When He's Not Around
The Corrs Lyrics


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I can't breathe and I can't sleep

He's uncool and unsophisticated
He's a tightrope walker on an open path
He's a maze of curiosity
He is the living bread that cures my appetite

I find that I can't breathe and I can't sleep
When he's not around
Everyday is bluey grey
When he's not in town

His mystique is one of innocence
I feel I'm lounging in lovely in his big blue eyes
And I would be preening in paradise
If I were always beside him like a Siamese

I find that I can't breathe and I can't sleep
When he's not around
Everyday is bluey grey
When he's not in town, when he's not in town

Can I keep him in my galaxy
Can he live within my fantasy

I find that I can't breathe and I can't sleep
When he's not around
Everyday is bluey grey
When he's not in town

I find that I can't breathe and I can't sleep, yeah (I can't sleep)
When he's not around

Everyday is bluey grey
When he's not in town when he's not in town, yeah

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of The Corrs's song When He's Not Around describe the intense longing and dependence on the presence of someone special. The song talks about how the singer feels when her lover is away and highlights the cascading emotions of anxiety, desperation, love, and yearning. The first verse talks about how the singer feels restless and uneasy when her lover is not there, and how he always used to make her feel better with his presence. The next verse describes the lover almost mythologically, with references to a maze and bread, and talks about how he's the cure to the singer's appetite.


The chorus repeats the idea of how the singer feels like she's underwater, struggling to breathe, and how everything loses its color when he's gone. The bridge of the song romanticizes the lover, painting him as an innocent soul with big blue eyes, and describes the singer's paradise as being with him always. The final verse talks about the singer's desire to keep him close in her galaxy and live with him in her fantasies.


The song's sentiment is almost universal: the feeling of missing and needing someone. The lyrics use vivid, unique imagery to describe the lover and the singer's feelings. The Corrs' melodic voices and tightly synchronized instruments make the song both catchy and poignant.


Line by Line Meaning

I can't breathe and I can't sleep
I feel suffocated and restless


He's uncool and unsophisticated
He may not be trendy or sophisticated


He's a tightrope walker on an open path
He is taking risks in a way that is both exhilarating and terrifying


He's a maze of curiosity
He is full of mystery and intrigue


He is the living bread that cures my appetite
He satisfies my desires and fills me up


His mystique is one of innocence
He has an aura of purity and naivete


I feel I'm lounging in lovely in his big blue eyes
I feel comfortable and relaxed in his gaze


And I would be preening in paradise
I would be showing off and enjoying a perfect existence


If I were always beside him like a Siamese
If I were always connected and inseparable from him


Can I keep him in my galaxy
Can I maintain this relationship and keep him close to me


Can he live within my fantasy
Can he fit into the idealized version of love that I dream of


Everyday is bluey grey
Everyday is dull and uneventful without him


When he's not around
When he is absent


When he's not in town
When he is away


I find that I can't breathe and I can't sleep, yeah (I can't sleep)
I experience physical and emotional discomfort in his absence




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDREA JANE CORR, CAROLINE CORR, JAMES CORR, SHARON CORR

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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