Long Division
Death Cab for Cutie愀 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of paper buildings
And the echoes that remained
Of old friends and lovers
Their features bleeding
Together in his brain
And once it started was harder to
He was always distracted
By the very mention
Of an open door
'Cause he had sworn not to be what he'd been before
To be a remain remain remain remainder
The television was snowing softly
As she hunted for her keys
She said she never envisioned him the type of person capable of such deceit
And they carried on like long division
And it was clear with every page
That they were further away from a solution that would play
Without a remain remain remain remainder
He had sworn not to be what he'd been before
To be the remain remain remain remainder
The lyrics in Death Cab for Cutie's song "Long Division" tell the story of a man who is tormented by his own thoughts and memories. His head is a city of paper buildings, filled with echoes of old friends and lovers. These echoes constantly bleed together, making it harder for him to tell them apart. He is haunted by the past and always distracted by the mention of an open door; he had sworn not to be what he'd been before - a remainder.
As the song progresses, we see that the man's relationship with his partner is deteriorating. The couple is like a long division equation with every passing page, they're further away from a solution that would play. The television is snowing softly as the woman hunts for her keys. She says she never envisioned him capable of such deceit.
The lyrics in "Long Division" are a poignant exploration of memory, regret, and the tension that can arise in relationships when one partner is haunted by their past. The song offers a powerful reminder that our thoughts can be like a city, with buildings that echo long after their inhabitants have gone.
Line by Line Meaning
His head was a city
His mind was complex and full of many things
Of paper buildings
Filled with fragile and temporary structures that could be easily destroyed
And the echoes that remained
The memories that continued to reverberate inside his mind
Of old friends and lovers
The people from his past that still held a place in his thoughts
Their features bleeding
Their individual characteristics merging and becoming indistinct
Together in his brain
All these thoughts and memories existed side by side in his mind
And once it started was harder to
Once these thoughts began to merge, it became more difficult
Tell them apart
To differentiate and distinguish between them
He was always distracted
He was never fully present, always lost in his own thoughts
By the very mention
Just the mere suggestion or idea of something
Of an open door
The possibility of something new or unknown that could lead to change
'Cause he had sworn not to be what he'd been before
He had made a promise to himself to not fall back into old patterns or habits
To be a remain remain remain remainder
To be the leftover or unfulfilled remnants of something
The television was snowing softly
The television was flickering with static or white noise
As she hunted for her keys
As she searched for her means to escape or leave
She said she never envisioned him
She had never imagined or anticipated him
The type of person capable of such deceit
Being someone who could lie or be deceptive
And they carried on like long division
They continued in a slow and methodical process of separating and dividing
And it was clear with every page
As they continued, it became increasingly apparent
That they were further away from a solution that would play
That they were drifting apart and getting no closer to resolution
Without a remain remain remain remainder
Without any unresolved feelings or issues still lingering
He had sworn not to be what he'd been before
He had made a promise to himself to not fall back into old patterns or habits
To be the remain remain remain remainder
To be the leftover or unfulfilled remnants of something
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BENJAMIN GIBBARD, CHRISTOPHER WALLA, NICHOLAS HARMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind