I'm Leaving You For Solitude
Manic Street Preachers Lyrics

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I'm leaving you for solitude
I left myself so long ago
I'm leaving you for solitude

The days that I once craved
Left me staggered and left me dazed
Stretched my fears over ageing skin
Helps the denial to begin

I'm looking into the waves
Quiet moments are all that remains
Internalised all my thoughts of death
I want to block out what was really said

I'm leaving you for solitude
I left myself so long ago
I'm leaving you for solitude
A place so rare and beautiful

All I am taking are some blank empty pages
Some magazines & memories
No watches and no jewelery
The days that I once craved
Left me staggered and left me dazed
Stretched my fears over ageing skin
Helps the denial to begin

I'm leaving you for solitude
I left myself so long ago

I'm leaving you for solitude
A place so rare and beautiful

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of I'm Leaving You For Solitude by Manic Street Preachers are deeply introspective and paint a vivid picture of a person who has decided to leave a relationship in pursuit of solitude. The singer reflects that they left themselves behind a long time ago and are therefore seeking solace and self-discovery in a place that is "so rare and beautiful."

The lyrics also explore the passage of time and the aging process. The lines "stretched my fears over ageing skin/ helps the denial to begin" suggest that the singer is using solitude as a way to avoid confronting their own mortality. Additionally, the lines "internalized all my thoughts of death/ I want to block out what was really said" suggest a desire to escape from the harsh realities of life by immersing oneself in solitude.

Overall, the song is a poignant reflection on the need for solitude as a means of finding oneself and facing one's fears, especially in the face of aging and the inevitability of death.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm leaving you for solitude
I'm ending our relationship and opting for a life of being alone

I left myself so long ago
I lost who I used to be a long time ago

I'm leaving you for solitude
I'm choosing to be alone instead of being with you

The days that I once craved
The things I used to desire and long for

Left me staggered and left me dazed
Left me feeling shocked and confused

Stretched my fears over ageing skin
Made me more scared of growing old and losing my youth

Helps the denial to begin
Assists me in denying my own mortality and the reality of growing old

I'm looking into the waves
I'm staring out into the ocean

Quiet moments are all that remains
All I have left are peaceful moments of silence

Internalized all my thoughts of death
I have kept my thoughts and fears about death inside of me

I want to block out what was really said
I want to ignore the truth and not face reality