Perfume
Rag'n'Bone Man Lyrics

The lyrics in Rag'n'Bone Man's song Perfume delve into the power of scent and its ability to evoke strong emotions and memories. The opening lines, " The scent of skin & bone, puts to end all our woes, bring empires to their halt, steal the breath from lungs" suggest the ways in which a particular fragrance can be all-encompassing and overwhelming, causing everything else to fade into insignificance. The scent of someone we love can have the power to stop us in our tracks and leave us breathless. This concept is reinforced in the chorus, where we discover that the singer is "a long way from home" and "the traces of her perfume is all I got". The scent of the person they love is a powerful reminder of the love they left behind and a source of comfort in an unfamiliar place.

The song's bridge, "The first note descends, enough to stop a heart, third becomes a familiar sense of home" speaks to the idea that the particular notes of a fragrance can be just as powerful as the fragrance itself. An initial whiff might be enough to cause a physical reaction, but repeated exposure can lead to the fragrance becoming a source of comfort even in the absence of the person it belongs to. The final verse "Time ticks like a slow tap drips down a hole, waiting for the bright lights and the curtain call. I don't feel, I don't feel myself, feel like a hopeless soul" reinforces the sense of longing and melancholy, suggesting that the singer is waiting for something to happen but feeling powerless and lost in the meantime.