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The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Nothing To Give" by the artist "White Lies"

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In White Lies' song "Nothing To Give," the lyrical protagonist experiences a profound existential crisis, likely triggered by a relationship breakdown.

Addressing his former lover, he confesses his despair ("I haven't been this sad in years") and vulnerability ("Your eyes... moved me almost to tears"). The line "You tell those favorite tales I've yet to live" can be interpreted in two ways: as a hint that the heroine has lived a full life, unlike the protagonist, or as a bitter acknowledgment that their shared dreams remain unfulfilled.

The key line "That I've got nothing to give" clarifies the root of the protagonist's distress – a sense of inadequacy, of being unable to give his beloved what she deserves. This feeling is compounded by the protagonist's unwillingness to burden her with his feelings ("I wish I could say...").

The image of death ("But when you said goodbye, I almost died") symbolizes not literal death, but the end of a certain stage in life, the loss of a part of oneself.

In the last verse, the protagonist seems to renounce his past, everything that made up his identity ("The names I called myself... My childhood heroes... the promises I made"). This metamorphosis is an attempt to start over, to "learn to run" after a painful fall.

You talked me to sleep last night

I hadn't felt that sad in years

Your eyes like glass mistakes

They moved me close to tears

You speak those favourite fables which I'm yet to live

And casually confirm my fears

That I've got nothing to give

I wish I could say that I've got no regrets

But saying that would be one more to pile on my desk

I wish I could say I've come to time like old

But as you said goodbye, I almost died

I almost died

I take it back, all of it

Those names I called myself

The heroes of my childhood

Like hardbacks on the shelf

I take it back those promises I made to everyone

I'm falling through a ribbon last

Before I'd learned to run

I wish I could say that I've got no regrets

But saying that would be one more to pile on my desk

I wish I could say I've come to time like old

But as you said goodbye, I almost died

I almost died (2x)

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