☝️ Key Points
- The song lyrics describe intense feelings of love and jealousy caused by a romantic relationship
- The singer had never been jealous before this relationship, but now sees every woman as a threat
- The chorus expresses the singer's desire for his beloved to direct all her emotions towards him
- The verses reflect how easy it was for the singer to fall in love and that his previous affairs were insignificant in comparison
- The song is a portrayal of overwhelming feelings that have turned the singer's life upside down.
Interpretation
The song 'Lay All Your Love on Me' by
ABBA is mainly about intense feelings of love and jealousy. The singer tells how his relationship with a person has completely changed his perception and behavior.
In the opening lines 'I wasn't jealous before we met / Now every woman I see is a potential threat', the singer describes how he was never jealous before this relationship, but now he sees every woman as a potential threat. This shows how deep his feelings for this person are and how much he wants to keep them to himself.
The chorus 'Don't go wasting your emotion / Lay all your love on me' is a plea from the singer to his beloved person not to waste their emotions and to focus all their love on him. It expresses the need for exclusivity and complete devotion.
In the verses 'It was like shooting a sitting duck / A little smalltalk, a smile and baby I was stuck' and 'I've had a few little love affairs / They didn't last very long and they've been pretty scarce', the singer reflects on how easily he fell in love and the fact that his previous love affairs were insignificant in comparison. This shows how this particular relationship has turned his life upside down.
Overall, 'Lay All Your Love on Me' is a portrayal of overwhelming feelings of love and jealousy caused by an intense romantic relationship.