What does My Last Breath mean?

Evanescence: My Last Breath Meaning

Album cover for My Last Breath album cover

My Last Breath Lyrics

hold on to me love
you know i can't stay long
all i wanted to say was i love you and i'm not afraid
can you hear me?
can you feel me in your arms?

holding my last breath
safe inside myself
are all my thoughts of you
sweet raptured light...

  1. anonymous
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    Jul 2nd 2010 !⃝

    i think it is about a girl taht is dieing in the hands of the person she loves, and he loves her too, "i can see it in you'r tears" so he must care for her if he is crying too, and she says she is not scared, i think she was trying to comfort him, and the "can u hear me, can u feel me in your arms" she is saying that after she has passed on. the safe inside myself, means like when her spirt is still in her body she feels safe, i'll miss th winter she is saying how she will miss being on earth, i know u haer me, i can taste in in your taers, she is saying she has to be alive, caz she can still taste things, i have no clue whats she means when she says no ones there, mabey she is saying that after she dies, no one is there, when she says don't be afraid, she is like, it is ok that i am dieing, don't be sccared, yup tahts it,

  2. isolated
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    May 22nd 2010 !⃝

    This song is about someone dying in the arms of someone they love ill explain part by part

    hold on to me love
    you know I can't stay long
    all I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid
    can you hear me?
    can you feel me in your arms?

    when she says hold on to me love she is saying it because she doesn't want to be alone as she dies so she wants him to hold her she says you know I can't stay long because she is dying she says you know I can't stay long for the same reason and she says can you hear me because she wants to tell him but make sure he hears her and she isn't imagining it also the reason she asks can he feel her in his arms

    holding my last breath
    safe inside myself
    are all my thoughts of you
    sweet raptured light it ends here tonight

    she says holding my last breath because she is trying to hold on long enough to tell him that she loves him she says safe inside myself are all my thoughts of you because she is keeping those memories with her in her soul and heart even tough she is dying when she says sweet raptured light it ends here tonight I think she means the light at the end of the tunnel she is giving up letting ti take over and accepting her fate

    i'll miss the winter
    a world of fragile things
    look for me in the white forest
    hiding in a hollow tree (come find me)
    i know you hear me
    i can taste it in your tears

    when she says ill miss the winter a world of fragile things she says this because she knows and accepts her death but she will miss it because she likes it and the trees and world is fragile in winter think of dead branches in the winter how easily they break when she says look for me in the white forest hiding in a hallow tree she wants him to know when he crosses over that he or his soul can find her in that part of the afterlife or that place the white forest probably meaning a forest that is in the winter season hiding in a hallow tree could mean she will take the form of an animal maybe a squirrel or however you spell it she says I know you hear me I can taste it in your tears she says this because he is holding her and crying as she is dying his tears may be running into her mouth and this is a sign of sadness so she knows he is sad and its because of what she is telling him

    holding my last breath
    safe inside myself
    are all my thoughts of you
    sweet raptured light it ends here tonight

    same as before

    closing your eyes to disappear
    you pray your dreams will leave you here
    but still you wake and know the truth
    no one's there

    when she says closing your eyes to disappear it means he is is trying to sleep to forget what happened when she says you pray your dreams will lead you here but still you wake to know the truth no ones there, he is dreaming of everything being ok and he wishes that he where at that place which she told him to find her but he wakes up to find out that its not real and that she is dead.

    say goodnight
    don't be afraid
    calling me calling me as you fade to black

    when she says say goodnight don't be afraid she is telling him to say bye to her but not goodbye because they will meet again possibly in the afterlife at that place she told him (the white forest) and he shouldn't be afraid of not seeing her again when she says calling me calling me as you fade to black she says this because he is calling her not to leave and because he is seeing she is dying and where she says as you fade to black its because she is now dying and her eyes are closing so the darkness of death is taking over his figure or her vision of seeing him


    holding my last breath
    safe inside myself
    are all my thoughts of you
    sweet raptured light it ends here tonight

    same as above only this time she says sweet raptured light it ends here tonight one last time because she is now really giving up and is dead it has now ended.

    at least that's how I see this song I think its beautiful and very emotional amy is amazing and I love it

  3. anonymous
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    May 6th 2010 !⃝

    Again, I believe it's about some1 dying in their lover's arms, from the dying persons point of view.

