What does Let Her Go mean?

Passenger: Let Her Go Meaning

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Album cover for Let Her Go album cover

Song Released: 2012


Covered By: Jasmine Thompson (2013)


Let Her Go Lyrics

You only need the light when it's burning low,
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow,
Only know you love her when you let her go.

Only know you've been high when you're feelin' low,
Only hate the road when you're missin' home,
Only...

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  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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     Jul 10th 2015 !⃝

    This song is trying to say that when the things that we may take for granted are taken away from us we suddenly realise how important it is. It is frequently mentioned throughout the song that he never released his true feelings for this girl until it was too late. This song is teaching people to appreciate the things around them because one day they may have them taken away from them

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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     Feb 26th 2014 !⃝

    In the whole song he’s saying “you only need the light when its burning low you only miss the sun when it starts to snow”. He’s saying you only appreciate something until its gone. When it says “starting from the ceiling to the dark same old empty feeling in our heart”. He’s saying that you don’t miss something till it’s gone.

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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     Aug 24th 2013 !⃝

    We only appreciate things when we don't have them. We take things for granted. He loves the girl but didn't realize it until it was to late and she was gone.

  4. anonymous
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     May 21st 2021 !⃝

    It is saying when you loose something you took for granted you finally relised how much you needed it. In this case it talks about someone he or someone loved but he let her down or lost her in some way. "Well, you only need the light when it's burning low" This line is saying you only realise how much you depended on it and how important it is when it is gone. You only realise this when it is taken away.

  5. anonymous
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     Aug 17th 2020 !⃝

    My mom loves that song it has fun folk pop on the album and it had fun romantic strings but my mom heard it on her radio in her car, and it’s like fun angst song but my dad listened to the eighties and nineties, that’s why I do music with my cousin and his band, then it’ll get popular than usually do, both people have different songs on vibes and it sounded like the beach or something. My brother has some instruments at my church and we played there and writing about it.

  6. anonymous
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     Jul 14th 2018 !⃝

    A male who's in a relationship with a female who has breaken up with her and he feels sad. With proof from the line "Only know you love her when you let her go." Or it could be she asked him out and he said no meaning he let her go and he finally knows he loves her.

  7. anonymous
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     Apr 23rd 2018 !⃝

    You have regrets for loosing the woman you loved and cherished now you ant her back but you lost her for good.

  8. anonymous
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     Jan 15th 2016 !⃝

    It's a way of showing your regret because you just realised the gal you loved is gone and now you realize how much she meant to you...but it's too late.

  9. anonymous
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     Oct 14th 2015 !⃝

    This song reminds me of a friend that was murdered, her boyfriend David took it hard. So please keep in mind that this song reminds me of Diana and David

  10. mr
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     Oct 2nd 2014 !⃝

    The only time you need light is when you don’t have any, but when you have it, you don’t think about needing it.

    In places that have four seasons or get snow, the phrase “you only miss the sun when it starts to snow” is a reference to warmth. I live in an area that gets snow and when it starts to get cold everyone starts complaining about how short their summer was and wishes it would stay warm for longer.

    But this lyric seems miswritten to me.

    It should be “Only miss the sun when it gets cold” because there is still sun while there is snow on the ground and I’ve even seen it be partly cloudy with sun coming through as it snowed. The author meant this to be a reference to feeling warm when it’s cold.

    The catch phrase “Only know you love her when you let her go” hits the nail on the head and explains what this entire song is about. When you love someone and they are gone from your life, for whatever reason, you feel an emptiness and a sadness as you realize how much that person meant to you.

    The second verse picks up with more examples.

    “Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low” is a reference to euphoria or happiness. Without feeling happy you can’t feel unhappy, to go from a high to a low is something we can all relate to. One minute you’re on top of the world floating above the clouds and the next you hit rock bottom.

    “Only hate the road when you’re missing home” is a reference to how traveling can both be a blessing and a sin. I’ve gone on road trips before where it was excitement the entire way and I’ve gone on trips before where I had to leave my loved ones behind and was not very enthusiastic about the trip.

    The next part says he loved her all along and has to deal with what has happened.

    Staring at the bottom of your glass
    Hoping one day you’ll make a dream last
    But dreams come slow and they go so fast

    You see her when you close your eyes
    Maybe one day you’ll understand why
    Everything you touch surely dies

    This part heads directly into self-reflection. Staring at the bottom of your glass is a symbol of drinking and depression. She’s in your mind and you pray that she’ll come back but the reality is she’s most likely gone.

    So now he’s left with just memories of her and all of the mistakes he’s made. In the end he just wants to make sense of it all.

    “Everything you touch surely dies” means that he has made other mistakes in his life, maybe it’s not his first heart break, so now he views himself as a repeat failure. It represents the idea that maybe he’s not good for anyone or anything.

    Then comes the chorus to hit the point home again.

    Then we get more depression and reflection in the next verse.

    Staring at the ceiling in the dark
    Same old empty feeling in your heart
    ‘Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast

    Well you see her when you fall asleep
    But never to touch and never to keep
    ‘Cause you loved her too much
    And you dived too deep

    This verse describes his thoughts while laying in bed. He still feels the same sadness of missing her. He thinks and dreams of her frequently but it doesn’t bring her back to him in reality.

    “Cause you loved her too much And you dived too deep” is not something I’m entirely sure about.

    The first part is a realization that he is heart broken because of how much he loved her but “Dived too deep” is a confusing lyric.

    It could mean that he gave it all he had from the depths of his heart or that he literally dived too deep, meaning he drowned or died on the inside by going too far from her.

    I don’t think it means that he put too much into her because it would conflict with the other lyrics.

    Followed by the chorus then:

    And you let her go (oh, oh, ooh, oh no)
    And you let her go (oh, oh, ooh, oh no)
    Will you let her go?

    This signifies there might still be hope or something he can do to get her back. If it doesn’t mean that then it has a weird twist to it where he hasn’t actually lost her yet but is separated from her and is reflecting on whether or not he really wants to be with her. This would explain why he is drinking and sleeping alone.

    This is followed by more parts of the chorus and ends with “And you let her go”

    If he was separated then he decided to let her go, if he wasn’t, then he decided there was nothing to be done about it and he let her go.

    Either way, she’s now gone.

    When relationships end, the bad starts to fade away and all you’re left with is the good. These pictures are symbolic of what you’ll remember. You won’t remember the fights or arguments, you’ll remember this. Take that into consideration when you’re thinking about letting go.

  11. anonymous
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     Jul 23rd 2014 !⃝

    we dont appreciate someone enough until they're gone,sometimes only their absence makes us realize how special that special that person was,and how much you needed them,and that person became a part of you,because life's dreary and sad without them.Maybe because love just happens and you dont take notice of how dependent you've become,and you'll only see clearly how much you love that when they're actually gone.

  12. anonymous
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     Feb 25th 2014 !⃝

    After a brake up he gets depressed over it and realizes that you “only lover when you let her go. Realizing that he feels sad about everything. Everything he touches dies saying that hes depressed and can’t seem do anything right. He sees her when he falls asleep he can’t get her out of his head he can’t let go.

  13. anonymous
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     Dec 8th 2013 !⃝

    Don't take things for granted. If you love someone make sure you let them know before THEYRE gone.


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