Your Ex-Lover is Dead
The Stars Lyrics


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"When there's nothing left to burn
You have to set yourself on fire"

God that was strange to see you again
Introduced by a friend of a friend
Smiled and said, "Yes, I think we've met before"
In that instant it started to pour
Captured a taxi despite all the rain
We drove in silence across Pont Champlain
And all of the time you thought I was sad
I was trying to remember your name

This scar is a fleck on my porcelain skin
Tried to reach deep but you couldn't get in
Now you're outside me
You see all the beauty
Repent all your sin

It's nothing but time and a face that you lose
I chose to feel it and you couldn't choose
I'll write you a postcard
I'll send you the news
From a house down the road from real love

Live through this, and you won't look back
Live through this, and you won't look back
Live through this, and you won't look back

There's one thing I want to say, so I'll be brave
You were what I wanted
I gave what I gave
I'm not sorry I met you
I'm not sorry it's over
I'm not sorry there's nothing to say





I'm not sorry there's nothing to save

Overall Meaning

The Stars' song "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" is a poignant and emotional reflection on the end of a relationship. The opening lines, "When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire" speaks to the idea of letting go of the past and moving forward. It is a metaphor for the need to let go of what has been, to shed the old skin in order to move on to something new.


The song tells the story of two people who meet again after a long time apart. The singer remembers the time they spent together, but the other person seems to have no recollection of it. As they drive through the rain, the singer reflects on the past and tries to come to terms with the end of the relationship.


The chorus, "Live through this, and you won't look back" is a reminder that the pain of a breakup will eventually fade away, and that life can go on. The final lines of the song, "I'm not sorry there's nothing to save" suggests that the singer has come to accept the end of the relationship, and is ready to move on.


Line by Line Meaning

When there's nothing left to burn
When you have exhausted all options and there's nothing more you can do


You have to set yourself on fire
You have to do something drastic to change the situation


God that was strange to see you again
It was unusual and unexpected to see you again


Introduced by a friend of a friend
I met you through a mutual connection


Smiled and said, "Yes, I think we've met before"
I recognized you, but I'm not sure if we've actually met before


In that instant it started to pour
It started raining heavily at that exact moment


Captured a taxi despite all the rain
We found a taxi even though it was raining heavily


We drove in silence across Pont Champlain
We crossed Pont Champlain without speaking to each other


And all of the time you thought I was sad
You assumed I was sad the whole time we were together


I was trying to remember your name
I couldn't recall your name and was trying to remember it


This scar is a fleck on my porcelain skin
This scar is a small mark on my delicate skin


Tried to reach deep but you couldn't get in
You tried to connect with me on a deeper level, but you couldn't


Now you're outside me
You're no longer a part of my life


You see all the beauty
You realize how beautiful I am after we've parted ways


Repent all your sin
Regret all the mistakes you made in our relationship


It's nothing but time and a face that you lose
All you lose in the end is time and the memory of my face


I chose to feel it and you couldn't choose
I chose to embrace my emotions, but you couldn't do the same


I'll write you a postcard
I'll send you a postcard as a way of keeping in touch


I'll send you the news
I'll tell you the latest news about my life


From a house down the road from real love
I'll send the postcard from a place where I'm not truly in love


Live through this, and you won't look back
Endure this experience and you won't have any regrets in the future


There's one thing I want to say, so I'll be brave
I have something important to tell you, so I'll be courageous


You were what I wanted
I desired to be with you


I gave what I gave
I did everything I could in our relationship


I'm not sorry I met you
I don't regret having met you


I'm not sorry it's over
I'm not sad that our relationship is over


I'm not sorry there's nothing to say
I'm not sorry that there are no words left to say between us


I'm not sorry there's nothing to save
I'm not sorry that there's nothing left to salvage in our relationship




Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Amy E Millan, Christopher Allen Seligman, Evan Whitney Cranley, Patrick McGee, Torquil John Campbell

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@kjatlas8671

When I was 16 years old I saw Stars live at the Cat's Cradle. It was profound, but it's not until now, eight years later, that these lyrics leave tingles on my skin. I stayed at a friend's house that night and I don't remember it a bit, probably because the very next day, my life would never be the same again. I was going through a dark time and was in a toxic relationship with a drug-addicted teenage boy. I had an Adderall prescription and he begged me to give him some. Being the insecure and codependent teenager that I was, I agreed. He sold them on the school bus. The next day I was in third-period math class chatting with my best friend and the assistant principal pulled me from class and nothing was ever the same.