    ( Hold on to me, love. You know I can't stay long..)
    She's telling him that she loves him one last time and that she's not afraid to die.

    ( All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid..)
    The next part is I believe she talking about holding in all their happy moments together as she takes her last breath. The "sweet, raptured light" is probably heaven.
    (Holding my last breath. Safe inside myself are all my thoughts of you. Sweet raptured light. It ends here tonight.)

    The next thing personally I'm a little fuzzy about. But it seems like she's saying how she'll miss the other things she loves. It's talking about how in death she'll feel like a child again, thus, "Look for me in the white forest, hiding in a hollow tree." She's asking her lover to play a game of hide-and-seek with her, like children.
    (I'll miss the winter. A world of fragile things. Look for me in the white forest hiding in a hollow tree *come and find me.)
    Again, the chorus, talking about holding their happy memories within her forever.

    Now she's saying that when he falls asleep, she's always there in his dreams. And he always prays that maybe he'll stay asleep for enternity, to stay with her. But still he wakes up and realizes that she's gone all over again. (closing your eyes to disappear. You pray your dreams will leave you here. But still you wake and know the truth, no one's there.)

    Finally, she's saying don't be afraid to go to sleep, because he knows that she'll be there and she's still not alive. He's afraid to sleep because he's tired of living his grief over and over again night after night. But as hard as he tries, he falls asleep and calls her back involuntarily. In a way, he still loves her and enjoys seeing her, however short the time. (Say goodnight, don't be afraid.....Calling me, calling me as you fade to black.)

    Then she talks one last time about forever keeping their memories.
    There is my interpretation of this beautiful song. <3

  4. anonymous
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    Apr 28th 2010 !⃝

    Somebody told me that this song was dedicated for 9/11, also it says that on Wikipedia, on songs for the 9/11 event. Maybe she lost someone on that event.

  5. nano
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    Dec 30th 2009 !⃝

    So, as you all already noticed: It´s definitely about her dying laying in the arms of her love, who don't want to realize it. You can tell especially by the lines "say goodnight, don't be afraid, >calling me calling me as you fade to black<"..

    Her love fades to black, cause she is passing out.
    Or like this lines "I know you hear me, I can taste it in your tears"

    So definitely about "her" dying.
    Beautiful Song :D^^

  6. anonymous
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    Sep 7th 2009 !⃝

    When I listen to this song on repeat I think of it as kind of a suicide note.

  7. MyOpinion
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    Aug 23rd 2009 !⃝

    The meaning of this song is wrapped in its metaphors. From the interviews with Amy Lee I’ve watched, I can conclude that she’s not always the happiest person, sometimes depressed. She takes these feelings and ties them into music that relieves her from that stress. This music is a bundle of metaphors and instruments, so as you try to decipher the lyrics, don’t think too literally.
    The main point of ‘My Last Breath’ is about a girl/woman (inferring that it’s Amy Lee, since she normally write from life experience) that wants to be happy, wants to be in love, and would miss that depressed mood if she did, but is already withering away returning to that numbing, trapping, and forbidding depression. Here’s the breakdown:
    “Hold on to me love. You know I can't stay long. All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid. Can you hear me? Can you feel me in your arms?”
    As she’s leaving, withering into depressing, Amy whispers those last words to her love, but wondering if he cares.
    Another point of view is that she is referring to her happy self, wanting that part of her to hold on to her, but knows she can’t linger on it since she’ll soon be sucked into a cold world. And as she lingers on that last strip of happiness (referring to it as a life of its own), Amy wonders if happiness is responding to her.
    Perhaps she wonders whether that state of mine is making her ‘invisible’ to him.
    “Holding my last breath. Safe inside myself are all my thoughts of you, sweet ruptured light. It ends here tonight” (The Chorus)
    Holding on the last strip of happiness, the sweet uncontrollable happy thought of him are in her mind. The bliss ends now. But as that opposing view, it’s the happy thoughts of her happy side.
    “I’ll miss the winter: a world of fragile things”
    I love this metaphor. As she wants to break free into happiness, Amy’s afraid, and would miss that “winter: a world of fragile things” which is that cold gloomy/gothic [depressed] state of mind, a state of sensitivity (in terms of being easy broken).
    “Closing your eyes to disappear, you pray your dreams will leave you here, but still you wake and know the truth. No one's there.”
    He’ll close his eyes to slip into a dream (lie) to find refuge from the truth, but he can’t escape the truth. He’s alone.
    “Say goodnight, don't be afraid, calling me (calling me) as you fade to black”
    She's telling him to not hesitate to drift into “sleep”. He’s calling after her as everything blurs away in the unconscious state.
    So, she wants to be happy, but is still likes that gloomy mood. She wants him to be as aware of her as she is to him, and he starts to see her more and more, then she’s ‘gone’.
    This is a very touching tale and a very powerful song (a bit creepy, though, it’s like know when the death of your certain life will come). And about my interpretations, did you think a fourteen year old can write like that? :)
    Just MyOpinion :)

