Your Ex-Lover is Dead
Stars (Re-Arranged) Lyrics
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God that was strange to see you again
Introduced by a friend of a friend
Smiled and said "Yes I think we've met before"
In that instant it started to pour,
Captured a taxi despite all the rain
We drove in silence across Pont Champlain
I was trying to remember your name
This scar is a fleck on my porcelain skin
Tried to reach deep but you couldn't get in
Now you're outside me
You see all the beauty
Repent all your sin
It's nothing but time and a face that you lose
I chose to feel it and you couldn't choose
I'll write you a postcard
I'll send you the news
From a house down the road from real love
Live through this, and you won't look back
Live through this, and you won't look back
Live through this, and you won't look back
There's one thing I want to say, so I'll be brave
You were what I wanted
I gave what I gave
I'm not sorry I met you
I'm not sorry it's over
I'm not sorry there's nothing to save
I'm not sorry there's nothing to save
The lyrics to Stars' song "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" offer a poetic and reflective perspective on love lost. The opening line "When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire" sets the tone for the rest of the song, which seems to suggest that in order to move on from a past relationship, one must undergo a sort of emotional purification.
The song's narrative begins with a chance encounter between two former lovers. The singer is surprised to see the other person again and notes that they were introduced by a mutual friend. As they ride in a taxi, the singer reflects on the past and what could have been. The other person thinks the singer is sad, but really, they are just trying to remember the other person's name.
The chorus ("Live through this, and you won't look back") serves as a powerful statement of resilience and growth. The bridge delves deeper into the emotions of the situation, with the singer acknowledging the pain of rejection ("This scar is a fleck on my porcelain skin/Tried to reach deep but you couldn't get in") while also recognizing the other person's newfound appreciation for them ("Now you're outside me/You see all the beauty/Repent all your sin"). The song concludes with the singer accepting that the relationship has ended and expressing gratitude for the time they shared together.
Line by Line Meaning
God that was strange to see you again
It was strange to see you again
Introduced by a friend of a friend
We have a mutual friend who introduced us
Smiled and said 'Yes I think we've met before'
We recognized each other and smiled
In that instant it started to pour
It started raining heavily
Captured a taxi despite all the rain
We managed to hail a taxi despite the rain
We drove in silence across Pont Champlain
We crossed Pont Champlain without talking
And all of the time you thought I was sad
You thought I was sad during the ride
I was trying to remember your name
I was trying to recall your name
This scar is a fleck on my porcelain skin
This scar does not affect my beauty
Tried to reach deep but you couldn't get in
You tried to enter my life at a deeper level, but couldn't
Now you're outside me
Now you are no longer a part of my life
You see all the beauty
You witnessed all the beauty in me
Repent all your sin
Regret all your wrongdoings
It's nothing but time and a face that you lose
All you lose is time and a face to remember
I chose to feel it and you couldn't choose
I chose to feel the pain while you did not have the choice
I'll write you a postcard
I will send you a postcard
I'll send you the news
I will tell you the news
From a house down the road from real love
I will send it from a place far from real love
Live through this, and you won't look back
Enduring this will make you capable of moving forward
There's one thing I want to say, so I'll be brave
I am brave enough to say one thing
You were what I wanted
You were who I wanted
I gave what I gave
I gave what I had to offer
I'm not sorry I met you
I don't regret meeting you
I'm not sorry it's over
I don't regret that it ended
I'm not sorry there's nothing to save
I don't regret that there is nothing to salvage
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Amy E Millan, Christopher Allen Seligman, Evan Whitney Cranley, Patrick McGee, Torquil John Campbell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kjatlas8671
When I was 16 years old I saw Stars live at the Cat's Cradle. It was profound, but it's not until now, eight years later, that these lyrics leave tingles on my skin. I stayed at a friend's house that night and I don't remember it a bit, probably because the very next day, my life would never be the same again. I was going through a dark time and was in a toxic relationship with a drug-addicted teenage boy. I had an Adderall prescription and he begged me to give him some. Being the insecure and codependent teenager that I was, I agreed. He sold them on the school bus. The next day I was in third-period math class chatting with my best friend and the assistant principal pulled me from class and nothing was ever the same.
