Divers & Submarines
Passenger Lyrics


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Well I clung to you,
Like cat hair clings to a woollen shirt
You needed me, like a wedding dress needs dirt
The more that I wanted, the harder I squeezed
The harder I squeezed, the less you could breathe
And we sunk down to the bottom
Yeah, we sunk down to the bottom of the sea
Yeah, we sunk down to the bottom of the sea

And I cried for you,
Like a widow cries at her lover’s grave
You haunted me through my stinging nights,
And aching days
The more that you struggled, the tighter the knots,
The tighter the knots, the lower we got

And we sunk down to the bottom
Yeah, we sunk down to the bottom of the sea
Yeah, we sunk down to the bottom of the sea
Yeah, we sunk down to the bottom of the sea
Oh no,
‘Cause I saw divers and submarines




And I saw divers and submarines
Oh, I saw divers and submarines

Overall Meaning

These lyrics describe a toxic relationship the singer clung to, even though it was suffocating them. The comparison of their clinginess to cat hair on a woollen shirt and the neediness of their partner to dirt on a wedding dress is bleak and despondent. As the singer tries to hold on tighter, their partner struggles more and the knots get tighter, also pulling them both down further into the depths of their problems. The simile of crying like a widow at a lover’s grave is particularly potent, emphasizing the finality and mournfulness of the situation. The haunting presence of their ex-lover continues to plague them even after they’ve gone their separate ways. The chorus, “we sunk down to the bottom of the sea” is an apt metaphor for how their relationship failed to stay afloat, ultimately drowning them both in their own misery. The final line, “I saw divers and submarines,” suggests a deeper exploration into the events that led to the relationship’s downfall, revealing hidden truths that may have been previously obscured.


Line by Line Meaning

Well I clung to you,
I held onto you with desperation,


Like cat hair clings to a woollen shirt
Like how closely and persistently cat hair clings to wool clothes,


You needed me, like a wedding dress needs dirt
You relied on me despite how little I could give you, like how a wedding dress needs dirt to have a connection to the earth,


The more that I wanted, the harder I squeezed
The more I desired you, the more I held onto you tightly,


The harder I squeezed, the less you could breathe
The tighter I held onto you, the more suffocated you felt,


And we sunk down to the bottom
Our relationship slowly and inevitably fell apart,


Yeah, we sunk down to the bottom of the sea
We hit rock bottom,


And I cried for you,
I mourned for our lost relationship,


Like a widow cries at her lover’s grave
Like how deeply and painfully a widow mourns the loss of her lover,


You haunted me through my stinging nights,
You troubled my mind and emotions, making me feel pain and distress,


And aching days
And causing me sorrow during my waking hours,


The more that you struggled, the tighter the knots,
The more you tried to break free, the more entangled we became,


The tighter the knots, the lower we got
The more tied up in our relationship we were, the worse it became,


Oh no,
Expressing a sense of deep concern,


‘Cause I saw divers and submarines
Because I became aware of other relationships that functioned better,


And I saw divers and submarines
And I became aware of relationships that had the potential to work,




Contributed by Hunter Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

Masrur Amin Noor

2019 still not too many people know what gem that is! Lets share 💜

Chiedza Mutizwa

The imagery he paints is beautiful, he says i clung onto you like cat hair clings onto a woolen shirt. There is a reluctance there from the woolen shirt and when he sung, you needed me like a wedding dress needs dirt , that just hit me and confirmed the reluctance. A wedding dress is supposed to be perfection and pristine. Dirt and it are on opposite ends of the spectrum. There is an element of unrequited love, maybe at one point she was willing but he overpowered her and destroyed the relationship. The relationship could not float it was too heavy, from all his doing. He was too invested. She resisted and his attachment grew and he couldn't see the effects of what he was doing.. All he saw was that she was receding and he thought he had to fight for them both which is impractical you can't love yourself on behalf of the other person in a relationship. He couldn't do anything but hang on because he loved her.

Sonia Moreno

Un temazooo!!! Amo este tema, está hecho con una suave melodía, solo dejarse llevar por ella

Sonia Moreno

Que tema maravilloso! Solamente sintonizando en sentimiento , aún sin saber su traducción al español sé que cuando lo sepa me sorprenderá más aún, eso me sucede siempre con tu música

chems pulmonology

It's been years but I still strongly relate to this song it reminds of times of suffering it's hard to realize that you're unworthy to be loved all you can do is enjoy the scenery ...divers and submarines

Tori PrivacyLover

3 paragraphs below... Yeah, it's a bit long, but I had a lot to say! :P

I love that he gives his song's subjects strengths, flaws, beauty, and little details. It makes it feel so real. Like in this song, the singer was clearly genuinely loved her (strength), yet was too attached to her (flaw). The imagery of sinking to the bottom of the sea gave a melancholy beauty, especially when coupled with the music and video. And the bit about wedding dresses and cat hairs gave us little details about objects they probably see regularly. Personally, I love weaving the details and metaphors together into a clearer picture of their story. (Example below)

For example, why might he have thought of a wedding dress first? Perhaps they were engaged? Or he had been thinking about marriage prior to their breakup? "Cat hair clings to a woolen shirt". They could own a cat, or work with cats. Also, with the woolen shirt, it could be cold at the time, so it could be wintertime in a temperate climate, or they might live in a cold country.

(End Example)
It's equally possible that I'm wrong, and he never thought of marriage, hates cats, and that it takes place in the summertime. But, when listening to a song, you can let your imagination fill in some blanks if you want. He utilizes this facet masterfully. After over a year listening to this song, I'm still forming theories about the diving imagery! I think this is an extremely well-crafted and beautiful song. :)

Sonia Moreno

Son temas que te elevan o te sumergen y que finalmente hacen que tu alma vuele suavemente dejándote llevar por tu dulce voz

Praise Frank

Even in 2021... sounds amazing.

Cocktaish

Still little views,but I kinda don't mind it.
It just means he is still just OURS! <3

ehsomq

At least this album is, I don’t know about him

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