  8. CJ.Evanescence
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    Jun 1st 2009 !⃝

    OMG one of my favorites!

    But yeah, this song is just about someone dying in the arms of their lover. She's expressing her love him before she dies *hint: my last breath* He's crying because he doesn't want her to go *hint: I can taste it in your tears*

    You know, this is kinda random but I think this song would've been so much better for Twilight than Decode. I love both, but this song is so much more powerful. Sure the meaning is a little off, but it still goes so perfectly. Wouldn't you agree?

  9. jules1924
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    May 6th 2009 !⃝

    See, for me it's about someone who has already died... maybe visiting her love in a dream or something. Using her last "breath" to visit him from the other side and tell him that she loved him and she wasn't afraid.

    Could be wrong. :)

  10. anonymous
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    Apr 19th 2009 !⃝

    I think it's about a lover dying and the lyrics are the last words they speak.
    When I heard 'hiding in a hollow tree' I thought of Rhys and Meiner. It's an old legend about a man searching for his wife, who ran away from the wedding as part of an old custom. He searches and searches for her and eventually, after many years, rests beneath an old hollow tree. A bolt of lightning splits open the tree and he sees the skeleton of his bride, still in her wedding dress.
    This is just my opinion.

  11. anonymous
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    Mar 7th 2009 !⃝

    hollow tree = (wooden) coffin (?); since the speaker is aware of her impending demise

    also, more people die in the winter than in any other season of the year and the last part of someone's life (usually elderly, but the speaker isn't clear about her age) is sometimes referred to the "winter" of their life.

    just some other things to think about :)
    -C.

  12. asterodera
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    Jan 11th 2009 !⃝

    I agree that this song is about dying and entering the afterlife, however I find the lines "look for me in the white forrest, hiding in a hollow tree" interesting.
    A welsh legend I once read called "Rhys a Meinir" [not sure if there's an english translation" Is about a bride who runs away from her wedding to hide from her husband. She hides up a tree not banking that it was hollow and she falls into it, her husband searches day after day for her and one winter he enters the forrest and a bolt of lightning splits the tree open and there lies Meinir's corpse still in the wedding dress.
    Not exactly relevant to the song itself, but that's how i interpret that paticular line.

  13. anonymous
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    Dec 1st 2008 !⃝

    Yeah, i always thought is was about someone dying, too. Before, when i heard the 'white forest' part, i'd think of a snowy forest, but now i'm starting to think she's referring to Heaven, i think. ^^

  14. anonymous
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    Sep 9th 2008 !⃝

    As far as I know Amy has dedicated this song to her sister who has already died. As well as the song "Like You" on The Open Door.

  15. deadcalm
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    Jan 15th 2008 !⃝

    As the title suggests my last breath, it's about the end. This is a great song with great lyrics. The lines 'holdin my last breath safe inside myself are all my thoughts of you sweet raptured light it ends here tonight' meaning all the memories of the one she's saying goodbye to will always be with her. but the lines '...but still you wake and know the truth, no one's there'. I guess in reality when you know that it's not yet over and you're still there but you are alone. I'd love to quote this on my deathbed. Too bad I haven't got somebody to say this to.




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