anonymous May 9th, 2007 06:56PM  
First off the guy is obviously falling in love with this girl. (It is a slight vampire reference according to me) At the beginning of the song - "I see nothing in your eyes and the more I see the less I like.
Is it over yet, in my head?"
He wants her to fall in love with him, but as she does he realizes that it isn't right that she shouldn't. Apart of him so badly once her (demon part), but the other part says it is morally wrong. He is fighting with himself on the inside and can't decided what is right and what is wrong.
"So, sacrifice yourself and let me have what’s left.
I know that I can find the fire in your eyes.
I’m going all the way.
Get away, please." In this part the demon part is asking her to sacrifice herself for him. (To give her blood or life) Then the other part of him shows again and he is pleading with her to get away, so he doesn't do anything to harm her, or her soul.
"You’ve got to fight just to make it through,
Cuz I will be the death of you." He is telling her that she has to fight to get away from him, because he knows if he clings on to much long he will harm, or kill her.
"This will be all over soon, pouring salt into the open wound.
Is it over yet? Let me out." He is pulling away from her and she is very upset, because she is already to attached. He wants it to be over but the demon part of him wants out so that he can have the girl.
"Are you waiting?
Are you praying?
Realize.
Start hating" He is telling her that she need to realize that he is bad for her that she needs to stop loving him, to hate who he is. She is leaving a whole where his heart should be because he just wants her to leave so that she will live, but she is clinging on and the more he tries to pull away the more it hurts him because she just won‘t let go.

erinw88 September 12th, 2007 01:07AM  
Unless he's making the cigarettes into a person, there's no way that fits.

anonymous October 26th, 2007 06:14PM  
I think It's about a guy who loves a girl. They are together. But he's very bad for her and he knows it. No matter what she's not going to leave him because she loves him . He knows he's bad for her but he loves her and wants to be with her but he also doesn't so he's going back and forth like 'get away but dont' kinda thing. An he's saying he will be the death of her because he's bad and she stay with him till the end.

anonymous October 30th, 2007 04:09PM  
The whole vampire interpretation was really interesting. Though I seriously doubt Ben was singing about that it was still a good interpretation. The idea that he loves her but wants her to stay away because he knows he will hurt her is closer I think.

this song is so vague though, at times he seems be singing to someone he loves, at other times he seems to be singing to an enemy.

IE when he says "I will be the death of you" it sounds more like a venomous warning or threat than a pleading warning you would give to someone you love. In all honesty I think this song (along with Had Enough) is sung to their old drummer who has sued them over stupid stuff. "You take the breath right out of me" could be refering to how his former friend's actions have blindsided him and he can't believe it. and "I will be the death of you" is self explanitory. I think he is saying if you don't leave me alone you will regret it (he isn't gunna actually kill the guy but you know what I'm saying) but then the verse "I know that I can find the fire in your eyes." goes completely against that interpretation so idk.

fyi the actual lyrics are (and I am reading this right out of the booklet that came with the cd):
I'm waiting
I'm praying
realize
start hating

anonymous November 1st, 2007 04:48PM  
I think that he has this picture of this girl in this head and he can't quiet get her out so he keeps thinking of her and asks her "is it over yet in my head?" He wants her to sacrifice everything now that she has and give the rest to him because he can save her. They are not a couple I think he dreams of this girl and wants her to know that he can save her. He knows she has the power to take away those thoughts in his head and that she can block him out and refuse to let him in. He thinks that if she fights to actually get to him and say I'm here that it'll break everything going on in their lives as individuals. He wants to know if the person he is dreaming about is actually real in real life because he actually never has met this girl. As in the diary of jane he can hear her speak not specifically the girl in the video that's not the girl he's dreaming about but like he can hear her in his dreams but he can not actually see her but he sees a mirror instead so he's not sure that this is real.

hole830 November 10th, 2007 01:13AM  
I heard the song was the predators theme song.

Amy November 12th, 2007 03:07AM  
This song can also be interpreted as being directed toward himself. "I see nothing in your eyes, and the more I see, the less I like...is it over yet, in my head?" I picture the singer looking with disgust and his own image in the mirror. And maybe (this is reaching) knowing too much about himself, things he keeps hidden in his head out of shame. He's tired of the intensity of his emotions and the weight he bears. And he finally pushes that part of his life away and begins to hate it (who he was, past regrets, etc.) Anyway, awesome song. Love these guys.

