Poetic Justice
Maura O'Connell Lyrics


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So I was not the one you wanted
Can't you see I'm reconciled?
Must you be so disappointed?
Can you not carry on in style?

Is it too much to say we loved hard
Til the world fell back in place
And left us where we are?

I feel like the king when the queen loses faith
And the crowd rushes in to tear down the gate
While the whole palace slept, and I never rang the bell
Maybe that's poetic justice, but it's pretty hard to tell

And when the fortune wheel is spinning
Luck is fortune's dirty joke
And a player's chance of winning
Is diminished by his hope
Can't you laugh just to think of the gold
We had running through our hands
When we were on a role?

I feel like the king when the queen loses faith
And the crowd rushes in to tear down the gate
And declare what was mine I stole from someone else
Maybe that's poetic justice, but it's pretty hard to tell

It's hard to tell why solid ground surprised us when we fell
It's hard to say it's life or death
Or just so many bitter words beneath your breath

Is it too much to say we loved hard
Til the world fell back in place
And left us where we are?

I feel like the king when the queen loses faith
And the crowd rushes in to tear down the gate
And declare what was mine I stole from someone else
Maybe that's poetic justice, but it's pretty hard to tell

I feel like the king when the queen loses hope
And the crowd rushes in to raise the gallows pole




And declare what he must do, I'm doing to myself
Well if that's poetic justice, how can anybody tell?

Overall Meaning

Maura O'Connell's "Poetic Justice" is a song that laments the end of a relationship, questioning the nature of justice and the futility of trying to understand what went wrong. The song deals with themes of disappointment, the capriciousness of fortune, and the difficulty of reconciling ourselves to the ending of something we once held dear. The first verse begins with the singer acknowledging that she was not the one her partner wanted, and yet she has made peace with this fact. She wonders why her partner cannot do the same and "carry on in style" without being disappointed. The second verse deals with the ebbs and flows of fortune and the irrationality of hope, which can sometimes work against us.


In the chorus, the singer compares herself to a king who has lost his queen's faith and is about to be torn down by an angry crowd. She questions whether this is poetic justice, and whether she is somehow getting what she deserves. These lines are repeated in the second chorus, with some variations. The last verse is perhaps the most poignant, as the singer comes to terms with the fact that sometimes things just happen for no apparent reason, and there is no justice to be found. She wonders if it is even worth trying to understand why things fell apart, or if we should just accept that they did.


Line by Line Meaning

So I was not the one you wanted
I realize that I wasn't the person you wanted to be with


Can't you see I'm reconciled?
Can't you see that I have accepted the situation?


Must you be so disappointed?
Do you have to be so let down by this?


Can you not carry on in style?
Can you not move forward gracefully?


Is it too much to say we loved hard
Is it an exaggeration to say that we loved passionately?


Til the world fell back in place
Until everything seemed to make sense again


And left us where we are?
And left us in our current situation


I feel like the king when the queen loses faith
I feel like I have all the power when my partner loses faith in our relationship


And the crowd rushes in to tear down the gate
And everyone else is quick to jump on the downfall of our love


While the whole palace slept, and I never rang the bell
While everyone else was oblivious to our issues, and I never asked for help


Maybe that's poetic justice, but it's pretty hard to tell
Perhaps that's just karma, but it's difficult to say for sure


And when the fortune wheel is spinning
And when luck seems to be constantly changing


Luck is fortune's dirty joke
Luck is something that can be cruelly taken away by fate


And a player's chance of winning
And a person's likelihood of success


Is diminished by his hope
Can be negatively affected by their unrelenting optimism


Can't you laugh just to think of the gold
Can't you find humor in the fact that we once had everything going for us


We had running through our hands
That we no longer have control over


When we were on a role?
When things were going well for us?


It's hard to tell why solid ground surprised us when we fell
It's difficult to understand how we ended up where we are when things seemed stable


It's hard to say it's life or death
It's hard to determine whether this situation is truly life-altering


Or just so many bitter words beneath your breath
Or if there are simply a lot of harsh things you want to say


I feel like the king when the queen loses faith
I feel like I have all the power when my partner loses faith in our relationship


And declare what was mine I stole from someone else
And everyone insinuates that I took something that wasn't rightfully mine


I feel like the king when the queen loses hope
I feel like I have all the power when my partner loses all optimism


And the crowd rushes in to raise the gallows pole
And everyone is waiting for me to fail


And declare what he must do, I'm doing to myself
And everyone is telling me what I should do, but I'm already doing it to myself


Well if that's poetic justice, how can anybody tell?
If this is a form of karma, how can anyone be sure?




Contributed by Taylor H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

@mattyofbuckleybrimmer3057

I've Loved this song for 30 years. Everyone has always brought me songs, this one was hard to find again. I think i still have the CD somewhere.

@marydunford1844

Thanks for uploading a studionl version ❤

@mattyofbuckleybrimmer3057

If anyone is listening... There's a cover of, "For No One," on the same record that i prefer to the original.

@DepressedCapitalist

Hola! Gracias por compartir. Tengo el album 'Stories' pero en vinilo y no puedo rippearlo. Y no esta en youtube ni en spotify. Hay alguna posibilidad de que lo puedas subir completo hermano? Gracias. Sdls.

@edgardojosemercado6199

Hola , solo tengo esta canción , me parece tan mágica que no me cabía en la cabeza que no estuviera en YouTube, saludos

@DepressedCapitalist

@@edgardojosemercado6199 Coincido. Una verdadera belleza. Half Moon Bay es mi favorita y es otra canción imperdible. Gracias por responder. Saludos.

@DepressedCapitalist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kEDPuvNWj4

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