What does Torn mean?

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Natalie Imbruglia: Torn Meaning

Torn Lyrics

I thought I saw a man brought to life
He was warm, he came around like he was dignified
He showed me what it was to cry
Well you couldnt be that man I adored
You dont seem to know, dont seem to care what your heart is for
But I dont know him...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    DeeD
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     Apr 22nd, 2011 4:27pm report


    This was my song when I was with my now ex husband who I adored. Describes how I felt when he went cold on me, the humiliation and disappointment that left me - torn. He was much younger. Tall, dark and handsome. Dignified. Reserved. Charming. Fascinating. I thought we were close and married him. The very next day I realised too late his reserve was distance, his dignity just self centredness. His ambitions left little time for me. After many years of loving him from afar, as his wife, I made the first move. He barely noticed. I lay there, naked and ashamed. Exposed. His response when it came was too late. I was already looking past him, at the sky beyond, wondering if life and love held more than such indifference and disappointment. And yes, I was torn. Between staying and going. I wanted to respond, to touch him again, but it was too late. I could not feel his touch because I could no longer recognise his love, only my own. So I was torn. I wanted to go but could not bear to leave him, to never see him again. But how could I stay? Now I could not respond. It was too late. But staying was such agony. I was torn. Between love, inner peace, self respect. After more than twenty years of being torn... I was dumped. Replaced by a girl half my age who was pregnant. Now 30 years after our wedding and five after our divorce, every night in my dreams I feel the coldness when I lay there, naked and ashamed. And torn. Though I am now 60 and happy and content with my new love of seven years snoring gently with me in his arms. I was torn.... True story.



  2. 2TOP RATED

    anonymous
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     Jun 14th, 2009 6:49pm report


    She fell in love with a man that was everything she wanted, he was absolutely perfect...but that is the illusion. She then saw him for who he really was after he hurt her (however it was that he hurt her...maybe he lied to her, cheated on her, or just up and left her). He wasn't the person she thought he was but by the time she realized it her heart was already broken. The damage was already done, her perfect world is no longer perfect and she is now "torn". She feels like an idiot for actually believing the illusion was real. Now, she has no faith in true love anymore, doesn't think it exists because she found exactly what she wanted in a man, just to find it all an illusion..it wasn't even real. Now every man who comes into her life is "too late" because her heart or her soul...or maybe both are broken and she will never be able to love the same way again.



  3. 3TOP RATED

    anonymous
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     Aug 15th, 2008 8:31am report


    I think this song is about rape and it's following shame. The main line that gave me that idea was "I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor".

    What happens is, our protagonist meets this guy, thinks him nice, okay, whatever (I thought I saw a man brought to life
    He was warm, he came around like he was dignified).

    Then he rapes her. She is lost, confused, distraught, and can't believe he'd betray her like that (He showed me what it was to cry/Well you couldnt be that man I adored/You don't seem to know, don't seem to care what your heart is for/But I don't know him anymore/Theres nothing where he used to lie/My conversation has run dry/Thats whats going on, nothings fine I'm torn).

    She is very upset, he is heartless, and she thinks that she is utterly ruined. (the chorus)

    She thinks her ideas of him being all good were an 'illusion'(Illusion never changed into something real)

    There were warning signs before, which she ignored. (So I guess the fortune tellers right/Should have seen just what was there and not some holy light).

    Girl thinks she never had any luck anyway, and this fits in with her life. (To crawl beneath my veins and now/I don't care, I have no luck, I don't miss it all that much/Theres just so many things that I can't touch, I'm torn)

    ...This made a lot more sense in my head.



  4.  

    anonymous
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     Sep 13th, 9:07am report


    Torn has a double meaning... 1) hurt 2) undecided about what to do



  5.  

    anonymous
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     Apr 8th, 2013 4:27am report


    It's about how she use to see Jesus Christ in a good way I.e. "I thought I saw a man brought to life"& how she's no longer influenced or motivated by anything of or about him, again I.e. "should of seen just what was there, & not just some holy light." She's torn because she thought Jesus was good & Lucifer was bad but something made her see it the other way, the ass backwards way HOLLYWOOD makes everyone think, remember only the blood of Jesus Christ can save us of our sins, plead it upon u to be saved as this world can do nothing to save u after this life is over.



  6.  

    anonymous
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     Feb 1st, 2013 2:41pm report


    It is about a girl who thought she has found true love with a perfect man gives her virginity to her. As soon as she does he leaves her. She is now saying that she can not love anyone else or be able to open up emotionally and physicaly anymore now that she knows what people are capable of.



  7.  

    anonymous
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     Jan 31st, 2013 1:29pm report


    To anonymous

    God heard your prayers....He loves you and He will never leave you nor forsake you



  8.  

    anonymous
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     Oct 13th, 2012 10:51am report


    This song describes my past relationship perfectly. Boy meets girl. They fall crazy in love. Boy makes stupid decisions causing girl to bitch a lot. Boy hates bitching so starts to pull away this causing the girl to bitch more. This puts a end to the relationship. I can honestly say I've never been with a more manipulative person in my life. All I needed was a little care. I'm torn now seeing a guy whose perfect for me but I still miss the hell out of my ex.



  9.  

    anonymous
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     Oct 3rd, 2012 10:05am report


    i dont feel this song is about rape, because i dont feel anyone begins a song praising the appearance of a man who ended up doing such a despicable thing. Also, the conversation has run dry is a very common feeling for lose of love or lose of a connection, in no way resembles a rape encounter. If the song was somehow infact about such a difficult situation i feel the artist would have spoken out about the specific meaning to help empower others in her situation. It's about love...to think otherwise may be a meer idea to those who haven't experienced the lose of such yet.



