Tainted Love
The 80's Band Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sometimes I feel I've got to
Run away I've got to
Get away
From the pain that you drive into the heart of me
The love we share
Seems to go nowhere
And I've lost my light
For I toss and turn I can't sleep at night

Once I ran to you (I ran)
Now I'll run from you
This tainted love you've given
I give you all a boy could give you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Oh tainted love
Tainted love

Now I know I've got to
Run away I've got to
Get away
You don't really want it any more from me
To make things right
You need someone to hold you tight
And you'll think love is to pray
But I'm sorry I don't pray that way

Once I ran to you (I ran)
Now I'll run from you
This tainted love you've given
I give you all a boy could give you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Oh tainted love
Tainted love

Don't touch me please
I cannot stand the way you tease
I love you though you hurt me so
Now I'm going to pack my things and go
Tainted love, tainted love
Tainted love, tainted love
Touch me baby, tainted love
Touch me baby, tainted love
Tainted love




Tainted love
Tainted love

Overall Meaning

The 80's Band's popular song Tainted Love is about the singer's struggle to escape from a painful and loveless relationship. The singer laments the fact that the love he shares with his partner goes nowhere and instead causes him emotional pain, making it difficult for him to sleep at night. He ultimately decides to leave the relationship, running away from the tainted love that he has been given.


The chorus repeats the phrase "tainted love" several times, reflecting on the negative impact of an unhealthy and toxic relationship. In the final verse, the singer realizes that he cannot handle the teasing and emotional pain inflicted by his partner and decides to leave for good, packing his things and getting out of the situation.


Line by Line Meaning

Sometimes I feel I've got to
There are certain times when I feel compelled to


Run away I've got to
I have the urge to physically escape from my current situation


Get away
To distance myself from what's causing me distress


From the pain that you drive into the heart of me
The source of my distress is coming from the one I'm in love with and this pain is affecting me deeply


The love we share
We do share a form of love


Seems to go nowhere
However, this love doesn't seem to be progressing


And I've lost my light
My once bright and hopeful persona has dimmed


For I toss and turn I can't sleep at night
The situation is keeping me up at night because of its severity


Once I ran to you (I ran)
I used to come to you for comfort (literally or figuratively)


Now I'll run from you
However, now I'm distancing myself from our relation (literally or figuratively)


This tainted love you've given
This love has turned bad over time


I give you all a boy could give you
I've given you everything I have


Take my tears and that's not nearly all
You've taken all the tears I could give, but that's not enough to make up for the pain you caused


Don't touch me please
Stay away from me physically


I cannot stand the way you tease
What seems like playful teasing to you is hurting me


I love you though you hurt me so
Despite everything, I still have love for you


Now I'm going to pack my things and go
This relationship needs to end and I'm taking steps to leave


Touch me baby, tainted love
You may still want to be physically intimate, but our love is no longer pure


Tainted love
This love is contaminated and we can't continue like this




Writer(s): Edward C. Cobb

Contributed by Claire C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

Ann Wilkiemeyer

Thanks for uploading This really Great Tainted Love band show

vqfive

Where are they from?

Estuardo Ruedas

Tainted Love Band is from San Francisco Bay Area, California.

More Versions