In a interview with Pitchfork, she said
Pitchfork: It very much does. Towards the end of the record, there is a Buddhist sentiment about the obstacle being the path. You sing, "Don’t remove my pain, it’s my chance to heal." That’s how we figure things out, isn’t it? That the only way out is through, that having things be easier is not helpful in the long run.
When I say that, it might come across that I'm incredibly wise. But it's the other way around. I'm fucked and I'm trying to talk myself into it, like, "Go, girl! You can do it!" It's me advising myself. It's not me knowing it all - not at all. It's just a certain route you just have to go; I went through it.
It’s really hard for me to talk about it. It really is in the lyrics. I’ve never really done lyrics like this, because they’re so teenage, so simple. I wrote them really quickly. But I also spent a long time on them to get them just right. It’s so hard to talk about the subject matter; it’s impossible—I’m sorry. [tears up] There’s so many songs about [heartbreak] that exist this in the world, because music is somehow the perfect medium to express something like this. When I did the interviews about Biophilia, I could talk for four hours about tech and education and science and instruments and pendulums—all the things we did. This one, I couldn’t put any of that stuff on top of it, because it has to be what it is. And I can’t talk about it. It’s not that I don’t want to, I’m not trying to be difficult. It really is all in there.
Not Get
Bjork Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Our love couldn't carry you
And I didn't even notice
For our love kept me safe from
Death
You doubted the lights
And the shelter it can give
Eternal and safe from death
If I regret us
I'm denying my soul to grow
Don't remove my pain
It is my chance to heal
We carry the same wound
But have different cures
Similar injuries
But opposite remedies
After our love ended
Your arms don't carry me
Without love I feel the abyss
Understand your fear of death
I will not forget
This not get
Will you not regret
Having love let go
After our love ended
Your spirit entered me
Now we are the guardians
We keep her safe from death
Love will keep all of us safe from death
Love will keep us same from death
(Safe! From!)
Love will keep all of us safe from death
Death
Love will keep us safe from (from) death
(Safe safe from from death death)
Death!
Bjork's song "Not Get" is a poignant and introspective look at the end of a romantic relationship. Bjork speaks to a former lover who has fallen out of love, confessing that she didn't even notice the other person's emotional state slipping away. Bjork acknowledges that love was her shield against the perils of life, the one thing that kept her safe from death. However, the other person in the relationship had doubts about the power of love and the security it provided. They lost faith and, as a result, fell out of love.
Bjork goes on to examine what happens after a love story ends. She acknowledges that she feels lost without love and that the absence of it takes her to the edge of the abyss. Despite the pain that the breakup has caused her, she understands that it is through the pain and healing that she will grow as a person, and she implores the other person not to remove her pain for the same reason.
The second half of the song finds Bjork musing on the similarities and differences between the couple. She recognizes that they carry similar emotional wounds from the broken relationship, but they have opposite methods for healing these wounds. The song concludes with a note of optimism, as Bjork and her former lover have become "guardians" who keep their shared love safe from death.
Line by Line Meaning
Once you fell out of love
When your love for me disappeared
Our love couldn’t carry you
Our relationship was not strong enough to keep you with me
And I didn’t even notice
I didn't realize or acknowledge that you were slipping away
For our love kept me safe from Death
My love for you was my protection from the fear of dying
You doubted the lights
You didn't trust the safety and security that love can provide
And the shelter it can give
The comfort and protection that love can offer
For in love we are immortal
Love transcends mortality and makes us feel eternal
Eternal and safe from death
Protected from the fear and vulnerability of death
If I regret us
If I feel remorseful for our relationship
I’m denying my soul to grow
It would hinder my personal growth and development
Don’t remove my pain
Don't take away my hurt and suffering
It is my chance to heal
It is an opportunity for me to learn and recover
We carry the same wound
We both have been hurt in the past
But have different cures
We require different methods of healing
Similar injuries
We have experienced similar damage
But opposite remedies
But require different solutions
After our love ended
Once our relationship was over
Your arms don’t carry me
I no longer feel comforted and protected by you
Without love I feel the abyss
Without the safety and security of love, I feel lost and vulnerable
Understand your fear of death
I acknowledge your hesitation and anxiety towards death
I will not forget
I will remember our relationship
This not get
This feeling of being unable to let go
Will you not regret
Won't you feel remorseful?
Having love let go
For letting go of our relationship
After our love ended
When our romantic involvement was over
Your spirit entered me
Your ideas and emotions impacted me
Now we are the guardians
We are the protectors now
We keep her safe from death
Our love protects us from vulnerability and fear of dying
Love will keep all of us safe from death
Love offers protection from mortality
Love will keep us same from death
Love will preserve and protect us
(Safe! From!)
From the fear and possibility of death
Love will keep all of us safe from death
Love shields us from dying
Death
The inevitability of the end of life
Love will keep us safe from (from) death
We are protected from the fear of dying through our love
(Safe safe from from death death)
We are sheltered and free from the fear of mortality
Death!
The inevitability and finality of death
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Bjork Gudmundsdottir, Alejandro Ghersi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Matheus Lopes Tangerino
Once you fell out of love
Our love couldn’t carry you
And I didn’t even notice
For our love kept me safe from
Death
You doubted the lights
And the shelter it can give
For in love we are immortal
Eternal and safe from death
If I regret us
I’m denying my soul to grow
Don’t remove my pain
It is my chance to heal
We carry the same wound
But have different cures
Similar injuries
But opposite remedies
After our love ended
Your arms don’t carry me
Without love I feel the abyss
Understand your fear of death
I will not forget
This not get
Will you not regret
Having love let go
After our love ended
Your spirit entered me
Now we are the guardians
We keep her safe from death
Love will keep all of us safe from death
Love will keep us same from death
(Safe! From!)
Love will keep all of us safe from death
Death
Love will keep us safe from (from) death
(Safe safe from from death death)
Death!
Diego Linsambarth
"Once you fell out of love
Our love couldn't carry you
And I didn't even notice
For our love
Kept me save from death
You doubted the light
And the shelter it can give
For in love we are immortal
Eternal and safe from death
If I regret us
I'm denying my soul to grow
Don't remove my pain
It is my chance to heal
After our love ended
Your arms don't carry me
Without love I feel the abyss
Understand your fear of death
We carry the same wound
But have different cures
Similar injuries
But opposite remedies
I will not forget
This notget
Will you not regret
Having love let go
After our love ended
Your spirit entered me
Now we are the guardians
We keep her safe from death
Love will keep us safe from death"
DigitalHorizon
"If I regret us I'm denying my soul to grow"
This is such a punch in my face
Gentle Request
Saw her live with my ex. We integrated these messages and moved on with our lives after. It was powerful. No regrets, pain feels good
erikpoephoofd
Right in my grapefruit feelsies
Anil Akin
I am proud to share same planet with Björk. But she is living at least 10k years ahead of us.
Esme Marion
You sure she's from Earth?
Flanigan a-go-go
@Esme Marion of course.. we are the sublime. We are the nexus of the future is now
Fotini Kotsia
Yes
Mariana Jó
That's the most accurate comment I've seen on youtube
Matthew Smith
There is a distinct possibility he is a Vorlon in a very compact encounter suit, left behind to guide our evolution through her art.
illuminate the mainstream
Discovering Bjork for the first time feels like a life changing experience. Like she is feeding a need inside my soul that I wasn't fully aware of.