  10.  

    anonymous
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     Jun 25th, 2012 6:01am report


    She was with a guy,he did her wrong and left hr she met another guy,lethim fuck her,he did her wrong as well,the first guy comes back wants to make it right but she ashamed ,she can't be how she was before because she already fucked a bigger dick,(torn). . .he to late,he should have never left,now she feels cold and naked and ripped torn on the floor.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway


  11.  

    anonymous
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     Oct 24th, 2011 10:23pm report


    I think she's dumped by the midget in the video whose name is Torn and now she's solo that's why the solo pops up in the end.



  12.  

    anonymous
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     Oct 16th, 2011 10:45pm report


    I believe this song is about rape within a relationship I've been through this and this song describes exactly how I feel



  13.  

    LolaSays
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     Oct 14th, 2011 10:36pm report


    Even when I was young I've always thought this was about someone she trusted raping her. She thought he was a good guy, even secretly admire this man because he showed her a side of himself that she felt privileged to know. She was shamed and upset but she didn't speak up and tried to pretend like she was indifferent but inadvertently put up a wall around her heart. Now someone else is trying to break through the wall she's placed up but she's telling him "You're a little late, I'm already torn." This line says to me that she may have once considered this new guy but the last guy she trusted hurt her so bad that she can't trust her own judgment. I know firsthand that rape can lead to feelings of shame and disgust with yourself for not being able to see what that person was capable of doing.



  14.  

    anonymous
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     Aug 30th, 2011 8:10am report


    I thought I saw a man brought to life
    She watched him evolve… and believed her relationship with him had given him a new spark…
    He was warm; he came around like he was dignified
    She began to see a different side of him, a warm and caring side. He made her feel like she could trust him
    He showed me what it was to cry
    She opened herself up to him, became vulnerable, and he betrayed her… showing her real pain.

    Well you couldn’t be that man I adored
    He is no longer the person she fell in love with… he’s changed.
    You don’t seem to know, don’t seem to care what your heart is for
    He seems to be cold and uncaring

    But I don’t know him anymore
    She no longer feels close to him
    There’s nothing where he used to lie
    They’re no longer intimate or together
    My conversation has run dry
    They have nothing in common… nothing to talk about
    That’s what’s going on, nothings fine I’m torn
    Her life is overwhelming sadness, she’s not ok, she’s devastated

    I’m all out of faith, this is how I feel
    She has lost all hope
    I’m cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor
    She feels alone, humiliated, defenseless… and at the lowest possible place
    Illusion never changed into something real
    Her perception of who he was … was wrong
    I’m wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn
    She’s no longer in denial and sees their relationship is broken and over
    You’re a little late, I’m already torn
    There’s nothing he can do to repair the damage…

    So I guess the fortune tellers right
    Should have seen just what was there and not some holy light
    She should have seen him for what he was from the beginning rather than trying to make him something he wasn’t
    To crawl beneath my veins and now
    He crawled under her skin… he got inside her soul… he became part of her life
    I don’t care, I have no luck, I don’t miss it all that much
    She’s trying not to show how much pain she’s in
    There’s just so many things that I can’t touch, I’m torn
    But she just doesn’t understand… and can’t put her finger on what happened… and it’s tearing her up.

    I’m all out of faith, this is how I feel
    I’m cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor
    Illusion never changed into something real
    I’m wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn
    You’re a little late, I’m already torn. torn.

    There’s nothing where he used to lie
    My inspiration has run dry
    That’s what’s going on, nothings right, I’m torn

    I’m all out of faith, this is how I feel
    I’m cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor
    Illusion never changed into something real
    I’m wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn
    I’m all out of faith, this is how I feel
    I’m cold and I’m ashamed bound and broken on the floor
    You’re a little late, I’m already torn



  15.  

    anonymous
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     Jul 12th, 2011 7:44pm report


    I think it is about religion. At least that's how I see it, that's how I relate it. I believed in Jesus, and I waited for him to come, but every prayer never received an answer. And, eventually I ran out of faith, and was killed inside, at first ashamed, but slowly I understood that it was a lie. "Illusion never changed into something real" to me, means, that Jesus never came down to save us, it was all a lie. I think this song is about religion because of the chosen words- faith, holy light, ashamed, etc.

    Don't be a hater, this is how I view this song.



  16.  

    anonymous
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     May 21st, 2011 5:57am report


    I think that the first paragraph talks about a girl who found her ideal guy and fell in love with him.

    The second paragraph and most of the lyrics talk about her realization that the "ideal guy" she fell in love with isn't so ideal after all. He turned out to be a lie. And this realization made her feel so "torn."

    She didn't necessarily lose her virginity, though. The chorus could be a figurative explanation of how vulnerable she is to emotional pain and how embarrassed she felt for loving a man who doesn't deserve to be loved.



  17.  

    anonymous
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     Jan 20th, 2011 1:12am report


    I think she was in love with a man who she thought was perfect and she lost her virginity to him. It was all an act on his part, because once she gave herself to him he lost interest and left her. Now she's "torn", emotionally and physically.



  18.  

    anonymous
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     Oct 7th, 2010 10:54pm report


    I think its definitely NOT about religion.Anyway Christianity is all about RELATIONSHIP with Jesus which will never make anyone TORN, instead it BUILDS u.trust me.
    The song, in my opinion relates to her relationship with a guy whom she used to think to be nice, but then it was not like what she was expecting. She feels frustrated and hopeless and feels that her life is ruined because of him.
    "Well, you couldn't be that man I adored."



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