What does Curse mean?

Imagine Dragons: Curse Meaning

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Album cover for Curse album cover

Curse Lyrics

She barely knew your name
He was just a city, she's just a dirt road
but that never meant a thing
running from the country, she needed out but, he held that diamond ring

Cause I can't sit oh I cant talk
I gotta leave this town and run to...

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  1. anonymous
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     Oct 11th 2014 !⃝

    I think this song is primarily about a country ("Dirt Road") girl being seduced by a city boy. He lures her in with the promise of love and commitment, and with the exotic allure of the city (symbolized by the diamond ring), all of which a young woman desires. Understandably, given her frustration with country life, she took the bait. In her shoes, it is very likely that any of us, especially at a tender age, would do the same. I myself had a similar experience when I was younger and more impulsive.

    I think the part that says Break (oh) this curse, followed by the laughter is to contrast the difference between how she viewed the relationship before and after he broke her heart. Before, the girl was distressed that she could immediately leave town and see her lover, as indicated by the strained way in which the words "Break (oh) this curse" are spoken and by the line "Curse these nights that speak your name.". The "Ha ha ha" represents her own perception of the boy as narrated by her own low self-esteem. "Ha ha ha, you think I/he *really* ever had any interest in YOU?". The "She barely knew your name" line could be the boy's conscience speaking in disapproval after the fact, as he is just as aware as anybody else how his actions hurt her. Just because he initially mislead her in an extremely insensitive and callous way does not necessarily mean he is a heartless monster: just that he made a serious jerk move he regrets.


    The part of the song that says "He was such a worry, no need to hurry, the streets are slick at night" is the boy's dawning realization that the girl is a *LOT* more serious about him than he ever was about her. Because he doesn't want a serious relationship, despite his lies, he makes excuses to prevent her from coming to him ("Well, there's uh, no rush!"), even if it means grasping at straws (symbolized by saying the streets are slick at night, as it doubtful he *actually* would have said something that foolish. It was intended for dramatic effect, likely.). She headed towards the beacon of light that she initially perceived him as.

    He tried again to stop her from approaching the "light" (Symbolized by saying "Your eyes look tired". It is very unlikely he would have literally said that, again.). Eventually, she found out that he wasn't that into her, which caused her immense heartache. It may well be she actually screamed out in agony vocally, but it is more likely she was screaming internally, as we all do when we suffer horribly. Again, "she gave her life for you" can easily be interpreted as his conscience accusing him, because he knows that what he did was wrong.

    The beginning of the guilt was the panic he experienced when she made her intentions to visit him clear. That's when he became aware of what the real world consequences of his actions would be. He knew then that the whole house of cards would come crashing down and people would get hurt because of his actions. Now, the outworking of his actions ("Karma") is visiting him, in the form of guilty accusations "She gave her life for you." and "She barely knew your name.". One can quite naturally see the words "You jerk" appended to either of those sentences, which lends credence to that interpretation.

    This is a great song. Imagine Dragons gets some flack, and I'm sure some of it is indeed justified. To some extent, to cater to a more mainstream audience, it is all but inevitable that not all your songs will have the depth that you might expect from an independent band that caters to a well defined niche market. By the same token, however, they produce some great and thought provoking work, which resonates with what it means to be a human, particularly in the modern world. "Radioactive", "Monster", and "Curse" are all prime examples of this sort of music.

  2. anonymous
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     Jul 5th 2014 !⃝

    I believe that all songs are for the listener to decide the meaning to them personally. This being said, I see the "city boy" as the devil and the "dirt road girl" as all people. We are so tempted and drawn to him, yet when we look up from where we are standing the realization hits us. All of this, and look at all the damage done. We may try to fight our selfs out of these situations and find God (cause I can't sit oh I can't talk/ I gotta leave this town and run to you). Then calling out to God to "Break This Curse". If y'all find any faults or things to add I would love to hear them!!

  3. anonymous
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     Sep 24th 2013 !⃝

    Surprisingly, I couldn't find many interpretations for this song. I love this song so much that I decided to analyze it on my own.
    It obviously talks about a young lady who had fallen blindly in love with a man she hardly knew. Maybe she was seduced and deceived by him (The rich city boy, who showed her a world she's never seen before)? Maybe he has nothing to do with her and it was just a simple unrequited love from a lowly 'country' girl to a well known figure? Or maybe she made a mistake of giving him herself out of love and innocence with the promise of marriage...?

    I also think that the guy the girl fell for, probably feels as though as he under a 'curse'-- due to the fact that he has to take responsibility for her life/tragedy that he caused, or because of the regrets that haunt him from everything that happened. 'Oh your eyes look tired', hence, regret, confusion, conflicted, troubled. (He found her love troublesome?)

    Well however it's understood, the girl ended up losing her life (not necessarily literally) and that the guy wasn't entirely grateful.

    Oh and the narrator of the tale just couldn't stand it, and out of sarcasm says 'break (oh) this (oh) curse (oh)' and then laughs the dry 'ha ha ha'. When in fact, the narrator WANTS the guy to be conflicted and cursed (Actually curses the guy himself, and the 'nights that speak your name'-- he sings this with spite).
    At a certain verse, the narrator described the girl as someone who wouldn't listen...that hints that he was someone close who was trying to convince her of staying away from the love that she only knew (also proving that she's an innocent and naive girl with not much experience).


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