"God Give Me Strength"
Now I have nothing
So God give me strength
'Cos I'm weak in her wake
And if I'm strong I might still break
And I don't have anything to share
That I won't throw away into the air
So God give me strength
'Cos I'm weak in her wake
And if I'm strong I might still break
And I don't have anything to share
That I won't throw away into the air
That song is sung out
This bell is rung out
She was the light that I'd bless
She took my last chance of happiness
So God give me strength
God give me strength
I can't hold on to her
God give me strength
When the phone doesn't ring
And I'm lost in imagining
Everything that kind of love is worth
As I tumble back down to the earth
That song is sung out
This bell is rung out
She was the light that I'd bless
She took my last chance of happiness
So God give me strength
God if she'd grant me her indulgence and decline
I might as well
Wipe her from my memory
Fracture the spell
As she becomes my enemy
Maybe I was washed out
Like a lip-print on his shirt
See, I'm only human
I want him to hurt
I want him
I want him to hurt
Since I lost the power to pretend
That there could ever be a happy ending
That song is sung out
This bell is rung out
She was the light that I'd bless
She took my last chance of happiness
So God give me strength
God give me strength
Writer(s): Elvis Costello, Burt F. Bacharach
Truth
in writing is essential to strong meaning. This is one of my favorite
lost-love songs because of its honesty in accurately addressing a forlorn
relationship. Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach pull no punches in the
verses. Reduced to "nothing," the narrator in the song admits his ex-lover took with her departure "his last chance for happiness." And, as the melody rises to an emotional fever pitch, Costello bellows at the top of his range in a stunning moment of honesty -- "I want him (his substitute) to hurt!" for "his" apparent affront.
Listening to the narrator declare an end to any glimmer of a loving relationship, he admits
his own human fault of non-forgiveness ... and somehow I agree with him. I
want this bastard to hurt, too. Hurt "him" and not her. Does this mean his love is still deeply ingrained although totally lost? This is tragedy yet with brutal consequences for such intrusion.
Revenge? Righteous anger? Most of us have been there at some time in our
lives, and this sentiment not only comes from the hurt but also from
the bruised heart ... and possibly a small section of torn ego. The narrator admits that he’s finally reached a point of no return: Since I lost the power to pretend / That there could ever be a happy ending.
Isn't
this a bit of a shocker after considering the title and the refrain? The speaker
calls on the Almighty to heal (and to take revenge) for an apparent
affront he cannot get over. Complete darkness and loss of strength
reveal his pitiful plea to "wipe her from his memory." What a
declaration of his total dependence upon her -- her loss destroys
all hope for any bright future. This man is hopeless and
helpless -- a songwriter's sentiment usually requiring sappy, overused lyrics such as "I can't live without her."
I often wonder if Bacharach didn't write this as a companion piece for Costello's great tune "Alison"?
Well, I see you've got a husband now
Did he leave your pretty fingers lying in the wedding cake?
You used to hold him right in your hand
But I bet he took all that he could take
Sometimes I wish that I could stop you from talking
When I hear the silly things that you say
I think somebody better put out the big light
'Cause I can't stand to see you this way
Allison, I know this world is killing you
Oh, Allison, my aim is true
My aim is true
Did he leave your pretty fingers lying in the wedding cake?
You used to hold him right in your hand
But I bet he took all that he could take
Sometimes I wish that I could stop you from talking
When I hear the silly things that you say
I think somebody better put out the big light
'Cause I can't stand to see you this way
Allison, I know this world is killing you
Oh, Allison, my aim is true
My aim is true
It's the honesty
that makes the listener feel the hurt himself -- no bullshit but just
plain truth considering unrequited love. All the pain and grief are
here. But absent is trite trifling with sentimentality and even hope. Both the
love and future of the relationship are dead ... stone cold "sung out"
and "rung out." As I listen, I become the lost soul of the singer in the
song. The lyrics confess the only source of saving sanity and reason is
God himself. Without His help, the singer seems doomed not only in any
possible future relationships but also, very possibly, in living.
Few
songs consistently make me feel alone and in complete remorse every
time I play them. "God Give Me Strength" (and "Alison") break me down
with total consistency of mood. They are complete, honest, and
heartbreaking. They are true. In that aim, Costello succeeds. These tunes offer views of love at the breaking point.
Jennifer Bell offers this accurate interpretation of "God Give Me Strength":
"Elvis Costello’s hauntingly beautiful voice adds an additional layer of
depth and emotion to the song. His heartfelt delivery of the lyrics
draws listeners in, allowing them to connect with the profound emotions
being conveyed. The melody itself is melancholic, evoking a sense of
despair and longing ... both introspective and relatable. It is through these lyrics that
listeners can find solace and understanding in their own experiences of
heartbreak.
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