A Song for goodbyes
Elspeth Lyrics


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You’re a template
Of an empty serenade
Something to make your heart ache
And the blood boil in your veins
And we could write a tragedy of our own to call yesterday
Nothing to lose or to gain
We’ve got so much time to waste
And it’s so beautiful to watch your heart break
Something to give to someone
A temporary place to belong
Love is a game we play for fun
Sing a love song for no one
You’re a riddle to explain
I’m a stranger to your ways
You are a route of escape
Darling don’t you leave a trace
We could get higher than the stars before they fade
We are the authors of our own mistakes
Dirty fingerprints on a once blank page
And it’s so beautiful to watch your heart break
Something to take from someone
Only looking to have some fun




Certain to end as surely as it’s begun
Sing a love song for no one

Overall Meaning

In Elspeth's song Song for Goodbyes, the first stanza paints a picture of someone who is using a formulaic approach to love, a “template of an empty serenade,” that may evoke sentimentality but ultimately leaves one feeling empty. The second stanza talks about the characters wanting to create their own story from scratch but deciding that they have nothing to lose or gain. The line “we’ve got so much time to waste” captures the characters’ sense of ennui and apathy towards their current state of affairs. The third stanza tackles the idea of love as a game that people play for fun, using someone as a temporary placeholder without any intention of commitment.


In the final stanza, the mysterious nature of the characters’ relationship is explored. They are strangers to each other's ways, perhaps living on the edge and embracing risk-taking behavior. The line, “dirty fingerprints on a once blank page” describes the carelessness with which they are living their lives. The notion of “watching your heart break” is incredibly poignant because it captures the sense of voyeuristic pleasure that can come from observing someone else’s misfortune. The song ends with the suggestion that the singer is singing “a love song for no one,” that is to say, realizing that they are alone in this world.


Line by Line Meaning

You’re a template
You are a generic model, lacking originality or substance


Of an empty serenade
Of a meaningless, insincere love song


Something to make your heart ache
Something that evokes feelings of pain and sadness


And the blood boil in your veins
And incites intense emotion and passion within you


And we could write a tragedy of our own to call yesterday
And we have experienced hardship and sorrow in our past


Nothing to lose or to gain
There are no risks or rewards involved


We’ve got so much time to waste
We have an abundance of time that we don't know how to use


And it’s so beautiful to watch your heart break
It is both heart-wrenching but also captivating to witness your emotional pain


Something to give to someone
Something to offer someone else, even if it's not genuine


A temporary place to belong
A temporary feeling of connection or acceptance


Love is a game we play for fun
Love is something we use to entertain ourselves, not to be taken seriously


Sing a love song for no one
Express your feelings of love but without a real recipient


You’re a riddle to explain
You are mysterious and difficult to understand or describe


I’m a stranger to your ways
I do not truly know or understand you


You are a route of escape
You offer a means of escape from reality


Darling don’t you leave a trace
Don't leave any evidence or mark behind that you were ever here


We could get higher than the stars before they fade
We could experience intense highs and emotions before they inevitably diminish


We are the authors of our own mistakes
We are solely responsible for the errors we make


Dirty fingerprints on a once blank page
Evidence of our existence and actions on something that was once pure and untouched


And it’s so beautiful to watch your heart break
It is both heart-wrenching but also captivating to witness your emotional pain


Something to take from someone
Something to acquire from someone else, without truly giving anything in return


Only looking to have some fun
Not seeking any real emotional or romantic commitment, just temporary entertainment


Certain to end as surely as it’s begun
This temporary encounter will inevitably come to an end at some point


Sing a love song for no one
Express your feelings of love but without a real recipient




Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: James Mitchell, Richard Bond, Ruth Baillie

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@coraline3453

Love this song!

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