True Believer
The Clarks Lyrics


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She stepped in the light
Opening night
And delivered her lines

Life is nothing she sighed
Nothing without
The fire inside
She lives alone
And cries when she paints
Self-portraits seldom seen

She swore she loved me and I believed her
Then she lowered her eyes
There’s a real thin line between actor and deceiver
She knew how to play the true believer

On the edge of the night
She studied her lines
For the very last time

Life is nothing she cried
Nothing without
Someone by your side

She lived alone
And died on the stages
Of her broken dreams

She swore she loved me and I believed her
And then I saw that look in her eyes




There’s a fine black thread between deceived and deceiver
She once played the true believer

Overall Meaning

The Clarks's song True Believer tells the story of a woman who lived and died for her art. The first verse sets the stage with her stepping into the spotlight, delivering her lines. She says that life is nothing without the fire inside, hinting at her passion for acting. The second verse reveals more about her personal life. She lives alone, painting self-portraits that nobody sees. She cries, perhaps due to the loneliness that comes with pursuing a career in the arts. The chorus suggests that she is both an actor and a deceiver, blurring the line between the two. The final verse describes her on the edge of the night, studying her lines for the last time. She cries out that life is nothing without someone by your side, implying that even though she loved her art, it ultimately led her to a lonely death on the stages of her broken dreams. The final chorus reiterates that she played the true believer until the very end.


The lyrics in True Believer explore the themes of passion, loneliness, and artistry. The melancholic tone of the song reflects the idea that the pursuit of art can lead to great highs and devastating lows. Some possible interpretations of the lyrics are that the woman may have been so committed to her craft that she neglects personal relationships or that she may have been so consumed by her art that she lost touch with reality. The ambiguous nature of the song allows listeners to interpret it in their own unique way.


Line by Line Meaning

She stepped in the light Opening night And delivered her lines
She made her grand entrance on the opening night and performed the lines she had rehearsed.


Life is nothing she sighed Nothing without The fire inside
She expressed her belief that life is nothing without passion and motivation.


She lives alone And cries when she paints Self-portraits seldom seen
She lives a solitary life and expresses her emotions through her artwork, which she rarely shares with others.


She swore she loved me and I believed her Then she lowered her eyes There’s a real thin line between actor and deceiver She knew how to play the true believer
She convinced me that she loved me, but I later realized that she was able to play the role of someone who was genuine very convincingly, blurring the line between honesty and deception.


On the edge of the night She studied her lines For the very last time
Late at night, she rehearsed her lines for the final performance.


Life is nothing she cried Nothing without Someone by your side
Toward the end of her life, she realized that life truly is nothing without the companionship of others.


She lived alone And died on the stages Of her broken dreams
She spent her life alone, never achieving the success she dreamed of, eventually passing away in obscurity.


She swore she loved me and I believed her And then I saw that look in her eyes There’s a fine black thread between deceived and deceiver She once played the true believer
Despite my initial belief that she loved me, I later realized that she was deceiving me, demonstrating the close and dangerous relationship between lies and manipulation when it comes to emotions and relationships.




Contributed by Skyler T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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