VERTIGO
Phases Lyrics


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Tell me, tell me, tell me how to make it up
Tell me there's a way to go back, there's a way to make you stay
And I'll find a way
Tell me, tell me, tell me it was all a dream
Tell me I didn't do what I think I did
Tell me, please; oh, tell me please
I just wasn't ready for a love like that
Never saw it coming, then it went so fast
I just wasn't ready for a love like that
I just wasn't ready for loveFeels like vertigo
Went from high to low
Going out of my mind laying here alone
Fade to black and white
Watch the world pass by
Can I pause and rewind?
Can I stop this vertigo? (I go, I go, I go)
Vertigo (vertigo)I was never one to want to open up
I was doing fine before I met you; fine has always been enough
It's always been enough
Now you show me, show me all the things I missed
Being too scared to fall; I'm still scared to let you in
Shouldn't let you inI just wasn't ready for a love like that
Never saw it coming, then it went so fast
I just wasn't ready for a love like that
I just wasn't ready for love
Feels like vertigo
Went from high to low
Going out of my mind laying here alone
Fade to black and white
Watch the world pass by
Can I pause and rewind?
Can I stop this vertigo? (I go, I go, I go)
Vertigo (vertigo)I just wasn't ready for a love like that
Never saw it coming, then it went so fast
I just wasn't ready for a love like that
I just wasn't ready for loveFeels like vertigo
Went from high to low
Going out of my mind laying here alone
Fade to black and white
Watch the world pass by
Can I pause and rewind?
Can I stop this vertigo? (I go, I go, I go)
Vertigo (vertigo)




Vertigo (I go, I go, I go)
Vertigo (vertigo)

Overall Meaning

In "Vertigo," the singer is lamenting a lost love and struggling with feelings of regret and confusion. The lyrics are filled with requests for explanations and pleading for a way to go back in time and make things right. The title and the refrain of the song suggest that the singer is feeling dizzy and disoriented, as if the ground has shifted beneath them. They describe their emotional state as going from "high to low" and feeling like they are going "out of [their] mind." The singer is struggling with feelings of inadequacy and fear, as they admit that they "just wasn't ready for a love like that" and "never saw it coming."


The verses describe the singer's reluctance to open up to love and admit vulnerability. They had been "doing fine" before they met this person, but now they are experiencing an intensity of emotion that they were not prepared for. The chorus repeats the same refrain, expressing the disorientation and confusion that the singer is feeling. They are trying to make sense of what has happened and searching for a way to stop feeling so out of control.


Line by Line Meaning

Tell me, tell me, tell me how to make it up
Asking for advice on how to make things right


Tell me there's a way to go back, there's a way to make you stay
Hopeful plea to find a way to reverse what happened


And I'll find a way
Determined to figure out how to fix things


Tell me, tell me, tell me it was all a dream
Wishing for the situation to not be real


Tell me I didn't do what I think I did
Desperately hoping that a mistake hadn't been made


Tell me, please; oh, tell me please
Repeating the previous requests with added urgency


I just wasn't ready for a love like that
Admitting to not being prepared for such intense feelings


Never saw it coming, then it went so fast
Reflecting on how quick the love came and went


I just wasn't ready for a love like that
Reinforcing the fact that the love caught them off guard


I just wasn't ready for love
Declaring that they weren't in a place to handle love at that time


Feels like vertigo
Comparing the overwhelming feeling to dizziness


Went from high to low
Describing the sudden shift in emotions


Going out of my mind laying here alone
Expressing the mental toll of being alone with thoughts


Fade to black and white
Suggesting a loss of vibrancy and color in life


Watch the world pass by
Feeling detached from the world outside their head


Can I pause and rewind?
Hoping to have control over the situation and be able to go back


Can I stop this vertigo? (I go, I go, I go)
Repeating the desire to stop the overwhelming feeling


Vertigo (vertigo)
Echoing the title of the song and the feeling it represents


I was never one to want to open up
Admitting a previous reluctance to be vulnerable


I was doing fine before I met you; fine has always been enough
Implying that happiness was achieved without love


Now you show me, show me all the things I missed
Grateful to have had the experience of love, despite the struggle


Being too scared to fall; I'm still scared to let you in
Acknowledging the fear of being hurt and difficulty trusting


Shouldn't let you in
Admitting that they may have been better off not experiencing the love, if it caused this much pain


Vertigo (vertigo)
Reemphasizing the feeling of being off-balance and dizzy


Vertigo (I go, I go, I go)
Repeating the desire to escape the overwhelming feeling




Contributed by Aubrey K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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