AFI: The Leaving Song Meaning
The Leaving Song Lyrics
"Poison hearts will never change, walk away again"
Turned away in disgrace
Felt the chill upon my face cooling from within
It's hard to notice gleaming from the sky
When you're staring at the cracks
It's hard...
-
This song makes me think of someone who has been accused of a murder or something bad that they didn't do, and all the people that they used to know won't have anything to do with them, even when the person tries to go and tell them that they are innocent.
-
Well, I kinda believed that this song was about being disliked, and depressed. It kinda reminded me of someone who doesn't like people, or is disliked because of something they did. Maybe a dork.
Also, I liked Adam's interpretation of the song, because it makes sense.
In the lines:
********************
Walked away, heard them say
Poisened hearts will never change,
Walked away, again.
*********************
I get the impression of someone who is turned down from something they wanted, because they were thought to have something wrong. They know people don't like them.
**********************
Turned away, in disgrace,
felt that chill upon my face,
cooling from within
**********************
See, that's where I get it. They are either extremely embarrassed, angered, or depressed because people look at them and without actually knowing them, thinks they're mean, or weird.
**********************
Hard to notice,
gleaming from the sky,
when you're staring at...the cracks.
**********************
Someone is upset, or depressed. They are thinking about the "cracks" in their personality, or looks. And by cracks, they mean faults.
**********************
Hard to notice,
what is passing by,
with eyes lowered.
**********************
They can't face the fact that they are disliked, or unwanted. Or maybe, that they might be. I'm not Davey, so I can't be sure which. But I KNOW that the person is afraid of something. Perhaps what he meant by "what is passing by" as in life, or love.
**********************
All the cracks they lead, right to me,
all the cracks will crawl right through me,
All the cracks they lead, right to me,
and all the cracks will crawl right through me...
and I fall apart.
***********************
They begin to see what is wrong, what the problem is, and they're too afraid--or simply can't figure out--how to change it, and it depresses worries them.
***********************
As I...
Walked away, heard them say,
Poisened hearts will never change,
walked away, again.
Turned away, in disgrace,
felt that chill, upon my face,
cool from, within...
************************
And you see, that because they couldn't fix their own problems for whatever reason, nothing changed.
Hope you found my interpretation of The Leaving Song agreeable. ^u^ -
I too think the song is about a break-up between friends or just with being rejected in general. I do, however, see the roles a little differently. I see it more as a friend, the one who says "Poison hearts will never change" abandoning a depressed friend because they have become too much of a burden.
Walked away, heard them say, "Poison hearts will never change. Walk away again."
I see this, much in the same way, as some sort of a conflict between two friends or confidants. In regard to the statement made, the friend tired of the relationship is saying that the other friend will never change their ways- they will always be just as depressed and will never truly change that.
Turned away in disgrace. Felt the chill upon my face cooling from within. It's hard to notice gleaming from the sky when you're staring at the cracks. It's hard to notice what is passing by with eyes lowered.
At this point, the depressed friend is reacting to the situation. They feel disgraced and even more depressed that the friendship has failed. They are also saying that it is not so easy to change and end depression because their focus is continually depressed, ignoring the better parts of life. They are unable to see the better parts of life-"what is passing by"-because they are continually depressed.
When the lyrics change from more of a personal tone to addressing the listener as "you", the effect is to show that the same has happened to many of their listeners. AFI frequently makes similar lyrical choices in many of their deeper songs, choosing to either use "us/we" or address the listener as "you".
All the cracks will lead right to me and all the cracks will crawl right through me, and I fell apart as I walked away...
In this part of the song, it appears that the writer (Davey Havok most likely) is referring to past instances of losing friendships. In the latest instance, he recalls all the previous times this has happened and the collective affect is enough to make him "fall apart".
Again, just my interpretation. It's mainly what I read into the song because it relates most clearly to my life in this manner. -
The song “The Leaving Song” by AFI sounds like a break-up song, and it is most likely a break-up of friends as told by the perspective of the bad friend. It seems like the narrator is going through a change of personality and he seems to be aware of it, which is ironic because people never notice it when their personalities change.
**********
Walked away, heard them say
"Poisoned hearts will never change, walk away again"
Turned away in disgrace
Felt the chill upon my face cooling from within
It's hard to notice gleaming from the sky
When you're staring at the cracks
It's hard to notice what is passing by with eyes lowered
**********
As the narrator insulted his friends and left, he heard them say that his heart is poisoned and he will never change. This means that they are not confident that he has hope.
**********
You... walked away, heard them say
"Poisoned hearts will never change, walk away again"
**********
At this point, he then asks the reader, or listener in this case, to put him/herself in his shoes. What would you think and do?
**********
All the cracks, they lead right to me
And all the cracks will crawl right through me
All the cracks, they lead right to me
And all the cracks will crawl right through me, and I fell apart
**********
Then the narrator finally reveals his emotions in the bridge of the song. He compares his feelings to cracks rushing towards him, which likely resembles a realization. Then he says he falls apart, which leads back into the chorus, but in the end it appears that the narrator does not change back and that his friends were right about his heart.
**********
As I... walked away, heard them say
"Poisoned hearts will never change"
Walked away again
Turned away in disgrace
Felt the chill upon my face cooling from within
**********
So really, this song has no ending. It ends how it began. It is just a display of depression with no resolution. I like the way the ending is up for interpretation. There is no way to truly know how this story ends, but that is true with most things in life. Things can always change. Anything can happen to anyone on any day. It is important to look into the future and hope for the best.
-Adam
a.k.a pinacoladaxb
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