I never went back to math class. I never went back to that school. I was a straight-A student going to jail with a felony at 16 for distributing a controlled substance. I lost every single one of my friends and my first love. I was sure my life was over. I ended up going to a school for delinquents, which brought my life to another level of darkness that I never imagined possible, but still, I prevailed. I was sexually assaulted, date r*ped, but I felt lucky that I was able to graduate high school a year earlier at this school due to my credit amount.

Then I got into college! A miracle considering my past. I thought I was beginning to turn the page, but then I developed a serious autoimmune disease from the stress of it all, causing me to gain a significant amount of weight and had to drop out of college. A year off at home and my friends were my mom's friends who took me into their crew (yes, it's weird).

At the time, I wanted to die. I thought I must set myself on fire...looking back it's just a fleck on my porcelain skin. I lived through this and I won't look back. I left my tiny town, fell in real love, and started my own business a couple of years ago that's going really well.

If you read this far, you might be going through the hardest time in your life, but I promise there will always be a silver lining. Beautiful things come from the darkest time. Love to you all.



@kooplings1199

This was my boyfriend's favourite song. He fell and hit his head which lead to his death. I can hear his voice singing each lyric. When we all said our final goodbye, we played this song and I held onto his feet hoping he'd wake up when he heard 'live through this, and you won't look back...' we watched his final breath to this.  

We were neighbours. We'd hope a fence to get to each other. The last time I saw him alive, we spent the night together, haha 'lazy lovins'. We sang 'Tribute' by Tenacious D while I got ready in the mirror together. I made breakfast and danced, he pulled me into his arms and told me to eat- knowing I was behind. I (ofc) was running late for my bus that morning. He unlocked his bike, tried to 'scare' me and proceeded to flag down that bus. I thanked and kissed him. He kissed me back and said 'I love you, and I'll catch you later kid' then gave me a love tap. I smiled and turned to him to savour that moment.

The bus driver called him a nice boy, and I smiled and thought back to my parents. That's how they met.

My mom was running late for school, my dad saw her then biked up to the bus and my mom got on... she fell for him in that moment and eventually crossed paths again.

I spent NYE in Montreal, I couldn't get this song out of my head. I wished he was with me whenever I looked up to Pont Champlain. 


Our streets of parkdale, toronto are covered with ghosts. I never get to bike with him into heavy traffic or sit on his porch drinking a warm Turborg with a cigarette in hand. No one will ever get to hear his funny fuckin jokes.

So this song reminds me of a lot. I miss him every day. I look at his collection of books. They haunt me like the notes of this song.

Joshua Pamplin, I didn't get to love you long enough. I will always miss you and your profoundly poetic ways. Come visit me sometime? Please.



All comments from YouTube:

@ThioJoe

Good song

@noodlegirl55

"I'm not sorry I met you, I'm not sorry it's over. I'm not sorry there's nothing to say" this. this. this. this song is too relatable

@aleonne2148

lmao like you've ever even touched a woman.

@Apollo-it8ml

@@aleonne2148 does it make you feel better about yourself to go online and be mean for no reason? what do you gain from this? you genuinely confuse me

@juliebraden6911

@@Apollo-it8ml three years after the original comment too lol

@inkspooky7244

@@Apollo-it8ml dayum lol

@randomdude189

I just wish it was a better song

1 More Replies...

@kchang4364

After so many years, this song still makes me want to be in my early 20s again and feel that hopelessness one feels in youth after an earth-devouring love is lost, but in a sort of beautiful and way, where you know it’s for the best and are at peace.

@OlYables

Spot-freaking on.

@danieljudin3950

Woah. Im not at all at peace. But I know it's for the best

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