That'll Be The Day

The speaker confidently rejects the idea that their partner will leave. Although the partner sometimes threatens to go and predicts that the speaker will be unhappy, the speaker insists these claims are not serious. The repeated refrain makes this confidence sound playful and emphatic, while the mention of crying and being “blue” hints that a breakup would still hurt.

“That’ll be the day when I die” is an exaggerated expression: the speaker means that the day their partner leaves feels almost impossible, not necessarily that they literally expect to die. “Blue” means sad or unhappy. The image of Cupid shooting an arrow at the partner’s heart suggests that love has struck them and makes the speaker believe their feelings are firmly attached.

The song’s certainty can be heard in more than one way. It may express trust in a loving relationship, supported by references to affection, kisses, and shared closeness. But the speaker’s insistence that the partner’s threat is “a lie” could also sound like bravado: perhaps they are trying to dismiss a real possibility because it would be painful. The lyrics do not settle whether the partner truly intends to leave; the speaker simply refuses to believe it.