Okkervil River - Love To A Monster Lyrics






Lover, now that you've left me, I'm glad you're unlovely
Because if you could take all the heat in your heart and just hang it from you
I wouldn't be able to bear the way you cannot love me
It's much easier of me make a monster out of you

And so here I go, substituting the glow from your temples
All our sighs and our trembles, and each last letter sent you
From the cheap little pen of this weak little man
The one singing out his jangling, ringing
And hopefully stinging attack upon you

Yeah, so here I go, just exploding the hope we'll be speaking
some day, years from now, seeking friendship and understanding
Yeah, I hope you get angry, and hurt, and have the hardest of landings
And I hope your new man thinks of me when he sees what a number I did on you

I grow tired of this song, turn my eyes to the blond in the bleachers
She's a lovely young creature, I think she's seeking adventure
I think she's ready to see that the world isn't so sweet or so tender
I won't break her, just bend her, and make her into my new ringer for you

I stay in the same comfy town, write the same old songs down, drive the same streets
seek the same sense of dull peace, whisper the same sweet words to the chippies
The same walk by the road and where the same muddy snow's finally leaving
But I'll fight off the spring; I don't want lovely things, I don't want the earth new





Other Lyrics by Artist

Rand Lyrics

Last Posts

Okkervil River Love To A Monster Comments
  1. P.... O....

    My new favorite band

  2. M.... P....

    I wouldn't be able to bear the way you cannot love me.
    It's much easier of me make a monster out of you.....

  3. I.... S....

    Lover, now that you've left me, I'm glad you're unlovely
Because if you could take all the heat in your heart and just hang it from you
I wouldn't be able to bear the way you cannot love me
It's much easier of me make a monster out of you

[Verse 2]
And so here I go, substituting the glow from your temples
All our sighs and our trembles, and each last letter sent you
From the cheap little pen of this weak little man
The one singing out his jangling, ringing
And hopefully stinging attack upon you

[Verse 3]
Yeah, so here I go, just exploding the hope we'll be speaking
Someday, years from now, seeking friendship and understanding
Yeah, I hope you get angry, and hurt, and have the hardest of landings
And I hope your new man thinks of me when he sees what a number I did on you

[Verse 4]
I grow tired of this song, turn my eyes to the blond in the bleachers
She's a lovely young creature, I think she's seeking adventure
I think she's ready to see that the world isn't so sweet or so tender
I won't break her, just bend her, and make her into my new ringer for you

[Verse 5]
I stay in the same comfy town, write the same old songs down, drive the same streets
Seek the same sense of dull peace, whisper the same sweet words to the chippies
The same walk by the road and where the same muddy snow's finally leaving
But I'll fight off the spring; I don't want lovely things, I don't want the earth new

  4. P.... S....

    One of my favorite O.R songs: it's not on a proper album; it's rarely played live... a hidden gem of shimmering songwriting

  5. T.... K....

    this version is different from the one on overboard and down...

  6. C.... S....

    I wish all the songs i wrote sounded like this. period.

  7. C.... P....

    If you see this, I love you.

    C.... P....

    Today is my 0th birthday

  8. s.... ....

    One of the saddest songs ever written. The only way he can cope is to turn her into a monster because she's just too perfect...

    s.... ....

    santaclara84 my true love and I have been off and on for 5 years, and everytime we have broken up if he missed me at all he would message me and call me a monster. At first it hurt, but then I understood he just couldn't admit he loved me enough to miss me a lot.

    s.... ....

    I think you misunderstand the song. He wants the tumult. He wants the home town chippies

  9. F.... ....

    This song is terrifying. I don't think the monster is the subject of this song.

    F.... ....

    My interpretation is that it's about coping with unrequited love. The monster is not the girl who broke his heart but rather the self awareness of his position.

    F.... ....

    I agree, I dont think either girl is really the monster here... but if this is coping with unrequited love its most certainly the worst way to do it. he's making it the girl's problem when he's the one hung up on it. what have the two women done to even be considered monsters? its not a crime to not love someone back, its not a crime to be a beautiful bystander... so with nobody else left to point to, I really think that the monster is the singer who looked at a girl in the distance and said to himself "im going to fuck up her whole life because things arent good for _me_ ". I mean, what did the blond in the bleachers do to him to justify his wrath? apparently nothing.

    he claims this song is "a stinging attack" on the woman who wont love him. he goes on to pick a girl from a crowd and says "I won't break her, just bend her, and make her into my new ringer for you". That's awful, you cant change who other people are to suit you, much less as a placebo for someone else, as well as under the guise of romance. and embedded in a song that's an attack on someone who you apparently loved? spooky... people think this way enough to write songs about it.

    I think he thinks he's the monster and he's struggling with that. that's why its called 'to love a monster'. maybe the first girl was abusive and he's dealing with that. I just find it very scary that nobody in these comments have pointed out those very powerful, poignant lyrics and how grotesque they are. Its always a little hard to follow the plot without reading the lyrics themselves and listening for fun, so Its not like im blaming anyone.

    F.... ....

    +FraidyCat "I'll fight off the spring I don't want lovely things I don't want the earth new." Those last lines of the song are the most telling. The heartache is still so fresh and any perspective beyond doom and gloom isn't going to do for him yet. That prospect I agree is quite terrifying. However these two albums Stage Names and Stand-Ins is a whole story. And this is just one song. The story gets more positive and closure indeed does come for the narrator.

    F.... ....

    that's what the song is about he knows he's the monster that's why he says it'll be easier to make a monster out of you

  10. H.... G....

    This is wine drinking music.

