O.A.V.I.P.
The Maccabees Lyrics


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She collects medicines in the box
Where once he had kept his
And holds out hope the year old worries
Will be gone
Long before she goes

So when's your start and when's your end?
The slow depart: happening again

The fun-size can you can expect
It only reflects her wants for you

When's your start and when's your end?
The slow depart happening again

Cause this is not farewell old dear
This is not farewell old dear





So when's your start and when's your end?
The slow depart: happening again

Overall Meaning

The opening lines, "She collects medicines in the box/Where once he had kept his," sets up the song's theme of a couple's relationship deteriorating due to one partner's illness. The female partner is now the caretaker, collecting medicine for the male partner, who is implied to be deceased or incapacitated. She is holding onto hope that her own worries about the future will be resolved before her own eventual passing.


The chorus repeats the lines, "When's your start and when's your end?/The slow depart happening again," highlighting the cyclical nature of life and death, and the inevitability of their eventual separation. The lines, "The fun-size can you can expect/It only reflects her wants for you," suggests that the caretaker is trying to focus on the positive memories of their relationship, despite the difficult circumstances they are currently facing.


The closing lines, "Cause this is not farewell old dear/This is not farewell old dear," reinforce the idea that while they must eventually part ways, their love will endure beyond death.


Line by Line Meaning

She collects medicines in the box
She keeps medications in a container


Where once he had kept his
The box previously belonged to him


And holds out hope the year old worries
She hopes her long-standing troubles will resolve


Will be gone
Her worries will disappear


Long before she goes
This will happen while she is still alive


So when's your start and when's your end?
Asking when something begins and when it ends


The slow depart: happening again
A gradual departure is taking place once more


The fun-size can you can expect
The small can is what she thinks you desire


It only reflects her wants for you
The can is a symbol of her desires


When's your start and when's your end?
Repetition of questioning when something begins and ends


The slow depart happening again
The gradual separation is occurring once more


Cause this is not farewell old dear
Reassuring that this is not the final goodbye


This is not farewell old dear
Repeating that this is not the end


So when's your start and when's your end?
Repeating the question of when something starts and ends


The slow depart: happening again
Repeating that a gradual departure is occurring again




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FELIX WHITE, HUGO WHITE, ORLANDO THOMAS PENHALE WEEKS, ROBERT DYLAN THOMAS, SHEPHERD RUPERT ALEXANDER J. JARVIS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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