Norwegian Wood
Tangerine Dream Lyrics


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I once had a girl,
Or should I say
She once had me.
She showed me her room,
Isn’t it good?
Norwegian wood.
She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere,
So I looked around and I noticed there wasn’t a chair.
I sat on a rug
Biding my time,
Drinking her wine.
We talked until two,
And then she said,
‘It’s time for bed’.
She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh,
I told her I didn’t, and crawled up to sleep in the bath.
And when I awoke
I was alone,
This bird has flown,
So I lit a fire,




Isn’t it good?
Norwegian wood.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Tangerine Dream's version of Norwegian Wood describe a past relationship that left a lasting impression on the singer. The first line, "I once had a girl," suggests that the relationship is over, and the singer's ambivalence about the situation is conveyed in the second line when he questions whether he should refer to himself or the girl as the one who had the other. Nevertheless, the line "She once had me" indicates that the girl had an important impact on the singer's life.


The rest of the song describes a particular encounter between the two characters. The girl invites the singer back to her room, and he marvels at its beauty, declaring it "Norwegian wood." However, when she offers him a seat, he realizes that there are no chairs, forcing him to sit on a rug. They spend the night talking and drinking wine, until she tells him it's time for bed. While she prepares for work in the morning, the singer falls asleep in the bathtub. When he wakes up, she's gone, leaving him alone to ponder the experience. He burns a fire in the fireplace, contemplating the beauty of his surroundings, thinking back on the girl and their time together.


Overall, the song is both nostalgic and bittersweet, with a sense of the transitory nature of life and relationships. The Norwegian wood is a symbol of that beauty and transience, an image that stays with the singer even as the relationship itself fades into memory.


Line by Line Meaning

I once had a girl,
There was a girl in my life, who was once significant.


Or should I say She once had me.
To be more accurate, it was actually she who had the power in the relationship, not me.


She showed me her room, Isn’t it good? Norwegian wood.
She took me to her room which was decorated with beautiful Norwegian wood, which impressed me.


She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere, So I looked around and I noticed there wasn’t a chair. I sat on a rug Biding my time, Drinking her wine.
She invited me to stay and make myself comfortable, but there was no chair in sight so I waited on the rug, sipping her wine.


We talked until two, And then she said, ‘It’s time for bed’.
We stayed up talking until two in the morning, and then she suggested we go to bed.


She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh, I told her I didn’t, and crawled up to sleep in the bath.
She informed me that she had work in the morning, and laughed about it, whereas I had nothing to do, so I slept in the bathtub.


And when I awoke I was alone, This bird has flown,
When I woke up, she had already left without saying goodbye, as if she flew away like a bird.


So I lit a fire, Isn’t it good? Norwegian wood.
To keep warm and probably to deal with my emotions, I started a fire using the Norwegian wood, which was satisfying.




Contributed by Alexis D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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