Formed in Huntingdon Cambridgeshire after drummer Simon Scott met Guitarist… Read Full Bio ↴Formed in Huntingdon Cambridgeshire after drummer Simon Scott met Guitarist Graham Garduilo in local band The Giant Polar Bears. They were tour buddies to Ride and most of the late 1980s shoegaze bands. Simon Scott was stolen by Slowdive after a gig at the White Horse in Hampstead in 1990, where the Boo Radleys opened the three-band bill. They split after releasing two albums and have just had a Best Of... released by Cherry Red. John Peel loved them and NME gave debut album lovehappy 9 out of 10. Simon now plays with his own band Televise. Graham and singer Petra Roddis are teachers in London.

Love In The Emptiness
The Charlottes Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Nobody knows how it happens
But one day the fire turns to smoke
Then you're laughing at things out of habit
Turns out that we were the joke
Oh, you bend over backwards
How many times can we bend over backwards?

So, I'll pick myself up off the floor

And you turn off the lights, lock the door
And walk out to your car
Drive away, it's okay
If you need to hate me
But we can't go back to before
No, we're not in love anymore

If I see you out at a party
I'll tell you I'm better off now
And I'll just pretend that you're not
The somebody my mother still asks me about
Oh, you bend over backwards
How many times can we bend over backwards?

So, I'll pick myself up off the floor
And you turn off the lights, lock the door
And walk out to your car
Drive away, it's okay
If you need to hate me
But we can't go back to before
No, we're not in love anymore

We're not in love
We're not in love
We're not in love
We're not in love

We share a bed but we're strangers
(So let's take our hands off the wheel)
You were the person I'd tell all my secrets
Now I can't tell how you feel

So, I'll pick myself up off the floor (every piece of me)
And you turn off the lights, lock the door
And walk out to your car
Drive away, it's okay
If you need to hate me
But we're not in love anymore (anymore)

No, we're not in love anymore (not in love)
No, we're not in love anymore

Overall Meaning

The Charlottes’s song Love in the Emptiness is an emotional track about trying to move on from a past love while your friends are moving on and falling in love. The opening lines “starry-eyed, looking like a movie” describe the new couples who are entwined in each other’s love. The singer is still stuck in the pain of a past relationship and finds solace only in self-love - “I’ll go touch myself”. The lyrics are expressive of the loneliness that comes with trying to move on while being adrift in the longing for someone who is no longer there with you.

The song is about the human condition of loss and the pain that stems from it. The lyrics express the need to move on and the futility of hoping for something that will never be - “know it’s too late, but there’s still a part of me that’s hoping, baby, one day it could be us”. The hook “all my friends are falling in love, and I can’t even make out with him without wanting your touch” captures the sorrow of being unable to move on, even when you are trying your best.

Line by Line Meaning

Starry-eyed
Starting with a hopeful, dreamy outlook

Lookin' like a movie, every night's a new scene
Feeling like life is exciting and dramatic, always changing

I'm still stuck
Realizing that despite appearances, you are still stuck in the same place

In hell
Feeling trapped and overwhelmed by negative emotions

Say goodbye
Acknowledging that it's important to let go of something, even though it hurts

When they go home together, whispering forever
Watching others fall in love while feeling a sense of loneliness and longing

I'll go touch myself
Resorting to self-pleasure to fill the void of physical and emotional intimacy

I'll still be alone when I'm done
Realizing that even temporary relief won't change the underlying loneliness

All my friends are fallin' in love
Noticing that everyone around you seems to be experiencing romantic happiness

And I can't even make out with him without wanting your touch
Feeling unable to move on, despite romantic prospects with someone else

Hell, I can't even stomach a drink without hitting you up
Feeling unable to escape thoughts of the past, even in social situations

Know it's too late
Admitting that the opportunity for a past relationship has passed

But there's still a part of me that's hopin', baby, one day it could be us
Holding onto a small glimmer of hope for a future reconciliation

Yeah, I'm still fallin' out of it and all my friends are fallin' in love
Feeling helpless and alone in the face of others' romantic success

Every night
Thinking about the past, unable to let go

I lay awake at his place, thinkin' 'bout you always
Being physically present with someone else, but mentally stuck in the past

Dyin', can't you tell?
Feeling emotionally distressed and in pain

Say I'm fine
Putting on a facade of emotional stability to avoid difficult conversations

Fakin' like I'm happy, hope he doesn't ask me
Pretending to be content, but not wanting to reveal the truth to someone else

If there's someone else
Hiding the fact that thoughts of the past are consuming you

But I'll still be alone when he's done
Knowing that even with someone else, the underlying loneliness won't go away

I can barely breathe, yeah, I still miss you, oh
Feeling overwhelmed and unable to move on from a past relationship

Do you think of me when she's with you, fallin' in love?
Wondering if the other person still thinks about you, despite being with someone else

All my friends are fallin' in love, oh
Feeling left behind as others experience romantic happiness

And I can't even make out with him without wanting your touch
Being haunted by thoughts of the past, even in romantic situations

Hell, I can't even stomach a drink without hitting you up
Finding it difficult to escape thoughts of the past, even in social settings

Know it's too late
Realizing that the opportunity for a past relationship has been lost

But there's still a part of me that's hopin', baby, one day it could be us, oh
Holding onto hope for a future reconciliation, despite rationalizing that it won't happen

Yeah, I'm still fallin' out of it and all my friends are fallin' in love
Feeling alienated and alone, despite being surrounded by others in love

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Charlotte Sands, Danen Rector, Knox Morris

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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