwhelmed and burdened by something, he was heaving breaths that he couldn't bear to take in. Suddenly, he meets someone who has been watching him silently and then conveys that all his sin, all that pain, he must let it all out and show the world the love that he has lost. The love that was taken away from him.

The chorus comes in, the singer calling out to love, asking it if it can hear him calling because things keep falling apart. He is trying hard to hold on to something that is slipping away with each passing moment. In the second verse, the singer is crying, feeling helpless, and acknowledges that some things in life are beyond one's control. He is overwhelmed by the wisdom of the person who was watching him silently and feels that he doesn't deserve the freedom to love with his own heart or care for anyone more than himself.

The song ends with the chorus repeating, emphasizing the love that was lost, the love that was stolen. The words, "the love that we stole," imply that maybe it wasn't just one person who was responsible for the loss of love in the relationship. Maybe both parties had some role to play in it.

Overall, the song highlights the challenges of love and relationships. How sometimes, despite giving it your all, things still fall apart, and one feels helpless and burdened. The song is a poignant reminder of the power of love, loss, and how we can find ourselves trying to hold on to something that is slipping away.

Line by Line Meaning

I was heaving
I was struggling to breathe

Breaths I couldn't bear to breathe in
The air felt suffocating and overwhelming

You came running
You came to me quickly

And stood there silent, summoning my sin
You were quiet, but I felt guilty for my actions

To let it all out now
To express my feelings openly

Show the world the love that you stole
Reveal to everyone the love that you took from me

The love that you stole
The affection that you took from me

Hey love can't you hear me calling
I am trying to reach out to you

Hey love, things keep falling
Things keep going wrong and causing problems

The love that we stole
The love that we both took from each other

I was bawling
I was crying uncontrollably

In some things you just can't help from falling
Sometimes, you can't prevent things from going wrong

And all of your wisdom only makes me feel like I
Your advice doesn't make me feel any better

I don't deserve the freedom
I don't feel like I am free to love

To love with my own heart
To love truly and sincerely

To care for another more than myself
To prioritize someone else's needs and feelings over my own

The love that we stole
The love that we both took from each other

The love that we stole
The affection that we both took from each other