Taliharu December 31st, 2007 01:34PM  
-I couldn't tell anyone what it means. Infact, I bet that's what the rest of us know we can't do. This song is a very hard song to understand-

My guess is that the one this guy loved did something wrong and now he wants to scare her off by fighting her away. But then again, a part of him doesn't want to fight her. Closing his eyes, in his mind he fights her away, knowing he can't win. Telling her to sacrifice herself and let him have whats left, this probably means he wants her to fight him, and he wants to keep her? That's one part that always confuses me. The fire in her eyes is the will to fight. He tells her to get away because he thinks something is playing with his mind, but he wants her dead because of what she has done to him. She takes the breath out of him because she is beautiful? The thing she has done to him left him with a hole in his heart? Fight, and he will kill her? The thought of her will be over soon, then pouring salt into open wounds would burn the guy and get his mind off of her. Are the thoughts over? He wants inside of his mind to kill the thought of her himself. The girl doesn't want to fight back and the guy tells her to realize and start hating him just so she could fight him. He won't let her go until he kills her.

-This is just something that I thought. You never know because the song could have an entirely different meaning that has to do with something other than the lyrics tell us. The song Start the Machine by Angels and Airwaves has a slightly different meaning than the words. It is called Start the Machine! He can't love! Well.... I'll stop here-

anonymous January 13th, 2008 01:43PM  
The guy that says it is about cigarettes could be right.
cause
"you take the breathe right out of me" explains itself.
"you left a whole where my heart should be" ciggs destroy your heart and lungs.
"you got to fight just to make it through" like if you get cancer you have to fight to stay alive.
"cause I will be the death of you" he's fighting his nicotine addiction.

pocahontas25 January 28th, 2008 09:30PM  
Maybe it's about a girl the he was once IN LOVE with who is into drugs or is severely depressed and He doesn't want to be with her anymore maybe because she isn't giving him what she used to she is lost within herself and hurting him and he wants to save her asking her to sacrifice herself but He knows if he leaves she will kill herself "I will be the death of you" probably what he meant maybe?

Probably not what it means but that is what I got out of it.

pocahontas25 January 28th, 2008 09:33PM  
Or maybe saying when he will be the death of you maybe when he says YOU he is saying it to the depressed person or the person on drugs. He wants to help this person. He knows that there is still that person left inside and he will go all the way to help that person but at the same time it is hurting him to see that person hurting. He may think this is all a dream and wish it was over.

Who knows.

anonymous March 25th, 2008 12:08AM  
I think the song is about a love hate relationship with a chick...

I see nothing in your eyes
and the more I see the less I like. (the girl wants to leave for another guy and has no remorse for leaving or things she may have said or done, and that hurts him)

Is it over yet in my head? (it's like she's playing mind games with him)

I know nothing of your kind
and I won't reveal your evil mind. (he's kinda clueless about women)

Is it over yet?
I can't win. (he want's the fight to be over but he wants to stay together, but she wants to leave)

So sacrifice yourself,
and let me have what's left.
I know that I can find the fire in your eyes.(he knows that there is something deep down, making her stay, she wants to work it out too)
I'm going all the way,
get away, please.
(he wants her to open up and tell him what she's really feeling so they can work it out. He is giving up everything he has and it is scaring him because he hasn't done it before, and now he is kinda regretting it because she isn't telling him what she is feeling)

You take the breath right out of me. (she's breath taking)
You left a hole where my heart should be. (she's killing him, because he loves her so much)
You got to fight just to make it through, (2 options...1-sometimes you have to fight in relationships so you can be honest and have what you feel in the open or 2-her leaving is killing him and he has to really struggle to get through a day without her)
'cause I will be the death of you. (he's gonna keep pestering her until she caves)

This will be all over soon. (the fight will eventually end and they can get back to normal)
Pour salt into the open wound. (it hurts bad)

Is it over yet?
Let me in. (he just really wants her to open up so they can fix tings)


I'm waiting, (he was being patient, but its hard now)
I'm praying, (duh)
realize,
start hating. (hates himself for pushing too hard and making them spilt up)

steakguy April 24th, 2008 12:46PM  
It's about a guy who's madly in love with a woman who does not share his feelings, so he's desperately trying to convince her that he knows she'd love him the same way if she'd only drop her guard and give him the chance. At the same time, he hates himself to a certain degree for having to try so hard with her while he doesn't get the same degree of passion in return.

