In the chorus, the narrator admits that they would give their heart to their partner, but it feels out of reach, caught up in a tree. This metaphorical tree represents a physical distance between the narrator and their partner, and symbolizes the emotional barriers they face in their relationship.
As the song progresses, the tone becomes darker as the narrator reveals that their lover is buried underground, suggesting that they have died. This loss is another secret that the narrator has kept buried, and nobody knows about it except them.
Overall, "Circle" explores the idea of secrets and the toll they can take on a person's psyche. The narrator is consumed by regret, guilt, and loss, and these emotions have trapped them in a vicious cycle of hiding their true feelings and experiences. The song is a reminder that honesty and openness are crucial in any relationship, and that burying one's secrets can have lasting and damaging consequences.
Circle
Mitski Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That now I can't tell the truth
And it ate me inside, so one soft drunken night
I slept with a man you knew
Then in the morning I walked home alone
And the businessmen saw my bones
With my skirt in their eyes, they remembered the nights
You told me once
You were happy to have me
But I never gave me away
There's a lie that I told to you
I would give you my heart, I think
But it's up in a branch of a tree
It was only to tease when he climbed up the tree
Put my heart where I couldn't reach
I didn't mind, I adored him so
We forgot, and we left for home
And that was so long ago, now the tree it has grown
And nobody knows my lover is buried underground
Nobody knows my lover is buried underground
Nobody knows my lover is buried underground
There's a lie that I told to you
Mitski's song "Circle" is filled with complex and heart-wrenching emotions of betrayal and heartbreak. The lyrics tell the story of a woman who has cheated on her partner and is consumed with guilt and the weight of the terrible secret she is forced to carry with her. The opening lines of the song reveal that she has told a lie to her partner, one that she can't take back, and now she is left with a burden that eats her up inside. One night, overcome with guilt, she sleeps with a man known to her partner, only to wake up in the morning and walk home alone, filled with feelings of shame and regret.
As she walks, she is met with the glances of businessmen who objectify her and see her only as a sexual object. They are reminded of their own experiences with the man she slept with, and the woman is left to feel even more debased and degraded. The chorus repeats the line "there's a lie that I told to you", a constant reminder of the guilt and shame she is consumed with.
The second verse reveals another lie that she told her partner, that she would give him her heart, but it's now stuck up on a tree branch where she can't reach it. This line could represent a variety of things, from her inability to fully give herself to her partner to her fear of vulnerability and being hurt. The man who helped place it up in the tree was someone she adored, but they forgot about it and went on with their lives, leaving the heart on the tree to grow untouched and out of reach.
The final lines of the song are hauntingly sad, revealing that nobody knows that her lover is buried underground, suggesting that her lover may have passed away or that the relationship had died as a result of her infidelity. Overall, Mitski's song "Circle" is a deeply emotional and complex piece of music that captures the intensity and weight of guilt and regret.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a lie that I told to you
The singer admits to a lie that she told her lover and can no longer come clean about it.
That now I can't tell the truth
She is unable to tell the truth now and the guilt eats at her.
And it ate me inside, so one soft drunken night
The guilt eats at her and one night she sleeps with a man her lover knows.
I slept with a man you knew
She sleeps with someone her lover knew to relieve her guilt.
Then in the morning I walked home alone
Afterwards, she walks home alone.
And the businessmen saw my bones
On her walk, businessmen take notice of her.
With my skirt in their eyes, they remembered the nights
They recall the nights they were in her lover's position.
When they were that man you knew
They remember when they were with the same person she slept with.
You told me once
Her lover told her once.
You were happy to have me
That he was happy to be with her.
But I never gave me away
She never fully gave herself to him.
I would give you my heart, I think
She thinks she would give him her heart.
But it's up in a branch of a tree
She has hidden her heart away in a tree.
It was only to tease when he climbed up the tree
She let her lover climb the tree to retrieve her heart as a tease.
Put my heart where I couldn't reach
When her lover retrieved her heart, he put it in a place she can't get to it.
I didn't mind, I adored him so
She didn't mind that he put her heart out of reach because she adored him.
We forgot, and we left for home
They forgot about her heart and left.
And that was so long ago, now the tree it has grown
It has been a long time since that moment and the tree has grown.
And nobody knows my lover is buried underground
No one knows that her lover is buried underground.
Nobody knows my lover is buried underground
She repeats that no one knows.
Nobody knows my lover is buried underground
Once again, she repeats that no one knows.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MITSUKI LAYCOCK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@iiphis5510
There's a lie that I told to you
That now I can't tell the truth
And it ate me inside, so one soft drunken night
I slept with a man you knew
Then in the morning I walked home alone
And the businessmen saw my bones
With my skirt in their eyes, they remembered the nights
When they were that man you knew
You told me once
You were happy to have me
But I never gave me away
There's a lie that I told to you
I would give you my heart, I think
But it's up in a branch of a tree
It was only to tease when he climbed up the tree
put my heart where I couldn't reach
I didn't mind, I adored him so
We forgot, and we left for home
And that was so long ago, now the tree it has grown
And nobody knows my lover is buried underground,
nobody knows my lover is buried underground,
nobody knows my lover is buried underground
There's a lie that I told to you.
@lachie2649
Lyrics:
There's a lie that I told to you
That now I can't tell the truth
And it ate me inside, so one soft drunken night
I slept with a man you knew
And in the morning I walked home alone
And the businessmen saw my bones
With my skirt in their eyes, they remembered the nights
When they were that man you knew
You told me once
You were happy to have me
But I never gave me away
There's the lie that I told to you
I would give you my heart, I think
But it's up in a branch of a tree
It was only to tease when he climbed up the tree
Put my heart where I couldn't reach
I didn't mind, I adored him, so
We forgot, and we left for home
And that was so long ago, now the tree it has grown
And nobody knows my lover is buried underground
Nobody knows my lover is buried underground
Nobody knows my lover is buried underground
There's a lie that I told to you
@mitskileaks
Mitski's new album 'The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We', featuring the song "My Love Mine All Mine" is out now. Watch the music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx4kLgnFexo
Listen to the album: https://mitski.lnk.to/TLIIASAW
@unfunnyskull
mitski create more jumpscares please
@G_fr4n_
@@unfunnyskullin bug like an angel there are
@allmitskilyricsgluedtogether
@@G_fr4n_ I need MORE
@wren7574
I can't leave this earth until I see mitski live.
Update 3 years later: I have tickets to see mitski in april of 2024. I can die peacefully after
@amandago3191
she’s not doing live shows anymore:(
@wren7574
@@amandago3191 really? I thought all she said was she’s taking a break for a while but she’s not done making music
@sansebastienne3819
Its pretty good I wont lie
@Someone-fn3ij
dont think that'll happen any time soon :/
@wren7574
@@Someone-fn3ij well I know with corona rn and she's taking a break. but I'll wait