Reflections
Supremes [The] Lyrics
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Time after time, I see reflections of you and me
Reflections of the way life used to be
Reflections of the love you took from me
Oh, I'm all alone now, no love to shield me
Trapped in a world that's a distorted reality
Happiness you took from me
Through the mirror of my mind, through these tears
That I'm crying reflects a hurt I can't control
'Cause although you're gone, I keep holding on
To the happy times, oh when you were mine
As I peer through the window of lost time
Looking over my yesterdays and all the love
I gave all in vain, all the love, all the love
That I've wasted, all the tears, all the tears
That I've tasted all in vain
Through the hollow of my tears, I see a dream
That's lost from the hurt that you have caused
Everywhere I turn, seems like everything I see
Reflects the love that used to be
In you I put all my faith and trust
Right before my eyes, my world has turned to dust
After all the nights, I sat alone and wept
Just a handful of promises are all that's left of loving you
Reflections of the way life used to be
Reflections of the love you took from me
In you I put all my faith and trust
Right before my eyes my world has turned to dust
The Supremes' song "Reflections" is a poignant account of love lost and the painful memories that linger long after the relationship has ended. Diana Ross's soulful voice echoes the emotions of betrayal, loneliness and despair. The lyrics are full of metaphors and vivid imagery: "Through the mirror of my mind" suggests a recurring, haunting vision of the past, "Trapped in a world that's a distorted reality" suggests the bitterness of the present, and "Everywhere I turn, seems like everything I see reflects the love that used to be" suggests the power of memories to color our perception of the world.
The song was written by the celebrated songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland who were responsible for many of the Motown hits of the 60s. The Supremes were at the peak of their popularity at the time, having already scored a string of hits such as "Baby Love," "Stop! In The Name Of Love," and "You Can't Hurry Love." The song was released in July 1967 and became a top ten hit on the US pop charts, as well as reaching number one on the R&B charts. The song's message resonated with many people and spoke to their own experiences of lost love and regret.
Overall, "Reflections" is a beautifully crafted song, with its haunting melody and poetic lyrics, it remains one of the signature songs of the Supremes and a classic of the Motown era.
Line by Line Meaning
Through the mirror of my mind
I perceive my thoughts and memories through the mirror of my mind.
Time after time, I see reflections of you and me
Repeatedly, I see images of you and I in my thoughts.
Reflections of the way life used to be
Images of how things used to be keep appearing in my mind.
Reflections of the love you took from me
Images of how you took my love away from me are constantly coming up.
Oh, I'm all alone now, no love to shield me
I'm completely alone now, without love to protect me.
Trapped in a world that's a distorted reality
I feel trapped in a world that doesn't accurately reflect reality.
Happiness you took from me
You took away all of my happiness.
And left me alone with only memories
The only thing I'm left with now are my memories.
Through the mirror of my mind, through these tears
Even through my tears, my thoughts and memories still come through clearly.
That I'm crying reflects a hurt I can't control
My tears are a reflection of an uncontrollable pain I'm feeling.
'Cause although you're gone, I keep holding on
Even though you're no longer here, I can't seem to let go.
To the happy times, oh when you were mine
I keep holding on to the memories of the happy times when we were together.
As I peer through the window of lost time
Looking back on my past, I feel like I'm looking through a window into a lost time.
Looking over my yesterdays and all the love
I'm reflecting on my past and all the love I gave.
I gave all in vain, all the love, all the love
My love was all for nothing, it was wasted.
That I've wasted, all the tears, all the tears
I've also wasted my tears, crying over lost love.
That I've tasted all in vain
All the pain I've felt from losing you has been in vain.
Through the hollow of my tears, I see a dream
As tears run down my face, I can see a dream in my mind.
That's lost from the hurt that you have caused
The pain you caused has caused me to lose that dream.
Everywhere I turn, seems like everything I see
Everywhere I look reminds me of the love that's now lost.
Reflects the love that used to be
Everything I see seems to reflect the love that you took away from me.
In you I put all my faith and trust
I had complete faith and trust in you.
Right before my eyes, my world has turned to dust
Now, everything has fallen apart and my world has turned to dust.
After all the nights, I sat alone and wept
I spent countless nights crying by myself.
Just a handful of promises are all that's left of loving you
All that remains of our love are just a few broken promises.
Reflections of the way life used to be
Images of the past continue to come up.
Reflections of the love you took from me
Images of you taking my love away from me continue to haunt me.
In you I put all my faith and trust
I had complete faith and trust in you.
Right before my eyes my world has turned to dust
Everything has fallen apart right in front of me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRIS S. BOTTI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lauralink8703
Love 💘
@angelafisher299
Does anyone remember the television show "China Beach "This was the theme song and I would watch the show just to hear this song. Supremes will always be my favorite girl group of all time.
@michaelbrinks8089
LOL I just came from a China Beach intro video....I totally forgot about that show then randomly started thinking about it a couple days ago.
@Ray-ti3pb
Young Dana Delaney and Marg Helgenberg.
@bobbierobinson6269
I never watched a show, just the intro to hear them.
@ccret7
Good show
@smokefree08
My bro and I loved that show. Ricki Lake is the only cast member that I remember.
@irisadams7639
My Dad is a Vietnam Vet and this song was in heavy rotation throughout the war. It will always remind me of my Dad and the sacrifice he and so many gave.
@barrymorgan5206
Thank you for sharing that with all of us 🎶❤️🙏🏽
@bernard48
God bless him, and so many others