First Love
Emmy the Great Lyrics


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I remember how we met
But your name I forget
Like the door that I have kept unopened

I remember it was wet
And the swelt and the sweat
And the shelter of the bed we cloaked in
You were stroking me like a pet
But you didn't own me yet
And the tape in the cassette deck was choking
Spat out a broken hallelujah

But I've seen the way the earth
Throws its aces with a curve
You were waiting for the words
To come to yer.

Just to say that you prefer to be lonely
To be cursed
And to do the very worst you can do.

Yeah I remember you like a verse
That I didn't want to learn
I just looked into your eyes
And I knew yer.

Now the thought of you is burnt
On my body from the first time you did rewind that line
From Hallelujah.
The original Leonard Cohen version.

Well I wish that I never met you that day
You said I have a room, I have music to play
I have a room let me show you the way
I wish that I'd never come

But now that I have, I would do it again
And I would forget that I'd piss on a grave

I would forget that I'd piss on a grave
And the words as they came to my tongue were

hallelujah. Hallelujah!
And the sky was so much bluer
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And the world was so much newer.

You said I have a room
At the top of the stairs
I have a room with a view
I know we all have a cross that we bear
And I'd like to show it to you.

And you left me in the light
And you met me in the light
And we only had a night between the two.

You were waiting for the worst
You were listening for a curse
But the only thing I heard was hallelujah.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And the sky was so much bluer
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And the world was so much newer.

you said I have a room
At the top of the stairs.
I have a room with a view.
I know we all have a cross that we bear
And I'd like to give it to you.

And I won't forget how the sky was set
I said I have a place to go back to.
La La La I will have you yet
I will carry you there if I have to.

No I won't forget no I won't.
No I won't forget no I won't
No I won't forget no I won't
No I won't forget no.





Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. W-o-o-o-ah.
First love.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Emmy the Great's song "First Love" narrate a tale of a past romance that is now just a memory. The singer reminisces on the first encounter with an unknown person, who they met on a rainy day. The singer can't recall the name of the person, but they remember that they didn't own them yet. The duo shared an intimate moment, but the cassette tape choked and spat out a broken "Hallelujah," a reference to the famous song by Leonard Cohen. The singer notes that they have seen how the earth throws its aces with a curve, a metaphor for unexpected twists and turns in life. The unknown person was waiting for the singer to say that they prefer to be lonely, to be cursed, and to do the worst.


The singer then recalls that they wished they had never met this person at first, but now that they have, they would do it all over again. The lyrics suggest that the duo had an intense physical connection, which is clear from lines such as "And the sky was so much bluer" and "And the world was so much newer." However, the singer can't forget the past and all the moments spent with this person. They promise to carry the memories with them and ultimately won't forget the person who was their first love.


Line by Line Meaning

I remember how we met
I recall the circumstances of our first meeting


But your name I forget
I don't remember your name


Like the door that I have kept unopened
You are like a door I have never opened


I remember it was wet
I recall that it was raining


And the swelt and the sweat
The humidity and sweat were noticeable


And the shelter of the bed we cloaked in
We took refuge under the bed sheets


You were stroking me like a pet
You were caressing me like a pet animal


But you didn't own me yet
We weren't in a committed relationship yet


And the tape in the cassette deck was choking
The cassette tape was malfunctioning


Spat out a broken hallelujah
The tape produced a distorted sound


But I've seen the way the earth
I have observed how the natural world works


Throws its aces with a curve
Things don't always happen as expected


You were waiting for the words
You were anticipating something from me


To come to yer.
To come to you


Just to say that you prefer to be lonely
You want to be alone


To be cursed
You'd rather suffer than compromise


And to do the very worst you can do.
You're willing to act out in destructive ways


Yeah I remember you like a verse
I remember you like a song verse


That I didn't want to learn
That I didn't want to become familiar with


I just looked into your eyes
I just stared into your eyes


And I knew yer.
And I knew you


Now the thought of you is burnt
Now I can't get you out of my head


On my body from the first time you did rewind that line
I associate you with the first time I heard a line from a specific song


From Hallelujah.
From the song Hallelujah


Well I wish that I never met you that day
I regret meeting you that day


You said I have a room, I have music to play
You invited me to listen to music in your room


I have a room let me show you the way
You offered to guide me to your room


I wish that I'd never come
I wish I didn't go with you


But now that I have, I would do it again
Despite my regret, I would still go with you again


And I would forget that I'd piss on a grave
I would ignore my disrespectful behavior


And the words as they came to my tongue were hallelujah.
I exclaimed 'hallelujah' without thinking


And the sky was so much bluer
The world seemed better


And the world was so much newer.
Everything seemed refreshed


You said I have a room
You invited me to your room


At the top of the stairs.
The room was located on an upper floor


I have a room with a view.
The room had a nice view


I know we all have a cross that we bear
I understand that everyone has their own problems


And I'd like to show it to you.
And I'd like to share it with you


And you left me in the light
And you abandoned me when things were going well


And you met me in the light
And you came back to me when things were good


And we only had a night between the two.
We only had a limited time to spend together


You were waiting for the worst
You were expecting something bad to happen


You were listening for a curse
You were anticipating me to say something negative


But the only thing I heard was hallelujah.
But instead, I exulted in the moment


No I won't forget no I won't.
I won't forget what happened


Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. W-o-o-o-ah.
Interjection expressing intensity of emotion


First love.
Referring to the experience of falling in love for the first time




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: EMMA MOSS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

xxCorinnaxx

Of course she doesn't HAVE to quote another song and I'm sure she knows that! She is playing with the themes in Hallelujah, explaining what influence it had on her etc. It's also pretty funny: "The original Leonard Cohen version" - that made me laugh, I think she's poking fun at people who rail against any of the covers of the song and think they're sophisticated for preferring Cohen's versiom, whilst also agreeing that his version's best. I really like her and this song.

Lygem

To think her ambition was to be a back-up singer. She's captivated me with her voice, her lyrics, her shifting eyes to make sure she doesn't miss a queue... I can't even express how taken I am with her.

johnnyultimate

I adore this song - can't wait for the album and gig :)

rad941205

she is one of he greatest song writers in history.

Hoopaloop

I only heard this song this year, after finally looking up Emmy The Great. It reminds me of my ex of 12-13 years back. Not because she listened to Emmy - she didn't - but because it's just so *her*, and I know she'd have loved it, loved Emmy.

It sends me back to that time in a way that normally only works when the song soundtracked a moment. Bittersweet.

Equinox K

I think this song and this video pretty much sums up how a person's first love is like--innocent, pretty, serene, and then it starts become a chaotic mish mash of things before it comes to sudden end, and then you move on.

SENORITA1666

such a sweet calm voice, witty lyrics, and she is beautiful, xx love emmy ! xx

La Quaintrelle Christie

My favourite song at the moment <3 And the video rocks too!

Levitate

simply lovely, looking forward to the next album,

Andy Von Pip

I love this video. The album really is F***ing brilliant

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