New York-based Cardiknox is the duo of Lonnie Angle and Thomas Dutton. Havi… Read Full Bio ↴New York-based Cardiknox is the duo of Lonnie Angle and Thomas Dutton. Having grown up in Seattle playing classical piano on Lonnie’s side and punk music on Thomas’ end, the pair originally teamed up to create and produce rowdy musicals before moving to New York.

Cardiknox was thereafter born from a love of folding their unique talents into an original craft—mixing 80’s beats and production with ferocious vocals and dynamic hooks.

Souvenirs
Cardiknox Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You may be gone, but I saved the mixtape
That you made the old fashioned way
You called in to the radio DJ
And waited for our song to play
You load the deck with a blank cassette tape
You took the time to design the inlay
And wrote down what the songs were saying
On the cover was a heart around my name

On the cover was a heart around my name

All you left me with, all you left me with
All you left me with was souvenirs
All you left me with, all you left me with
All you left me with was souvenirs
All you left me with, all you left me with
All you left me with was souvenirs, souvenirs
All you left me with was souvenirs

You may be gone but I kept the sweatshirt
With the holes underneath the collar
I found it tucked in the back of the dresser
It still smells like the night I met ya
We snuck into the double feature
I spilled my drink on your brand new sneakers
We watched our hero save the world
Right then and there I thought I'd always be your girl

All you left me with, all you left me with
All you left me with was souvenirs
All you left me with, all you left me with
All you left me with was souvenirs
All you left me with, all you left me with
All you left me with was souvenirs, souvenirs
All you left me with was souvenirs

Sometimes I open that shoebox and play that old mixtape
I just can't bring myself to throw your sweatshirt away
The ticket stubs we saved, the polaroids we made
The broken bracelet that spelled out your name

All you left me with
All you left me with
All you left me with
All you left me with was souvenirs, souvenirs
All you left me with was souvenirs
All you left me with, all you left me with
All you left me with was souvenirs
All you left me with, all you left me with
All you left me with was souvenirs
All you left me with, all you left me with

All you left me with was souvenirs, souvenirs
All you left me with was souvenirs

Overall Meaning

The song "Souvenirs" by Cardiknox is a nostalgic ballad about the memories left behind after a relationship has ended. The singer saves mementos from her past with her former lover, such as a mixtape they made together and a sweatshirt that still has his scent. These objects provide a physical connection to the person who is no longer present in her life. The mixtape is particularly important to the singer because it was created in a traditional way, with the lover calling into a radio station to request their song and then recording it onto a cassette tape. The lover took great care in designing the tape cover and even drew a heart around the singer's name. The song chorus repeats the phrase "All you left me with was souvenirs," emphasizing the idea that while the physical items may be all that remains, they still hold great emotional significance.

The lyrics of "Souvenirs" speak to the power of sentimental items and the way they can evoke memories and emotions long after their original purpose has passed. The song captures the bittersweet feeling of holding onto something that represents a past relationship, but also recognizes the importance of keeping those memories alive. This theme of nostalgia resonates with many listeners who have lost someone important to them.

Line by Line Meaning

You may be gone, but I saved the mixtape
Although you are no longer here, I hold onto the mixtape that you made for me through an old-fashioned method of calling in to the radio and patiently waiting for our song to play.

You load the deck with a blank cassette tape
You took the time to load a blank cassette tape into the deck to record the songs that you chose for me.

You took the time to design the inlay
Along with recording the songs, you also carefully designed the inlay to accompany the mixtape.

On the cover was a heart around my name
You even added a heart around my name on the cover of the mixtape, which shows how much you care about me.

All you left me with was souvenirs
All you left me with were memories of our time together, preserved through tangible items like the mixtape, sweatshirt, ticket stubs, polaroids, and bracelet.

You may be gone but I kept the sweatshirt
Although you are no longer here, I still have the sweatshirt that you wore on the night that we met.

We snuck into the double feature
We shared a memorable experience of sneaking into a double feature movie together.

All you left me with was souvenirs, souvenirs
Again, all that remains of our time together are souvenirs that remind me of you.

Sometimes I open that shoebox and play that old mixtape
I still keep the mixtape in a shoebox, and sometimes I listen to it to relive the memories.

The ticket stubs we saved, the polaroids we made
We kept ticket stubs and took polaroid pictures together to further capture the memories of our time spent together.

All you left me with was souvenirs
Once again, all that remains of our relationship are tangible souvenirs that I hold onto to remember you by.

Contributed by Alexandra C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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