Skinny Love Lyrics
Come on, skinny love, just last the year
Pour a little salt, we were never here
My my my, my my my, my my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer
I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My my my, my my my, my my
Right in this moment, this order's tall
[Chorus]
And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And in the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different kind
And I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines
[Verse 2]
Come on, skinny love, what happened here?
Suckle on the hope in light brassieres
My my my, my my my, my my
Sullen load is full, so slow on the split
And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And now all your love is wasted
And then who the hell was I?
And I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines
[Outro]
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?
About
Released as the first single from For Emma, Forever Ago, “Skinny Love” is a song about a failed relationship and the regret that stems from it.
The term “skinny love” has two separate meanings. It can refer to a situation where two people love each other but are too shy to admit it or show it. It can also refer to an existing relationship in which there’s no love or emotional fulfillment, but only a codependent need for affirmation. In this case it’s the latter.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
I’m not afraid to talk about [“Skinny Love”], but how do you guarantee it’s accurate? To say that “Skinny Love” is about Christy [Smith, Justin’s then girlfriend and a player on For Emma] would not be entirely accurate. We dated and she’s an incredibly important person that I lived with for a long time, but it’s about that time in a relationship that I was going through; you’re in a relationship because you need help, but that’s not necessarily why you should be in a relationship. And that’s skinny. It doesn’t have weight. Skinny love doesn’t have a chance because it’s not nourished.
– Justin Vernon, Pitchfork, 2011.
“Skinny Love” was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA on December 12, 2019.
Justin Vernon, the singer and lead of Bon Iver wrote this song in 2006 and it was released in 2007 on Bon Iver’s first album For Emma, Forever Ago. Birdy’s cover of the song was released in 2011.
- 1.Flume
- 2.Lump Sum
- 3.Skinny Love
- 5.Blindsided
- 7.Team
- 8.For Emma
- 9.Re: Stacks
- 10.Wisconsin