Little Death
The Beths Lyrics
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My heart starts beating faster
The world starts moving slower
And I just freeze
And it's cold, the steam escapes
Through my lips and dissipates
And you breathe it in
Your smile it makes me weak
And the red spreads to my cheeks
You make me feel three glasses in
And you say my name
My legs support a little less
My tongue becomes a little mess
My lips are longing to confess, uh
My lungs they catch on every breath
My heart beats harder at the cage inside my chest
I die, I die a little death
I die, I die a little death
It come and go
A lightning bolt in daytime
The birds into my eyeline
You′re all I see
There's no sign of the sun
So the moon moves out in front
She wants to be aligned
We all want to be aligned
And your voice it makes me weak
I'm wasted when you speak
You hit me hard as red wine
And you say my name
My legs support a little less
My tongue becomes a little mess
My lips are longing to confess
My lungs they catch on every breath
My heart beats harder at the cage
Inside my chest
I die, I die a little death
I die, I die a little death
I die, I die a little death
I die, I die a little death
You say my name
(You said, you said) My balance takes a little rest
(I′d die, I′d die) My conscience hung under duress
(You said, you said) My twitching fingers do their best
(I'd die, I′d die) To keep their wandering selves in check
(You said, you said) My mind it finds a new address
(I'd die, I′d die) This life is cursed, you're heaven blessed
(You said, you said) This human god, this honoured guest
(I′d die, I'd die) Filling up the emptiness
(You said, you said) My legs support a little less
(I'd die, I′d die) My tongue becomes a little mess
(You said, you said) My lips are longing to confess
(I′d die, I'd die) But I′ll never tell, you'll never guess
(You said, you said) My lungs they catch on every breath
(I′d die, I'd die) My heart beats harder at the cage
(You said, you said) Inside my chest
I die, I die a little death
(You say my name)
I die, I die a little death
(You say my name)
I die, I die a little death
(You say my name)
I die, I die a little death
The lyrics to The Beths' song "Little Death" describe the feeling of being completely overwhelmed by someone's presence. The singer is completely entranced by the person they are with, and their body reacts accordingly- their heartbeat speeds up, the world around them slows down, and they feel frozen in place. The person's smile makes them weak, and the singer feels like they have had a few glasses of alcohol. When the person says the singer's name, it has a physical effect on them- their legs feel weaker, their tongue becomes tangled, and their lungs catch on every breath. They feel like they are "dying a little death" every time the person makes them feel this way.
The second verse talks about how this feeling can strike at any time, like a "lightning bolt in daytime". The singer feels like the person they are with is the only thing they can see- everything else fades away. There is a sense of longing to be aligned with the person and to feel that same intensity of feeling forever. The person's voice makes the singer feel wasted, like they have been drinking red wine. The repetition of "I die a little death" throughout the song emphasizes how overwhelming the feeling is and how it feels like a small piece of the singer is being taken every time it happens.
Overall, "Little Death" is a song about the intensity of attraction and the way it can take over the body and mind. The lyrics describe both the physical and emotional effects of feeling so strongly for someone.
Line by Line Meaning
When you're near
The presence of the person the singer is addressing has a significant impact on their emotions
My heart starts beating faster
The singer's heart rate noticeably increases
The world starts moving slower
The outside environment seems to slow down in comparison to the singer's racing thoughts
And I just freeze
The artist is entranced by the person they are talking to and feels stuck in the moment
And it's cold, the steam escapes
The air surrounding the artist is chilly causing the artist's breath to be visible
Through my lips and dissipates
The singer exhales and the visible breath vanishes into the air
And you breathe it in
The person being addressed takes in the same air the singer exhaled
We all breathe it in
The air is shared between the artist and the person they are speaking to
Your smile it makes me weak
The person's smile is so powerful that it overwhelms the artist
And the red spreads to my cheeks
The artist begins to blush, and the color spreads to their cheeks
You make me feel three glasses in
The person being addressed makes the singer feel like they have consumed three glasses of alcohol
And you say my name
The person being addressed vocalizes the artist's name
My legs support a little less
The singer's legs weaken due to the impact of the person's vocalization
My tongue becomes a little mess
The singer's tongue feels clumsy due to the person's vocalization
My lips are longing to confess, uh
The singer feels the urge to confess their feelings to the person being addressed
My lungs they catch on every breath
The artist's breathing becomes heavy due to the person's impact
My heart beats harder at the cage inside my chest
The artist's heartbeat becomes more intense due to the effect of the person's impact on them
I die, I die a little death
The singer feels like they are metaphorically dying due to the person being addressed's impact on them
It come and go
The feeling the singer experiences is not consistent.