I see nothing in your eyes, and the more I see the less I like. (He sees that she has no passion for him, and the longer her disinterest goes on, the more he kind of hates her for it.)

Is it over yet, in my head? (His heart wants to keep trying, but only once he convinces his mind that she's not interested will his efforts be truly futile. The whole heart vs. Head battle.)

I know nothing of your kind, and I won't reveal your evil mind. (He's typically not good with women, and to try and understand why that is he assumes that as a gender, they have malicious intent. He knows that's not really true but its the only thing that makes him feel better.)

Is it over yet? I can't win. (Again, he knows its futile but doesn't want to give up.)

So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left.
I know that I can find the fire in your eyes. (If she would just drop her guard and her defenses, she'd be better off for it and he'd have the good and passionate woman, the "real" woman, in the end.)

I'm going all the way, get away, please. (He's gonna try as hard as he can to make this happen, and by "get away," he's again telling her to just get out of her own way and let him show her why he's good for her.)

[Chorus:]
You take the breath right out of me. (He loves her so much it's like he can't breathe)

You left a hole where my heart should be. (There's a hole there now because his heart "belongs" to her and not himself.)

You got to fight just to make it through, (Relationships don't come easy and you have to work at it.)

'cause I will be the death of you. ("Death" could mean an ending, so by this he's saying that he could be the end of her search for the right man. Or, to put it another way, her acceptance of his love would be the “death” of her current disinterested self)

This will be all over soon. (He knows what he's trying is not working and that she's gonna give up on him soon.)

Pour salt into the open wound. (He opened up and she doesn't care and plans to leave anyway, further hurting him more than he already is.)

Is it over yet? Let me in. (Just more begging in vain)

So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left.
I know that I can find the fire in your eyes.
I'm going all the way, get away, please. (See above)

[Chorus:]
You take the breath right out of me.
You left a hole where my heart should be.
You got to fight just to make it through,
'cause I will be the death of you.

[Bridge]
I'm waiting (he'll wait her out), I'm praying (he's hoping she'll come around), realize (he's realized his efforts are fultile), start hating (so he hates himself and her for trying so hard when she couldn't care less. Wasting time on her, basically).

[Chorus:]
You take the breath right out of me.
You left a hole where my heart should be.
You got to fight just to make it through,
'cause I will be the death of you. (see above)

SaoirseC April 28th, 2008 08:58AM  
I think this song is about a dying relationship.

"I see nothing in your eyes, and the more I see the less I like." She doesn't care for him, when he looks into her eyes he doesn't see that love anymore.

"Is it over yet, in my head?" But he doesn't know if he can let go of her yet.

"So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left." He wants her to end it and be the one who dumps him (sacrifice her dignity) and whats left is he'll have a free life.

"You got to fight just to make it through,
'cause I will be the death of you." If they don't break up, they'll end up hating each other and probably have a life long grudge.

I think a lot of people have been in this situation where a relationship has gone stale but neither have the guts to end it. I'm doing a fan video for this song, should be up on youtube at the end of may if anyone is interested. x

