When It's Gone

The speaker is trying to understand the end of a relationship, while the other person seems certain that it is over. At first, the speaker searches for words and meaning in the sadness. The repeated statement that it is “gone” sounds like an attempt to accept a loss that still feels difficult to grasp. The other person wants to stop living in the past, but the speaker remains caught between knowing the relationship has ended and wanting to understand why.

The image of a locket with no face suggests that a once-important memory has lost its personal meaning, or that the person is no longer present in the speaker’s life. Putting the locket back in a pocket can imply setting the past aside, though not necessarily forgetting it. The phrase “living a memory” describes being unable to move forward because one keeps returning to what has already happened. “Trying to live a lie” suggests that pretending the relationship can continue would be dishonest.

The lyrics leave the cause of the breakup unclear. The other person’s tears show that the ending is painful, even though he says he cannot continue. The speaker recognizes this as a sign that it is over, but still may never know the reason. The song therefore holds two feelings together: acceptance of the ending and lingering confusion about it.