A lightning bolt in daytime
The artist's emotions are powerful and abrupt
The birds into my eyeline
The artist is so focused on the person being addressed that they don't notice anything else
You're all I see
The person being addressed is the only thing the artist can focus on
There's no sign of the sun
It is a cloudy day or it is currently nighttime
So the moon moves out in front
The moon is visible in place of the sun
She wants to be aligned
The moon aligns with the singer's feelings of being in sync with the person they are addressing
We all want to be aligned
Human beings desire to have their feelings and desires in line with another person's
And your voice it makes me weak
The sound of the person's voice is powerful enough to have a physical effect on the singer
I'm wasted when you speak
The artist's entire being is consumed by the person's voice
You hit me hard as red wine
The person's effect on the artist is comparable to the strength of red wine
My balance takes a little rest
The strength of the person's voice impacts the singer's balance
My conscience hung under duress
The person's effect on the singer puts the singer's conscience and emotions under stress
My twitching fingers do their best
The intensity of the person's impact on the artist causes the artist's fingers to twitch
To keep their wandering selves in check
The artist tries to maintain composure
My mind it finds a new address
The artist's mind is completely consumed by the person they are addressing
This life is cursed, you're heaven blessed
The singer feels like their life is cursed, but the person being addressed is a blessing
This human god, this honoured guest
The person being addressed is like a God, and therefore deserves the highest honor
Filling up the emptiness
The person being addressed is making the singer whole by filling up their emptiness
But I'll never tell, you'll never guess
The singer doesn't plan on confessing their feelings and believes the person will never guess
Writer(s): Elizabeth Barbara Stokes
Contributed by Evelyn K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@scoutpark5230
"You say my name,
My balance takes a little rest
My conscience held under duress
My twitching fingers do their best
To keep their wandering selves in check
My mind, it finds a new address
This life is cursed, you're heaven blessed
This human God, this honored guest
Filling up the emptiness
My lips are longing to confess, but I'll never tell, you'll never guess
My heart beats harder at the cage
Inside my chest
And I die a little death"
This. THIS is incredible lyricism. This is so incredibly romantic and earnest and lovely.
Little Death might be one of the most notable love songs to come out of the last ten years. And it's still so indie!
@mw7217
Rock/punk/pop’s best kept secret. It can’t stay this way much longer. This band should rocket to the moon like Liz in this video.
@benjaminborhart3321
Been listening to this album on repeat since July.
@edupds1234
@mw7217 I'm trying harder to make the known here in Brazil. I keep suggesting them to all my friends e colleagues everytime I can. I also bought Expert on dying field vynil and hear it almost everyday.
@merlinscat
The thing I love about this band so much is the fact that everything they seems so homemade right down to the videos they are so uncorparate I hope they never change. This is one of my favourites.
@outofoblivionproductions4015
Totally. NZ has a history of uncorporate bands cos we're so little and isolated.
@ryenreynolds5409
can’t believe music can be THIS good
@crockorocko4781
ryen reynolds it’s really under rated
@wolfgang6442
There still great music being made but you just need to know where to look
@ppsdric
This song is so perfect it makes me weep with joy. I'm not even kidding.
@clarkem4119
I was just talking to a friend about the same thing. Some songs bring me to tears because of their sadness, but the Beths often bring me to tears of happiness because of how much I love their music.