Paddy on the song:
"It is a very personal song. It's not that far removed from personal experience. I've worked so hard, it's been to the detriment of other things. Relationships have suffered, I don't mind saying that. But I know if I don't work hard I won't get that golden moment. I know I can go even further but to do that I have to narrow down my interests." - Melody Maker, June 1, 1985
When Love Breaks Down
Prefab Sprout Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But often we're apart
Absence makes the heart lose weight, yeah,
Till love breaks down, love breaks down
Oh my, oh my, have you seen the weather
The sweet september rain
Rain on me like no other
When love breaks down
The things you do
To stop the truth from hurting you
When love breaks down
The lies we tell,
They only serve to fool ourselves,
When love breaks down
The things you do
To stop the truth from hurting you
When love breaks down
The things you do
To stop the truth from hurting you
When love breaks down,
Love breaks down
My love and I, we are boxing clever
She'll never crowd me out
Fall be free as old confetti
And paint the town, paint the town
When love breaks down
The things you do
To stop the truth from hurting you
When love breaks down
The lies we tell,
They only serve to fool ourselves,
When love breaks down
The things you do
To stop the truth from hurting you
When love breaks down
You join the wrecks
Who leave their hearts for easy sex
When love breaks down
When love breaks down
When Love Breaks Down by Prefab Sprout is a song that describes the challenges that come with a love relationship. The song acknowledges the fact that although couples might work well together, they are often apart, which can cause the heart to lose connection, and love breaks down. The absence from each other can cause one to start questioning the truth about their love. The song explores the idea that when love breaks down, people try to do things to stop the truth from hurting them. The lyrics speak to the fact that people start to tell lies in a bid to avoid discomfort when love breaks down. They would rather fool themselves than face the reality of the situation.
The song is very vivid, with the lyrics painting a picture of the emotional journey that an individual goes through when love breaks down. The sweet September rain seen in the lyrics is said to represent the tears that are shed as a result of a broken relationship. The line "You join the wrecks who leave their hearts for easy sex" shows the desperation that one can feel after a breakup, leading them to make bad decisions. The lyric "Fall be free as old confetti and paint the town, paint the town" shows that even when love breaks down, life goes on, and people need to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
My love and I, we work well together
My significant other and I have a strong relationship that is in sync
But often we're apart
Unfortunately, we are often separated from each other
Absence makes the heart lose weight, yeah,
Being away from one another causes us to weaken our emotional attachment
Till love breaks down, love breaks down
When our detached love for each other becomes too much, our relationship crumbles
Oh my, oh my, have you seen the weather
The weather is very noticeable and striking
The sweet September rain
The rain in September is refreshing and pleasant
Rain on me like no other
I am receiving this rain as if it is unique and special
Until I drown, until I drown
I would like the rain to continue until I feel submerged in it
When love breaks down
During the aftermath of a failed relationship
The things you do
The behaviors or actions taken
To stop the truth from hurting you
To protect oneself from the harsh reality of the situation
The lies we tell,
The false statements that we make
They only serve to fool ourselves,
These lies are only deceiving us, not anyone else
When love breaks down
During the aftermath of a failed relationship
The things you do
The behaviors or actions taken
To stop the truth from hurting you
To protect oneself from the harsh reality of the situation
When love breaks down
During the aftermath of a failed relationship
The things you do
The behaviors or actions taken
To stop the truth from hurting you
To protect oneself from the harsh reality of the situation
When love breaks down,
During the aftermath of a failed relationship
Love breaks down
When a relationship is no longer working properly
My love and I, we are boxing clever
My significant other and I are cleverly avoiding any issues that could cause problems in our relationship
She'll never crowd me out
My significant other will never control or influence me too much
Fall be free as old confetti
I will feel liberated, like tossed confetti
And paint the town, paint the town
I will enjoy myself to the fullest
You join the wrecks
You become a failed and abandoned lover
Who leave their hearts for easy sex
Those who give themselves away too easily will leave behind their heart and pride
When love breaks down
During the aftermath of a failed relationship
When love breaks down
When a relationship is no longer working properly
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PADDY MCALOON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@chrissantos9529
"When Love Breaks Down"
My love and I, we work well together
But often we're apart
Absence makes the heart lose weight, yeah
Till love breaks down, love breaks down
Oh my, oh my, have you seen the weather
The sweet September rain
Rain on me like no other
Until I drown, until I drown
When love breaks down
The things you do
To stop the truth from hurting you
When love breaks down
The lies we tell
They only serve to fool ourselves
When love breaks down
The things you do
To stop the truth from hurting you
When love breaks down, when love breaks down
My love and I, we are boxing clever
She'll never crowd me out
Fall be free as old confetti
And paint the town, paint the town
When love breaks down
The things you do
To stop the truth from hurtin' you
When love breaks down
The lies we tell
They only serve to fool ourselves
When love breaks down
The things you do
To stop the truth from hurtin' you
When love breaks down
The lies we tell
They only serve to fool ourselves
When love breaks down
The things you do
To stop the truth from hurting you
When love breaks down
You join the wrecks
Who leave their hearts for easy sex
When love breaks down
When love breaks down
@melissa3099
Those who weren’t around in the 80’s shall never know how happy we were, how everything was so colourful, so blissful… the feeling of waiting for the phone to call, the post to arrive, meeting friends at a local joint with no need to pencil a day or time, etc etc life was sooooo joyful. If only we could go back…
@jonathangriffiths4635
perfectly summed up, shall we go back ? x
@glennhoddle10
Melissa, if you find or invent a time machine, please buzz me.
I wanna a seat on that amazing trip back to the awesome 80s ...
@johnmcdonagh1193
No worries about Internet access, or flicking through hundreds of TV channels for hours. You rarely hear about depression suicide. I'm missing the 80s.
@mgc6813
Ain’t that the truth
@culpoeric8876
Oui c vrai qu'elle vérité une musique qui nous est particuliere
@TheSuzukinutt
Still can not believe how lucky we were in the 80s …. The music , the freedom , so many friends …the best time ever ! I will take all those memories in to my grave 😍
@maurogandvalmxborgh5971
Infatti... .una MAGIA che non tornerà più ma rimarrà INDELEBILMENTE impressa come MEMORIA ad ETERNO frattale della coscienza individuata.... ✋✋✋👑
@steveking2337
The 80s music was most probably the era of life for everyone.
There will never be a better musical era in my old eyes.
So many great bands,so many great songs and I was younger then
@TJATJA1982
When love breaks down
The lies we tell,
They only serve to fool ourselves,
When love breaks down
The things you do
To stop the truth from hurting you
I'm no lyrics guy, but Paddy was a real wordsmith. Prefab are a criminally underrated band! Timeless songs.