The House
Simon Joyner Lyrics
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I pour mine into the sink
She'd like to burn a hole right through me
The way she stares so intently
This must be love
Both of us have fallen
She slaps the left side of my face
I'm supposed to be disgraced
But it feels like TV
Is this really me
When did I lose my body
She fills a pillowcase with pills and perfume
She takes her clothes out of our room
She breaks everything she sees
Everything she can see
That just leaves me
For I've become invisible
She starts the car and drops over the hill
Now the house is awfully still
The house is awful and still
But if I ask the walls to fall they will
And soon winter will arrive
And the snow will find me hiding
Simon Joyner's song The House tells a heart wrenching story of a relationship that has gone sour. The song begins with the singer's observation of his partner dropping an ice-cube in her drink and him pouring his into the sink. This is a telling metaphor for how differently each of them is handling the end of their relationship. She is still holding onto something, whereas he is ready to let it all go. The singer then describes the way his partner looks at him, with an intensity that can only be described as the look of someone in love. But at this moment, it's already too late, they have both fallen out of love with each other.
The second verse of the song takes a heavy turn. She slaps him on the face, and he tries to assess what his reaction should be. He's embarrassed but also thinks that it feels like he's watching himself on TV. This alludes to the idea of dissociation or losing your sense of self, which can happen when people are in traumatic situations. The bridge of the song then describes his partner packing her things, breaking everything she sees in a fit of anger, and leaving the singer alone. He feels invisible, erased from her life completely, as if he never mattered.
The final verse tells us that she drives away from the house, leaving the singer alone in a cold and empty space. He even goes so far as to suggest that if he asked, the walls of the house would fall in on him. This could be seen as a metaphor for wanting to be swallowed up by his grief. The last line of the song talks about winter coming and snow hiding him from the world. The snow could be interpreted as a cover of sorts, obscuring his pain from the rest of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
She drops an ice-cube in her drink
She casually drops an ice cube in her glass of drink
I pour mine into the sink
I don't want ice in my drink, so I pour it down the sink
She'd like to burn a hole right through me
She is staring at me so fiercely that it feels like she wants to set me on fire
The way she stares so intently
She is staring at me with great concentration and focus
This must be love
The intensity of her stare and actions makes me think that she must be in love with me
Both of us have fallen
We have both fallen in love with each other
She slaps the left side of my face
She hits me hard on the left side of my face
Now I've been put back in my place
Her hitting me has put me back in my inferior position in the relationship
I'm supposed to be disgraced
She expects me to be ashamed and humiliated by her actions
But it feels like TV
The situation feels surreal, like something out of a movie or TV show
Is this really me
I question if this situation is really happening to me or if it's all a dream
When did I lose my body
I feel detached from my physical self and can't fully comprehend what's happening
She fills a pillowcase with pills and perfume
She gathers pills and perfume into a pillowcase
She takes her clothes out of our room
She removes her clothes from our shared living space
She breaks everything she sees
She intentionally destroys anything she comes across
Everything she can see
She destroys every visible object she can
That just leaves me
The only thing left for her to destroy is me
For I've become invisible
She only sees me as an insignificant afterthought, as if I'm invisible
She starts the car and drops over the hill
She drives away from the house and down a hill
Now the house is awfully still
With her absence, the house is extremely quiet
The house is awful and still
Without her energy, the house feels dull and unpleasant
But if I ask the walls to fall they will
The emptiness of the house allows me to project my thoughts onto it, as if the walls could actually fall
And soon winter will arrive
The season of winter is approaching
And the snow will find me hiding
The snow will cover the area where I am, as if I am hiding from the world
Contributed by Alice V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.