This Love

It is my humble opinion that this song is about cocaine addiction.

A wise man once told me that the album is called Songs About Jane; people call coke "girl" or "white girl", and Songs About Jane just means songs about a girl, right?

Now, the lyric analysis.

I was so high I did not recognize The fire burning in her eyes The chaos that controlled my mind---- He says it straight up right here. He was so high that he didn't even realize that it was controlling his mind. He establishes right in the beginning lines that he is an addict.

Whispered goodbye and she got on a plane Never to return again But always in my heart---- The "she" he refers to is the cocaine. He personifies the cocaine and gives it its own personality and metaphorically refers to the struggles he faces with addiction to the struggle one would face with a complicated relationship/breakup. These lines describe him being forced into rehabilitation- the cocaine is being taken from him and he will never be able to use again, but he will always remember it and keep it in his heart.

This love has taken its toll on me She said goodbye too many times before And her heart is breaking in front of me I have no choice cause I won't say goodbye anymore---- Here he is determined to overcome his addiction, but he struggles to recover because, well, he is dependent on the substance. He acknowledges that "this love" (his addiction) has taken a huge toll on him both physically and mentally. He keeps trying to quit it ("she says goodbye") but he keeps coming back to it and having to say goodbye over again. He now recognizes that he has no choice, he has to overcome this addiction and he is determined to not have to go through this again.

I tried my best to feed her appetite Keep her coming every night So hard to keep her satisfied Kept playing love like it was just a game Pretending to feel the same Then turn around and leave again---- This I believe is when the point of view shifts to the cocaine itself. The "she" it speaks of is the struggling addict. Metaphorically, the cocaine is trying to feed the addict's appetite, the hunger and craving she has for the drug that keeps her coming every night because she just needs more and more. The addict is absolutely invested in this, but for the cocaine it's nothing but a game as it manipulates and controls the user, pretending to make everything better but turning around and leaving during the comedown period.

I'll fix these broken things Repair your broken wings And make sure everything's alright My pressure on your hips Sinking my fingertips Into every inch of you Cause I know that's what you want me to do---- The cocaine offers a temporary fix, it'll fix everything that is going wrong in the addict's life and make it seem like anything is possible. The descriptions of an intimate relationship metaphorically allude to the close relationship between user and drugs.

The main theme throughout the song is the unstable relationship which, if you dig deeper, is a personification of the addiction. This "girlfriend" he describes is the cocaine and he keeps coming back to it even though he knows he needs to stop, but it just satisfies him like nothing else can. He documents his struggles with addiction and recovery in this song, touching on how good it makes him feel when he uses and how he is fighting to escape its control.