I never went back to math class. I never went back to that school. I was a straight-A student going to jail with a felony at 16 for distributing a controlled substance. I lost every single one of my friends and my first love. I was sure my life was over. I ended up going to a school for delinquents, which brought my life to another level of darkness that I never imagined possible, but still, I prevailed. I was sexually assaulted, date r*ped, but I felt lucky that I was able to graduate high school a year earlier at this school due to my credit amount.
Then I got into college! A miracle considering my past. I thought I was beginning to turn the page, but then I developed a serious autoimmune disease from the stress of it all, causing me to gain a significant amount of weight and had to drop out of college. A year off at home and my friends were my mom's friends who took me into their crew (yes, it's weird).
At the time, I wanted to die. I thought I must set myself on fire...looking back it's just a fleck on my porcelain skin. I lived through this and I won't look back. I left my tiny town, fell in real love, and started my own business a couple of years ago that's going really well.
If you read this far, you might be going through the hardest time in your life, but I promise there will always be a silver lining. Beautiful things come from the darkest time. Love to you all.
@kooplings1199
This was my boyfriend's favourite song. He fell and hit his head which lead to his death. I can hear his voice singing each lyric. When we all said our final goodbye, we played this song and I held onto his feet hoping he'd wake up when he heard 'live through this, and you won't look back...' we watched his final breath to this.
We were neighbours. We'd hope a fence to get to each other. The last time I saw him alive, we spent the night together, haha 'lazy lovins'. We sang 'Tribute' by Tenacious D while I got ready in the mirror together. I made breakfast and danced, he pulled me into his arms and told me to eat- knowing I was behind. I (ofc) was running late for my bus that morning. He unlocked his bike, tried to 'scare' me and proceeded to flag down that bus. I thanked and kissed him. He kissed me back and said 'I love you, and I'll catch you later kid' then gave me a love tap. I smiled and turned to him to savour that moment.
The bus driver called him a nice boy, and I smiled and thought back to my parents. That's how they met.
My mom was running late for school, my dad saw her then biked up to the bus and my mom got on... she fell for him in that moment and eventually crossed paths again.
I spent NYE in Montreal, I couldn't get this song out of my head. I wished he was with me whenever I looked up to Pont Champlain.
Our streets of parkdale, toronto are covered with ghosts. I never get to bike with him into heavy traffic or sit on his porch drinking a warm Turborg with a cigarette in hand. No one will ever get to hear his funny fuckin jokes.
So this song reminds me of a lot. I miss him every day. I look at his collection of books. They haunt me like the notes of this song.
Joshua Pamplin, I didn't get to love you long enough. I will always miss you and your profoundly poetic ways. Come visit me sometime? Please.
@ThioJoe
Good song
@noodlegirl55
"I'm not sorry I met you, I'm not sorry it's over. I'm not sorry there's nothing to say" this. this. this. this song is too relatable
@aleonne2148
lmao like you've ever even touched a woman.
@Apollo-it8ml
@@aleonne2148 does it make you feel better about yourself to go online and be mean for no reason? what do you gain from this? you genuinely confuse me
@juliebraden6911
@@Apollo-it8ml three years after the original comment too lol
@inkspooky7244
@@Apollo-it8ml dayum lol
@randomdude189
I just wish it was a better song
@kchang4364
After so many years, this song still makes me want to be in my early 20s again and feel that hopelessness one feels in youth after an earth-devouring love is lost, but in a sort of beautiful and way, where you know it’s for the best and are at peace.
@OlYables
Spot-freaking on.
@danieljudin3950
Woah. Im not at all at peace. But I know it's for the best