  11. S.... ....

    "I hope you'll get angry and hurt and have the hardest of landings."
    Never thought I would wish that to a person, but then life happens...

    S.... ....

    +SheepShade :(

    S.... ....

    that's the line that brought me back to having this song on repeat. speaks a lot to my life right now, and i couldn't agree more with your comment, especially with who's on my mind

  12. C.... P....

    The Trumpet though

  13. M.... P....

    @Kathryn Isobel Know dat feel bro.

  14. 4.... ....

    What does it say about our current sensibilities that we hope a band stays underdog, indie, and unknown for all their hard work and artistry, just so we can feel more cooler about ourselves for knowing about them?

    4.... ....

    I think the problem, for some of us, is that we may not get to choose how much of a certain kind of music we hear. It's not that I do or don't like popular music, but if a song gets popular I'll hear it over and over again in multiple forums. If I heard this song 5 times a day, every day I would get sick of it.

    4.... ....

    @Stormee King Also, when music gets popular it is taken out of context to some extent - cultural context, genre norms, personal backstory, and so on. Some music is designed to work with little context, and we call that pop music, but otherwise it can be quite varied. If you dig deeper into the context behind any popular music, you will find things that are more hidden (although perhaps pulled more into the public eye than they were previously, by association) and depending on your taste, more sublime.

    4.... ....

    ''We''? Speak for yourself m8

    4.... ....

    @jmk Fair enough. "Some music is designed to work with little context, and I call that pop music, and think that is not an unusual designation".

    4.... ....

    fortunately it's not like that as much, 6 years later.

  15. H.... B....

    I think the implication is that he's hoping to have made a visible effect on her life in some fashion (i see it skewing more positive than negative with sheff's penchant for compassion even in the bleaker narratives)- or be the person she constantly compares others to.

  16. E.... ....

    The most beautiful and honest break up song I've ever heard.

  17. I.... C....

    My god the feels

  18. D.... ....

    i like this song

  19. O.... ....

    I hope you get angry, and hurt, and have the hardest of landings.

  20. J.... M....

    Hola, espero que estés mejor..

  21. S.... S....

    this song is too beautiful

  22. f.... ....

    I'll fight off the spring; I don't want lovely things.
    I don't want the earth new. ♥

  23. G.... T....

    Man is this ever a beautiful song, this band is so under-appreciated

  24. J.... ....

    no he puts her in a wheelchair from violent sex

  25. V.... M....

    Can you explain this part? Does he mean mentally scarring her?

  26. E.... V....

    we've all been there...hang in there...when you least expect it love will find you...

  27. K.... I....

    I'd love for someone to talk to me. My boyfriend of 2 years recently cheated on me and has now focused all his attention onto this other girl. and i'm so lonely and so tired and this song is just describing exactly how i feel. I wish he cared about me like he used to, I wish i had someone to talk to who would listen and understand. I feel so alone....

    K.... I....

    Kathryn Isobel Hope you’re better now!

  28. a.... p....

    Perfect

  29. I.... ....

    What girl would even leave Will? o_O

  30. I.... ....

    Why are you even listening to this song if your that kind of person? I think Will's music requires a fair amount of understanding and true humanness to actually understand. Now go enjoy the crappy no sole music that a tiny minded little person like you can enjoy.

  31. C.... F....

    In that picture he looks like Adam Savage's cousin or something.

  32. T.... S....

    Four people clearly just don't get it.

  33. E.... P....

    i know how it feels. do the same now

  34. a.... b....

    damns my head disk died two weeks a go, now i have to listen this on youtube...damn i really miss all my music :(

    a.... b....

    alejandro barragan do you mean hard disk

  35. M.... ....

    Thumbs up tv brought me here justin beiber repost this if you're a strong black woman 2 people are dumb im 12 and I like this music I hate my generation

  36. S.... ....

    couldnt agree more

  37. G.... ....

    that feel, oh god i know that feel. ;_;

  38. l.... ....

    @wjgeboers

    Whether or not you identify with the lyrics isn't the point... it's a character study of the behavior itself, of the immature, adversarial attitude people take towards relationships, and it's worded in a poetic manner. That's the enjoyment of it, not that he's saying something you agree with. Hell, half of Shakespeare's most famous quotes are about murder and incest, that doesn't make them any less (or more) beautifully written and worth enjoyment.

  39. W.... D....

    watn kankerlelijke kneus

  40. W.... D....

    @lumburgapalooza sounds more like an insecure pathetic person to me to be honest. "Get over it" is the first thing that comes to my mind. Kind of immature to feel hatred for an ex. :) O.k. song though nonetheless- even when i do not totally identify with the content of the lyrics.

  41. E.... H....

    It's from the Overboard and Down EP. I think it was only released in Australia.

  42. C.... ....

    @cuteHannahHH for sure.

  43. W.... ....

    @MasterSplinterP1 it's from the stage names

  44. b.... ....

    how it hurts.. to listen to these lyrics and have to think a particular someone might be thinking of me just that way.. :(

  45. f.... ....

    Where can i find this version of the song?

  46. M.... ....

    what album is this from?
    i have the president is dead ep and the version on there is different

  47. L.... H....

    Epic beyond words

  48. d.... ....

    Unbelievably good...

  49. N.... ....

    LATFH, but great song.

  50. l.... ....

    "I hope your new man thinks of me when he sees what a number I did on you."

    Just brilliant.

  51. j.... ....

    I love this song!!!