A Big Sad Song – Comprehension
The first time I heard Evanescence’s ‘Understanding’, I didn’t pay much attention to the lyrics, but something about the song grabbed me. There was something about the song that seemed to have this powerful magnetic force that drew me in so much that I kept listening to it over and over again. I couldn’t get much out of the lyrics the first few times I heard it, probably because the music itself was doing wonders, but then I was determined to read the lyrics carefully.
Understanding is a ridiculous gothic anthem that was written to reflect the pain someone has but can’t get rid of it no matter what they do. Music acts as the soundtrack to our lives describing emotion in words that sometimes we just can’t express. We all tend to perceive the meaning of the songs we listen to based on our own bias due to our own personal experiences. When I checked the lyrics of the song, I found it to be really artistic and well written that, to a certain extent, has a degree of mystery. It is evident that the song beautifully unravels the grievance of losing a loved one and nothing can be done to erase the pain but live with it and deal with the hard truth that hurts a lot but cannot be erased.
The meaning I got from the lyrics is that it’s about two people who are forced to be apart. There is a lot of pain and fear in this strained relationship, but ultimately she knows that they have to let it go. So the girl here talks about how they know the truth deep inside and yet they just ignore it and when something isn’t nice, which is probably true, like they break up, they try to forget it, but the truth is it’s always there and can’t. be eliminated no matter what. This is indicated by:
(I can’t wash it all)
(I can’t wish for it all)
(I can’t wait for it all to go away)
(I can’t cry it all)
The first verse is about her asking him not to be afraid that they will part because ‘when the darkness fades/dawn will break the silence’ indicating that when the melancholy and pain are over, a new day will come and they will be together again. Then, in the second verse, she talks about living through the hard times and asks him to tell her that he will always be there and that she won’t abandon her, because she can’t afford to go through all of that alone.
“Don’t cast me off Say you’ll be with me ‘Cause I know I can’t take it alone”
In short, it talks about the extreme emotions of love, trying to forget the pain but it is engraved deep inside and cannot be erased and that her love for her beloved will continue to grow. Well, the song has a different meaning to different people based on their life experience. It is a truly amazing sad song that can touch the heart and soothe the soul. It will always be my favorite of all time.