☝️ Key Points
- The song lyrics are about the difficulties of expressing feelings in words and the limitations of language to express complex emotions like love.
- 'In a Manner of Speaking' emphasizes that what is not said can often be more meaningful than what is spoken.
- The frustration of the singer is evident through his inability to express his feelings. He strives to 'find the words' to communicate his love.
- It references the inadequacy of words and the necessary compromises that must be made in relationships. Sometimes, true feelings have to be 'sacrificed' because the right words are lacking to express them.
- The lyrics highlight the challenges in interpersonal communication and in romantic relationships, especially when it comes to communicating deep and complex emotions.
Interpretation
The lyrics of the song 'In a Manner of Speaking' by
Nouvelle Vague are a poetic representation of human communication and the complexity of love. The lyrics refer to the difficulty of expressing feelings in words, especially when it comes to deep emotions like love.
The repeated verse 'In a manner of speaking' points out the limitations of language to precisely express what we feel. The lines 'You told me everything / By saying nothing' and 'To tell you everything / By saying nothing' emphasize that sometimes what is not said can have more meaning than what is spoken.
'How love in silence becomes reprimand / But the way that I feel about you / Is beyond words' shows the frustration of the singer who is unable to express their feelings. They long to find the 'words' that can express their love, even if they 'say nothing'.
The lines 'Semantics won't do / In this life that we live we only make do / And the way that we feel / Might have to be sacrificed' refer to the inadequacy of words and the compromises we have to make in relationships. The meaning is that sometimes true feelings have to be 'sacrificed' because the right words are missing to express them.
Overall, it is a text that highlights the difficulties and challenges in interpersonal communication and in romantic relationships, especially when it comes to expressing deep and complex feelings.