My Colouring Book
Dusty Springfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And lots of people do
Here's a new one for you
A most unusual coloring book
The kind you'll never see
Crayons ready?
Very well
Begin to color me
These are the eyes that watched him as he walked away
Color them grey
This is the heart that thought he would always be true
Color it blue
These are the arms that held him and touched him
Lost him somehow
Color them empty now
These are the beads I wore
Until she came between
Color them green
This is the room that I sleep in and walk in
And weep in and hide in
That nobody, nobody's seen
Oh, color it lonely, please
This is the man whose love I depended upon
Color him gone
In "My Colouring Book," Dusty Springfield essentially presents herself as a blank canvas, inviting her listeners to color her in with vivid detail through her lyrics. She treats heartbreak and loss as colors to add to her image, asking her audience to paint her as a jilted lover trying to make sense of her pain. Throughout the song, she makes use of rich imagery to convey a palpable sense of sadness and despair, describing in each line a different physical element of her life that has been marked by the absence of a loved one.
The opening lyrics playfully frame the song as a "colouring book," a trope that pops up throughout the song as a metaphor for life itself. Dusty offers up her life to be filled in by the crayons of the world, and in doing so, she relinquishes control over her own narrative. She paints herself as a victim of her own emotions, admitting in the final stanza that her relationship has crumbled to pieces because the object of her affection has left her behind. The song is a masterful exercise in painting pictures with words, a skill which earned Dusty Springfield acclaim as one of the greatest interpreters of pop music in the 60s.
Line by Line Meaning
For those who fancy coloring books
This song is dedicated to the people who enjoy coloring books.
And lots of people do
Many people entertain themselves by coloring books.
Here's a new one for you
This song is presenting a new kind of coloring book.
A most unusual coloring book
This is an out of the ordinary coloring book.
The kind you'll never see
This coloring book is unique and not seen frequently.
Crayons ready?
The singer is asking listeners if they have their crayons prepared for coloring.
Very well
The singer approves of having crayons ready.
Begin to color me
The singer is asking the listener to color in the drawings in the coloring book.
These are the eyes that watched him as he walked away
This line describes the eyes of the singer who saw a former love go away.
Color them grey
The song is requesting the listener to color the eyes gray to depict sadness.
This is the heart that thought he would always be true
The next line describes the heart of the singer who believed that her love was true.
Color it blue
The song is requesting the listener to color the heart blue, which can evoke feelings of sadness and loneliness.
These are the arms that held him and touched him
This line describes the arms of the singer that held and touched her lover.
Lost him somehow
The singer lost her lover and is unsure how it happened.
Color them empty now
The song is asking the listener to color the arms empty, reflecting a lack of holding and touching due to loss.
These are the beads I wore
This verse is about the jewelry worn by the singer.
Until she came between
The jewelry was worn until another woman came between the singer and her lover.
Color them green
This line requests the listener to color the beads green, evoking jealousy over the loss of the lover.
This is the room that I sleep in and walk in
This verse describes the room in which the singer spends her time.
And weep in and hide in
The room is where the singer cries and hides from others.
That nobody, nobody's seen
No one has seen the room up to now.
Oh, color it lonely, please
The song is asking the listener to color the room lonely to represent feelings of solitude and isolation.
This is the man whose love I depended upon
This line refers to the man that the singer relied upon for love and support.
Color him gone
The song requests the listener to color the man gone, indicating that he is no longer part of the singer's life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Fred Ebb, John Kander
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@edwardconway
Fantastic singing 😢
@musicrocksoffical
By far the best version.
@keithhutton34
Dusty is great she can sing anything, love her ,but Agnetha Fältskog duz a very good cover of this song 🎵 ❤️ 😊❤
@martinpensom5103
I love this song but then again I love everything Dusty sings she had the most amazing voice I have ever heard my favourite female singer of all time!
@AL-tj9xb
How can a single person not like this song?
@fromthesidelines
By Fred Ebb and John Kander. Sandy Stewart, Barbra Steisand and Kitty Kallen recorded earlier versions of it.
@nickpalmer3076
My favorite Dusty look.So Iconic.
@achirose2002
When Dusty sings, she makes you believe she's just right beside you or in this song, I'm beside her filled with empathy... that I wish I can take away her sorrow somehow and replace it with joy.
@katierear8113
This is just beautiful! Dustys voice makes the song!❤
@Mo-gg8ts
Legend