How Love Was True

The speaker looks back on a love that once seemed genuine and exciting. At first, seeing the other person creates a strong attraction, and the speaker imagines they might be together. The mood then turns hurt and disappointed: the speaker accuses the other person of lying and treating love like a game. The repeated opening lines return to the earlier feeling, suggesting that the speaker is still caught between affection and pain.

The contrast between “yesterday” and the present suggests that the relationship, or the speaker’s belief in it, has changed. “You gave me cause to stare” means the person caught the speaker’s attention, while “I had to have you” expresses powerful desire rather than a literal need. Calling love “a game” implies careless behavior, as if feelings are being played with rather than taken seriously.

The lyrics leave some uncertainty about what happened. The speaker may be describing a real relationship that turned dishonest, or a brief attraction followed by disappointment. The repeated lines do not clearly show whether the speaker still loves this person or is remembering the feeling from a distance. Even the claim that love “was true” may express sincere belief, or simply the speaker’s hope that it once was.