"I Know It’s Over" and Growing Up

The Queen Is Dead album cover

As I prepare to enter my Junior year, I can’t believe that the time has flown by. I’m halfway through high school, and it seems like just yesterday that I stepped foot in that first-period freshman art class. If there’s one song that I think captures that feeling, it’s I Know It's Over by the Smiths (popularly covered by Jeff Buckley). While many would argue that this song captures lost love in its lyrics, my interpretation differs slightly. The melody and instrumental music itself make this song melancholy, but when combined with the lyrics, it becomes heartbreakingly nostalgic and relatable. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the song, here are the lyrics: 

… Oh mother, I can feel

The soil falling over my head

And as I climb into an empty bed

Oh well, enough said

… I know it's over, still I cling

I don't know where else I can go

Oh...

… Oh mother, I can feel

The soil falling over my head

See, the sea wants to take me

The knife wants to slit me

Do you think you can help me?

… Sad veiled bride, please be happy

Handsome groom, give her room

Loud, loutish lover, treat her kindly

Though she needs you more than she loves you

… And I know it's over, still I cling

I don't know where else I can go

Over and over and over and over

Over and over

… I know it's over and it never really began

But in my heart it was so real

And you even spoke to me and said

"If you're so funny

Then why are you on your own tonight?

And if you're so clever

Then why are you on your own tonight?

… If you're so very entertaining

Then why are you on your own tonight?

If you're so very good looking

Why do you sleep alone tonight?"

… I know 'cause tonight is just like any other night

That's why you're on your own tonight

With your triumphs and your charms

While they're in each other's arms

… It's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to hate

It takes strength to be gentle and kind

Over, over, over, over

It's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to hate

It takes guts to be gentle and kind

Over, over

… Love is natural and real

But not for you, my love

Not tonight, my love

Love is natural and real

But not for such as you and I

My love

… Oh mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head x 8 

The line “oh mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head” is arguably one of the most important in the song as the song begins with it and ends with it repetitively. “Oh mother” is a clear reference to a child calling out for his or her mother, a guardian, someone who makes you feel safe when you’re young. I interpret the line about soil falling over one’s head to be like a seed. A seed is basically like a plant before it’s born, before it goes into the world. To me, this line is saying that the seed (the singer) can feel the soil that will grow it up to a seedling and eventually a mature plant falling over it, marking the beginning of one’s journey into adult life. 

The namesake line of the song “I know it’s over, still I cling” is pretty transparent with its meaning; the singer knows his childhood is over, and yet he wants to hold on to it. The song uses the word “cling” to invoke an image of a child clinging to its mother before school, representing another defining moment in one’s life (leaving home for school for the first time), that is so similar yet so different. When the song says, “I know it’s over, and it never really began,” I felt that. I feel as though even though I've been a “child” my whole life, my childhood never really began, it was just something that was occurring. Because there was no beginning, I didn’t savor it as much. 

Finally, the line “it’s so easy to laugh. It’s so easy to hate. It takes strength to be gentle and kind.” reminds me of something your parents or teachers would remind you growing up, but something we heard less and less as we got older, as they expected we knew it already. The “treat others how you want to be treated” and “sharing is caring” kind of sentiments. To me, it feels like the singer is repeating these phrases to convince himself that he can be independent and step away from his childhood by being his own parent. People will remind you less than less of basic things. They think you know the older you get, because they expect you to remember it yourself. The singer is forcing himself to remember to prove to himself that he can step out on his own. 

Overall, I think this song is an amazing representation of growing up and moving on.