The Lemonheads is an American alternative rock band, originally from Boston… Read Full Bio ↴The Lemonheads is an American alternative rock band, originally from Boston, Massachusetts, but now based in New York City. The primary (and only consistent) member is Evan Dando.

The band formed in 1986 as an underground punk rock act. Their popularity grew during the following decade with the 1992 album It's A Shame About Ray, which was produced, engineered, and mixed by The Robb Brothers (Bruce Robb, Dee, and Joe), followed by a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", which eventually became one of the band's most successful singles.

Throughout its various incarnations, recording and touring lineups of the band have included co-founders Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz, John Strohm (Blake Babies), Doug Trachten, Corey Loog Brennan, Byron Hoag, Ben Daughtry, Juliana Hatfield (Blake Babies), Nic Dalton (Godstar, Sneeze, The Plunderers), Dave Ryan, Patrick "Murph" Murphy (Dinosaur Jr), Bill Gibson (Eastern Dark), Mark 'Budola' Newman, Kenny Lyon, Vess Ruhtenberg, Devon Ashley, Karl Alvarez and Bill Stevenson (Descendents), P. David Hazel and various others.

Cited as one of the most important alternative rock groups, The Lemonheads were active until 1997 and went on hiatus, but reformed with a new lineup in 2005 and released The Lemonheads in the following year. The band released its latest album, Varshons, in June 2009.

Break Me
The Lemonheads Lyrics

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Speak so softly and lowly
Like you want me to hear
And it just shows to go me
No need to speak clear
Your away on a movie
And I want you to be

Be be be be be

Be be be be be

You're away on a painting
And I want you to be
And it just ain't worth waiting
For what I don't want to see
You're away on a painting
And it don't bother me

Me me me me me
Me me me me me
Me me me me me
Me me me me me

Come on baby say you don't hate me
Grape leaf stay fair save me
Startin' all over
Heather clover come over rover break me
Break me break me

Speak so softly and lowly
Like you want me to hear

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of The Lemonheads' song "Break Me" speak to the complexities of romantic relationships that are going through a rough patch. The persona in the song is listening intently to their partner's soft and muted words, which seem almost deliberately difficult to decipher. The persona is away on a movie or painting, and the length of this absence doesn't seem to be an issue, as it doesn't bother them. The chorus is simple and repetitive, emphasizing the mantra-like quality of the words, "be" and "me." It creates an almost hypnotic effect until the listener is broken out of the trance with the plea: "Come on baby, say you don't hate me."

The repeated use of "Be" and "Me" in the chorus section underscores how the persona is trying to hold onto the idea of the relationship and wants their partner to be present and communicative with them. But this is not happening now, so they resort to listening closely and hoping for the best. The persona asks for confirmation that their partner doesn't hate them and calls upon a grape leaf for help. At the song's end, the listener's heart is broken as the persona cries out for their partner to "break me."

The song's themes of loneliness, frustration, and longing are interwoven into the languid melody, which seems to emphasize the empty space between the persona and their partner. The Lemonheads' "Break Me" is a beautiful and poignant representation of the complexities of romantic relationships in distress.

Line by Line Meaning

Speak so softly and lowly
You're speaking in a way that seems like you want me to strain to hear you

Like you want me to hear
It's as if you're intentionally not speaking clearly so I have to work to understand you

And it just shows to go me
Your unclear speaking demonstrates a lack of concern for my understanding

No need to speak clear
You don't feel the need to be easily understood

Your away on a movie
You're not physically present, off doing something else

And I want you to be
I would prefer for you to be here with me instead of gone

You're away on a painting
You're occupied with creating art

And it just ain't worth waiting
I don't want to wait for you to finish, it's not worth my time

For what I don't want to see
I don't care about the finished product, I don't want to watch you work on it

And it don't bother me
Your focus on your art doesn't affect me negatively

Come on baby say you don't hate me
Please confirm that you still care about me and don't dislike me