Imagine Dragons: Bad Liar Meaning

Song Released: 2018

Bad Liar Lyrics

Oh, hush, my dear, it's been a difficult year
And terrors don't prey on innocent victims
Trust me, darlin', trust me darlin'
It's been a loveless year
I'm a man of three fears
Integrity, faith and crocodile tears
Trust me, darlin', trust...

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   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Dec 9th 2019 !⃝

   Oh hush my dear, it’s been a difficult year
   And terrors don’t prey on innocent victims
   Trust me darlin’, trust me darlin’
   • “Oh hush my dear it’s been a difficult year”: He is starting by pointing out what she probably already knows. That is has been a bad year for both of them, but deep down they both probably knew the cause of things.
   • “Terrors don’t prey on innocent victims” gives the impression that this didn’t just stem from nothing. There have been problems along the way that they have endured and that have gotten them to the point that they are at now.
   • By him saying, “trust me darlin” he wants to give her comfort but at the same time assure her that he knows this is what is best.
   
   It’s been a loveless year
   I’m a man of three fears
   Integrity, faith and crocodile tears
   
   Trust me darlin’, trust me darlin’
   • “It’s been a loveless year”: This past year he (or maybe even both of them) have lost feelings for each other.
   • “I’m a man of three fears. Integrity, faith & crocodile tears”: These three things are what he fears or wants to avoid the most. They probably make him feel uncomfortable in addressing them or committing to something.
   Integrity: he fears having to be up front & honest with her even though it is what is morally right
   Faith: he fears believing in something so strong that it actually becomes part of who he is as a person
   Crocodile tears: he hates the idea of being fake or having to pretend
   
   So look me in the eyes
   Tell me what you see
   Perfect paradise
   Tearing at the seams
   • “So look me in the eyes, tell me what you see”: He is telling her to stop and really take a minute to look at things from his perspective and focus enough to understand that this is the point that they have reached.
   • “Perfect paradise, tearing at the seams”: He wants her to see their timeline of what has gone wrong. “Perfect paradise” relates to the beginning of the relationship when they were happy
   and in love. “Tearing at the seams” relates to where it has been torn apart and damaged. The love has fallen apart over time.
   I wish I could escape it
   I don’t want to fake it
   I wish I could erase it
   Make your heart believe
   
   But I’m a bad liar
   Bad liar
   Now you know
   Now you know
   I’m a bad liar
   Bad liar
   Now you know
   You’re free to go
   • “I wish I could escape it”: he wishes he could get away from the way he feels and change it
   • “I don’t want to fake it”: but he doesn’t want to keep being in a relationship where he has to pretend that he loves her. He is tired of having to just fake it and go through the motions every day pretending that he is happy.
   • “I wish I could erase it, make your heart believe”: he wishes he could erase everything that had happened so that he didn’t have to feel like he needed to end things. “Make your heart believe” insinuates that deep down even she knew this was coming or maybe even saw signs along the way. He wishes that the emotions never surfaced that got her to see that he had stopped loving her. He is a bad liar in the sense that he can’t fake it anymore without her really seeing how he feels. “Now you know” is a sense of relief that he has laid it all out on the table for her and now she can see what all he has been keeping inside from her. “You’re free to go” shows that he wants her to be happy without having to worry about hurting him. He is releasing her emotionally from the relationship because he knows he couldn’t give her what she really deserved and wanted. He is telling her it is okay to move on.
   
   Did all my dreams never mean one thing
   Does happiness lie in a diamond ring
   • Everyone always kind of wants to grow up and get married. In his dreams is where he envisioned getting married and starting that part of his life. By him saying, “did all my dreams never mean one thing, does happiness lie in a diamond ring” he is saying that rushing into marriage just to have the experience wasn’t all it was really about and that there is more to happiness and keeping a relationship going than just the materialistic things.
   Oh I’ve been asking, for
   Oh I’ve been asking, for problems, problems, problems
   • By him losing feelings and love for her, is he asking for problems. Problems with the divorce, problems with being hurt, and problems with the possibility of her being angry about what he is telling her. He knew problems were a result of losing feelings along the way. He was eventually going to have to face the consequences for being the one to back out of the relationship.
   
   I wage my war, on the world inside
   I take my gun to the enemy's side
   • He has been at war with himself dealing with how he feels. He is tired of faking his happiness and deciding on whether or not he wanted to come forward and hurt her, but at the same time, he was tired of being happy himself. This probably indicates all the emotions that he has already processed and felt (guilt, sadness, fear, etc.) from going back and forth on whether or not to end things. “Taking my gun to the enemy’s side” is him coming to her with everything. Going up to an enemy is an uncomfortable feeling and you never know how things are going to go or turn out and he probably feels this way about having to go against someone that he had loved and been with.
   Oh I’ve been asking for (trust me darlin’)
   Oh I’ve been asking (trust me darlin’), for problems, problems, problems
   • Again, he knew all these feelings would eventually lead to the decision of him having to make a choice. He knew the problems that would arise from him telling her the truth and that this was the result of his feelings and what he was coming to terms with
   
