They'll Need a Crane
The Wrens Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Love sees love's happiness
But happiness can't see that love is sad
That love is sad
Sadness is hanging there
To show love somewhere something needs a change
They need a change

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To take the house he built for her apart
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain

Lad's gal is all he has
Gal's gladness hangs upon the love of lad
The love of lad
Some things gal says to lad aren't meant as bad
But cause a little pain
They cause him pain

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To take the house he built for her apart
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain

Don't call me at work again no no the boss still hates me
I'm just tired and I don't love you anymore
And there's a restaurant we should check out where
The other nightmare people like to go
I mean nice people, baby wait,
I didn't mean to say nightmare

Lad looks at other gals
Gal thinks Jim Beam is handsomer than lad
He isn't bad
Call off the wedding band
Nobody wants to hear that one again
Play that again

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To take the house he built for her apart
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane




They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of The Wrens's song They'll Need a Crane explore the complexities of love and relationships. The song suggests that love is not always enough, and that it can be overshadowed by sadness and pain. The first verse speaks to the idea that love sees happiness, but happiness cannot see when love is sad, indicating that love can often be overlooked and unrecognized. Sadness is given physical form in the lyrics, hanging there to show that something needs to change to make things better. The chorus repeats, emphasizing that they'll need a crane to take the house apart – a metaphor for breaking things down before they can be rebuilt.


The second verse explores a couple's relationship, with the lad’s love for his gal being all he has, while the gal's gladness depends on the lad's love. However, the song suggests that actions and words can be misunderstood, causing pain and sadness. The lyrics imply that they need to break down the old ways of communication, represented by the house, in order to make things better. The final verse explores thoughts about ending the relationship, with the person being tired and no longer in love. Despite this, there is a suggestion that they could still see a world apart from pain, indicating that there might still be hope for the relationship.


Overall, They'll Need a Crane is a powerful exploration of the challenges of love and relationships. The lyrics suggest that sometimes it is necessary to break things down before they can be rebuilt, and that love can sometimes be overshadowed by sadness and pain.


Line by Line Meaning

Love sees love's happiness
Love understands and acknowledges the happiness of two people in love


But happiness can't see that love is sad
However, the happiness experienced by two people in love cannot see the sadness that exists within that love


That love is sad
The love shared between two people contains a level of sadness within it


Sadness is hanging there
The sadness that exists within the love shared between two people is very present and noticeable


To show love somewhere something needs a change
The sadness within the love shared between two people is an indicator that something needs to change


They need a change
The two people in love require some form of change in order to eliminate the sadness that exists within their relationship


They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
In order to rectify their broken relationship, the couple will require outside help


To take the house he built for her apart
This help will require the disassembly of the physical aspects of their life together


To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
Breaking down this life together will not be easy and will require significant force and effort


To pick the broken ruins up again
After breaking down their life together, it will be necessary to pick up the broken pieces and try to rebuild


To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain
The end goal of this rebuilding process is to mend the woman's heart and help the man see a future that is not plagued by pain


Lad's gal is all he has
The man's significant other is the most important thing in his life


Gal's gladness hangs upon the love of lad
The woman's happiness is intrinsically tied to the love of this man


Some things gal says to lad aren't meant as bad
Sometimes the woman says things that aren't intended to be mean or hurtful


But cause a little pain
Despite her good intentions, her words still cause some amount of pain to the man


Don't call me at work again no no the boss still hates me
The man is frustrated and upset with his job and does not want to be bothered by his significant other while at work


I'm just tired and I don't love you anymore
The man is experiencing a lack of love for his significant other and is feeling worn out


And there's a restaurant we should check out where
The man suggests trying out a new restaurant


The other nightmare people like to go
The man corrects himself and tries to say that the restaurant is frequented by nice people, not negative ones


Lad looks at other gals
The man has a habit of looking at other women


Gal thinks Jim Beam is handsomer than lad
The woman has a preference for a type of alcohol over her significant other


He isn't bad
Despite this, the woman still believes that her significant other is a good man


Call off the wedding band
The man should not bother playing music at their wedding, as it is not something that anyone wants to hear again


Nobody wants to hear that one again
This line is repeated to emphasize the point that the song should not be played again




Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN FLANSBURGH, JOHN LINNELL, JOHN C. FLANSBURGH, JOHN S. LINNELL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Daniel Cropp

Faith in humanity restored.

Luis Rodriguez

This is amazing.

visa

Definitely an interesting cover of TMBG's original. Pretty good!

tannerin

the melding of two of the greatest bands to grace this earth

Kreblink

Cool! Thanks for the upload.

HeyHeyChey

no fucking way this existed all this time

Daniel Cropp

I honestly think this is better than the original. Come at me, bro.

Chris Carville

Just showed this to my girlfriend and she said the same thing

FanDeLionelMessi

I agree but then I heard this cover first.

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