This song first appeared on a Cloudberry Records compilation titled "What's… Read Full Bio ↴This song first appeared on a Cloudberry Records compilation titled "What's All The Fuzz About". The same compilation also featured the very first song from a great noise pop band, The Manhattan Love Suicides, who would go on to gain some popularity (though not nearly as much as TPOBPAH).

A Teenager in Love
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Lyrics

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Now you go unseen, perfect you'll stay hidden
And I can dream of things you'll never see
All I please, if you are braver than the rest,
There's little left that could dispute your claim

And when you'd finally gone
He tells me "you were dead all along"
He was wrong, he hadn't lived a day

The way you lived your final days
A teenager in love with Christ and heroin

Now you feel ashamed
But he feels nothing of the kind
He talks of things he wouldn't mind to try sometime,

But you've got little left to give
His touch is not a thing you'll ever miss

And if you made a stand,
I'd stand with you til the end

But you don't need a friend when you're
A teenager in love with Christ and heroin

Overall Meaning

The song "A Teenager in Love" by The Pains of Being Pure At Heart is a hauntingly beautiful and melancholic ballad. The lyrics seem to be about a person who was once in love with someone who struggled with addiction to both Christ and heroin. The singer speaks of this person as if they were already dead, even though they were still alive. They long for the person they once knew and remind themselves that if they were braver than others, they could claim all that was left of them.

The lyrics make the listener feel the sadness and heartbreak that comes with losing someone to addiction. They also draw a vivid contrast between the two worlds of the person in love with Christ and the person in love with heroin. The singer talks of how the person they loved was braver than the rest, but in the end, they were still lost to addiction. The chorus seems to be a plea for the person they loved to know that they would stand with them until the end, even though they don't need a friend when they are a teenager in love with Christ and heroin.

In conclusion, "A Teenager in Love" is a poignant and powerful song that captures the pain of losing someone to addiction. The lyrics hint at both the beauty and the tragedy of addiction, and they remind the listener of the importance of empathy and compassion when dealing with someone who is struggling with addiction.

Line by Line Meaning

Now you go unseen, perfect you'll stay hidden
You desire to stay unnoticed so that you may privately indulge in the beauty that no one else can see

And I can dream of things you'll never see
I can only imagine the things that you have kept a secret from everyone else

All I please, if you are braver than the rest,
As long as you can show courage when it matters, I am content with whatever you choose to do

There's little left that could dispute your claim
No one can take away your rightful place or accuse you of being insincere, as you have earned it through your actions

And when you'd finally gone
When you have left this world behind

He tells me "you were dead all along"
He had falsely assumed that you were lifeless and lacked vitality from the beginning

He was wrong, he hadn't lived a day
He had never truly experienced life and all its complexities

The way you lived your final days
Your last moments were characterized by the intensity of your devotion towards both Jesus Christ and heroin

A teenager in love with Christ and heroin
You were young and in love, but your affections were directed towards something that was both divine and deadly

Now you feel ashamed
You regret your decisions and feel embarrassed about your past choices

But he feels nothing of the kind
He does not experience any guilt or remorse for his involvement in your life

He talks of things he wouldn't mind to try sometime,
He speaks of experimenting with things that you already know to be dangerous and destructive

But you've got little left to give
You do not have much left to offer, having given so much of yourself already

His touch is not a thing you'll ever miss
You will not long for his affection or physical presence once you have moved on from this phase of your life

And if you made a stand,
If you took a firm stance and stood up for yourself,

I'd stand with you til the end
I would support you steadfastly until the end

But you don't need a friend when you're
However, you do not necessarily need someone by your side when you are

A teenager in love with Christ and heroin
Experiencing an intense passion for two very different entities

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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