anonymous April 30th, 2008 10:22PM  
I think there is a lot of truth in some of these responses (not cigs perhaps) but particularly those that focus on unrequited love. In fact, the song reminds me of a relationship I once had, where I did care, but the guy was so insecure he couldn't believe it. I think Ben is talking to a lover, and is telling her, and the song isn't necessarily biographical, "I fear that you don't want me, I have this dread that you are going to leave me any day. But I'm not sure if it's real or imagined." Because of his confusion, his responses are indefinite, he will make her want him and find fire in her eyes, he will kill her because if he can't have her no one can, and at the same time, he wants her to leave because he doesn't want to harm her, which is exactly what he feels like doing. Thus, he is torn, he hates her because he fears she doesn't want him. He is praying with all of his might that he is either wrong, and she does care, or that he can find a way to get her to care. So I think the reason the song is so hard to pin down, is that the man is having so much difficulty figuring out what to do, what is real, and what is not. He isn't sure whether she cares and he is just imagining that she doesn't, or whether she really is on the verge of leaving. He wants her to stay because he wants her, and maybe he wants her so badly because he thinks she doesn't want to stay. At the same time, he wants her to leave before something terrible happens while all the while he is praying that he is wrong and everything will be okay. Needless to say, this is a no win situation. She should have gotten the hell out of there yesterday!

jpizzle May 14th, 2008 12:50PM  
This song is about a man who sees his relationship with the one he loves fading. He sees that she has no desire to be with him anymore, she just hasen't realized this yet. He knows that she once loved her that there was a "fire" in her eyes but that fire has faded and he wants to try and find it.

anonymous July 4th, 2008 08:34PM  
Yea oddly I see a vampire reference. but I feel she is the vampire and he loves her but he knows she is dangerous. when he says "I know nothing of your kind" also it could be about a relationship that is wrong like cheating or something and they're in love but they need to end it.

anonymous November 29th, 2008 09:39AM  
I think that this song is about a mentally ill person that thinks he needs to kill people in order to survive. He knows deep inside that its not true, but somehow he can't stop.In the chorus i think that is about the more people he kills the less he feels guilty of doing it. Also it makes him become an inhuman monster. in the "im waiting, im praying, realize, start hating" part is about how he is waiting and praying for him to stop himself. The realize, start hating part is about he realizes what hes doing and hes hating himself for it.

Light December 1st, 2008 11:39AM  
I think this man is obsessed with this woman. He is struggling with his two natures. Both are really bad. One is his evil side and the other is his good side. But because they are continually fighting his two natures it is obvious that both are evil and he needs some outside help. He is a slave to his flesh, passions and needs a new heart. His obsession with her is so powerful that he is thinking of hurting her if he can't have her. What he thinks is love is really only lust and self centered love. If he truly loved her he would give her up and walk away. Obsession is caused by selfish worship of another person. He thinks only she will make him happy. And that's really all he wants. For her to make him happy. He doesn't really care or love her. He has no understanding of right and wrong because he is controlled by his passions and doesn't have an outside source of truth. Only what he's passions tell him matters. This type of man can become very dangerous, controlling and even a stoker. Unfortunately there are many many men and women like that in the world now. And we, the human race, thinks man is good. The hardest thing for us to admit to is that we aren't. Deep down inside we are all like this man and we are all sinners. The honesty pins us to the floor and yet that's where we need to be to see that we need help. Someone to change us and make us all new. Who can do that? Who can save us from ourselves?

anonymous January 8th, 2009 01:54PM  
I love what everyone has taken from this song, it seems like everyone that has posted has covered all the bases. I can see Twilight vampire romance in this song, and I can see someone writing about cigarettes and their effects on relationships, too, really, its not too hard to imagine. Its just called "personification".

Loving someone so much to realize that you may be bad for them is a very sobering thing to realize. What one does with that knowledge really says a lot about a person. Do you distance yourself from that person for their good, or do you take what you want/let them decide? Very tough, and this is captured very well in this song.

I would like to make an offhand note about the beauty of the word that titles this song, "Breath". I have this word tattooed on the inside of my lip, and only partially because I am a huge BB fan. The word "breath" is also very deep theologically. In both Hebrew and Greek, the two languages that form the Bible, the word for breath is the exact same as the word for "wind, or spirit". Literally, the Holy Spirit can be interpreted as Holy Breath and is in some places called Breath of God. Many times throughout Scripture the Spirit of God is depicted as a gentle breeze, mighty wind, or the essence of God, like wind or breath might be understood even today. If you read this and are bored, take a few minutes out to head over to biblegateway.com and type in the word breath into the search bar, and just read through the different referrences throughout the Bible. Some of the most awesome passages that are hidden gems come up, its quite interesting.

Hope this was worth your time. Either way, rock on.