   So look me in the eyes
   Tell me what you see
   Perfect paradise
   Tearing at the seams
   I wish I could escape it
   I don’t want to fake it
   I wish I could erase it
   Make your heart believe
   
   But I’m a bad liar
   Bad liar
   Now you know
   Now you know
   I’m a bad liar
   Bad liar
   Now you know
   You’re free to go
   
   I can’t breathe
   I can’t be
   I can’t be what you want me to be
   Believe me this one time, believe me
   • He is telling her that he can’t give her what she is looking for in a person or relationship anymore. He can’t just mold himself into something he isn’t just to make her happy. “Believe me this one time” is his way of telling her if she were to ever believe anything that he said, believe him this time. He is stressing the fact to her that he can’t give her what she wants and that it is over.
   
   I’m a bad liar
   Bad liar
   Now you know
   Now you know
   I’m a bad liar
   Bad liar
   Now you know
   You’re free to go
   
   Please believe me
   Please believe me
   
   
   Video interpretation: The video starts out with a girl walking into a school and seeing a man slumped over and hanging in the air. This is him carrying around the stress, guilt, hurt and other emotions of trying to hold onto something that he knows is gone and it is weighing him down. She walks around him and starts to dance. The moves are more slow and pronounced like she is taking her time to really do it right. This can represent the beginning of the relationship. Maybe he thought he wasn’t good enough or struggled with depression or maybe never even really thought about the idea of being in love with someone. With her dancing around him, it’s her attempt to “fix” him and try to make him happy. She is taking her time and moving slow as you would at the beginning of a relationship to make it perfect. When she sees that there is still no reaction (emotion), she gives a little more to try to get something out of him. When the scene moves to another room, this could indicate another step or different spot in their relationship. She continues to dance, and this time lifts his head to try to look at her and she still isn’t able to get anything out of him. This shows that she is giving even more of herself to try to make him happy and notice her which can be translated to show his lack of involvement in the relationship and his unwillingness to put forth the effort to fix things. She so badly wants him to give her some sign that he is “there” emotionally. There is a part where she lays on the table for a few seconds which can possibly represent her getting “tired” or needing a break from trying to save things. She quickly picks back up which shows she isn’t ready to give up on things. She picks up the pace on her dancing again after stepping back to the table and it’s almost as if she’s saying “hey! Here I am! This is what I have to offer! Notice me! Love me! Give me SOMETHING”. She seems to be hurt and frustrated with him at this point but she is still not giving up. Her sitting on the table is a realization to her that nothing she does is good enough and that she can’t reach him like she wants to. At this point she sees that she may have to give up because nothing she does is getting through to him. The next scene shows her in the gym by herself and him slowly moving towards her. This can be him not wanting to fully let go just yet or maybe he is just giving something, even if it is little, to avoid her getting hurt by realizing that he doesn’t care. She turns to see him and it is as if that little move meant everything to her. He gave her just enough to not give up on him and gave her hope that there was still a possibility of saving things. Her dance moves become more pronounced and the pace picks up which seems to be a burst of her efforts that she still has to save him (the relationship) and she is giving all she has in her to accomplish this. She picks his hand up almost to give him the opportunity to take his “move” towards her just a little further. She is begging for something in him to show her that sign that she is so desperately looking for that he wants things too and it is not just her trying. She lays her head on his shoulder and you can see that there is some realization that her efforts won’t ever work or matter. She has some sense of relief to this, but still tries even though she has pretty much given up and accepted things. It seems hard for her to walk away so she continues to still try until she stops and looks exhausted and out of breath indicating that she is tired and worn out from trying so hard. Her final bow is her way of saying that she is done and that it is over and this causes him to drop to the ground showing that everything that has been holding him back or keeping him down has been released. They are both “free” of the burden of putting in so much effort on something that makes them both unhappy.
   
   

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   #2 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Feb 23rd 2019 !⃝

   I think imagine dragons was portraying a lifeless relationship, where he didn’t wanna stay but it was too hard to leave. They’ve both hurt each other too much in the past, and has cause any belief that it might work to be insufficient, something is holding him back because he actually cares for his wife. But, he thinks she’s just going through the motions & all love has faded “crocodile tears.” He’s notices changes in her and himself. He’s practically saying for her to let him go, because he can’t be the man she wants & live up to her unbearable expectations. “Does happiness lie in a diamond ring?” “Did all my dreams mean one thing?” He’s looking for support, but he can’t find none in her, “i wage my war on the world, inside” he feels as though he’s alone, and his wife should be his biggest fan but she’s not supportive. Your free to go is meaning he is letting her go, he can’t deal with all the arguments anymore & it’s only bringing him down.
3. anonymous

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   Mar 23rd 2021 !⃝

   I think it is the story of a loveless life and how they both know they can't help it up. I thing "I'm a bad liar" He's talking about every time he told her he loved her, because the both lost feelings for each other. And when they say that it will get better when they both know it won't. So yeah. They have just lost love for each other and that is what it is about.

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