Dry Your Eyes Lyrics
This song chronicles the breakdown in the relationship of Mike Skinner, The Streets, and a girl he meets earlier in the album named Simone. The themes in this song are dark and morose, as Mike desperately tries to win Simone over and get her to reconsider her position.
In one single moment your whole life can turn 'round
I stand there for a minute starin' straight into the ground
Lookin' to the left slightly, then lookin' back down
World feels like it's caved in - proper sorry frown
Please let me show you where we could only just be, for us
I can change and I can grow or we could adjust
The wicked thing about us is we always have trust
We can even have an open relationship, if you must
This is the first example in the song of conversation between Mike and Simone, and quickly shows his feelings on the break-up as he demonstrates the lengths he would go to to keep her. The suggestion of an 'open relationship' also shows the desperation of the protagonist.
I look at her she stares almost straight back at me
But her eyes glaze over like she's lookin' straight through me
Then her eyes must have closed for what seems an eternity
When they open up she's lookin' down at her feet
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now
It's over
The hook is an important part of the song as it is almost as though Mike's conscience is telling him not to throw himself at Simone and leave himself at her mercy. In the line 'I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts' also references the difficulty in which Mike, and men in general, have in expressing emotional pain towards a female, due to the fact that crying still challenges the hegemonic represenation of masculinity. The idea that this is his inner-monologue is also an interesting thing to film, and we are toying with the idea of having our lead talking to himself in the shot, if we can figure out how to do it that is!
So then I move my hand up from down by my side
It's shakin', my life is crashin' before my eyes
Turn the palm of my hand up to face the skies
Touch the bottom of her chin and let out a sigh
'Cause I can't imagine my life without you and me
There's things I can't imagine doin', things I can't imagine seein'
It weren't supposed to be easy, surely
Please, please, I'm beggin' please
Desperation can be seen again with the second exchange between the estranged couple, as Mike goes as far as to beg Simone to take him back. The interesting thing about this song is that Mike is the sinned against party in this relationship as he discovered that Simone was sleeping with one of his best friends, a revelation which comes in the song What Is He Thinking? It is therefore surprising that Mike is the one who is begging Simone, atypical considering the fact that he is the one who has been cheated on.
She brings her hands up towards where my hands rested
She wraps her fingers round mine with the softness she's blessed with
She peels away my fingers, looks at me and then gestures
By pushin' my hand away to my chest, from hers
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now
It's over
And I'm just standin' there, I can't say a word
'Cause everythin's just gone
I've got nothin'
Absolutely nothin'
This short excert shows the depths of Mike's desperation, and the very emotive language shows that he feels truly empty and lost without Simone. This references the theme of alienation and also the theme of desperation, and is very effective in showing the listener the intensity of Mike's depression over the loss of a woman who he was in love with.
Tryin' to pull her close out of bare desperation
Put my arms around her tryin' to change what she's sayin'
Pull my head level with hers so she might engage in
Look into her eyes to make her listen again
I'm not gonna fuckin', just fuckin' leave it all now
'Cause you said it'd be forever and that was your vow
And you're gonna let our things simply crash and fall down
You're well out of order now, this is well out of town
This is the part when Mike really begins to lose composure. After spending the song begging and pleading with Simone, his frustration with her cold shoulder boils over and he wants to know how she could walk away from him in spite of what she's done and what he's said. The swearing, 'I'm not gonna fuckin' just fuckin' leave it all now', shows his anger, which is the method he and many men resort to when trying to express his pain without crying. This is when the listener realises that it really is over, as swearing and shouting rarely results in restoration of equilibrium.
She pulls away, my arms are tightly clamped round her waist
Gently pushes me back and she looks at me straight
Turns around so she's now got her back to my face
Takes one step forward, looks back, and then walks away
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now
It's over
I know in the past I've found it hard to say
Tellin' you things, but not tellin' straight
But the more I pull on your hand and say
The more you pull away
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now.
The lyrics to this song present various settings for us to film in, with the conversation between the couple being in a restaurant or pub of some kind, the chorus hopefully showing the lead telling himself to let go, and the remainder of the song being shot in various places a man might go to ease the pain of heartbreak.
