Let her go by passenger meaning

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Who wrote Passenger Let Her Go?
What genre is Let Her Go by Passenger?
When did Passenger Release Let Her Go?
Why was Let Her Go written?

Songfacts®:

Mike Rosenberg is a British singer-songwriter and indie pop/folk/rock singer, who records under the moniker of Passenger. He was the founder, main vocalist and songwriter of the four-piece folk rock band of the same name that were based in Brighton, England and released just one album. They opened up for several high-profile indie acts throughout the UK, including Kate Nash and the Hold Steady, but in 2009 the members of the band chose to go their own separate ways. Rosenberg opted to keep the name Passenger for his solo work and in 2012, he released his third solo album, All The Little Lights, which was recorded at Sydney's Linear Recording and featured a more fully fleshed-out sound.
This was the second single to be released from All The Little Lights. The song marked Passenger's first international success, topping the charts in a number of countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland.
Mike Rosenberg explained the song's meaning to Female First: "In my mind the song has two meanings;" he said, "the first is quite literal as I wrote it after a break up and it is about letting her go. But then there is a bigger idea going on and is more about not really understanding and knowing what you have until it is gone and I think everyone can definitely relate to."
Rosenberg told VH1: "It didn't take long to write, at all. Under an hour, I think. When I wrote it, I definitely felt like it had something… I never had a song on the radio, I didn't believe I could have a song on the radio, because generally, folk music doesn't get on commercial radio, it just doesn't. I kinda thought that that kind of success was for other people, people who really tried to get that kind of success, because I never have."
Rosenberg was backstage after finishing a set at a university bar in Australia when he came up with this song. He was the support act for another band, and his performance was met with utter indifference that night. In a melancholy mood, he came up with this song about his ex-girlfriend. He says the song just came "pouring out" of him.
Structurally, this is a very unusual song. Based on acoustic guitar and strings, it has a 25-second intro before going directly into the first chorus ("Only need the light when it's burning low..."). On the line "And you let her go," the song picks up, introducing drums and going into an instrumental break before finally hitting the first verse at 1:03.
Beginning with the chorus is the equivalent of a movie that is shown out-of-sequence (like Pulp Fiction) - we know the big scene, but don't know what led up to it. Passenger tells us the conclusion up front, then explains what he went through - the anguish he endured before he could just let her go.
The chorus comes back three more times, including at the end of the song where it repeats twice, ending with the voice isolated on the last lines to accentuate the conclusion: "You let her go."
This song was used in a popular Budweiser commercial titled "Puppy Love," which aired during the 2014 Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. In the spot, a determined puppy finds a way to reunite with his Clydesdale friend.
The song got it first exposure in the Netherlands after a Dutch radio plugger heard the track in a café. Within three weeks of it being on the radio, it was #1 in Holland.
The woman who inspired this song by rending Rosenberg's heart knows it is about her. "We're good friends now," the singer told Rolling Stone in 2014. "I think she's still kind of got mixed feelings about it. She's happy for me, but it is pretty weird."

I can sum this song up into one simple phrase. “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” but that wouldn’t be very philosophical now would it.

Another brilliantly written song that found a new way to make you understand what it means to lose things you take for granted.

The first 7 lines tell all:

Well you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missin’ home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go

The only time you need light is when you don’t have any, but when you have it, you don’t think about needing it.

In places that have four seasons or get snow, the phrase “you only miss the sun when it starts to snow” is a reference to warmth. I live in an area that gets snow and when it starts to get cold everyone starts complaining about how short their summer was and wishes it would stay warm for longer.

But this lyric seems miswritten to me.

It should be “Only miss the sun when it gets cold” because there is still sun while there is snow on the ground and I’ve even seen it be partly cloudy with sun coming through as it snowed. The author meant this to be a reference to feeling warm when it’s cold.

The catch phrase “Only know you love her when you let her go” hits the nail on the head and explains what this entire song is about. When you love someone and they are gone from your life, for whatever reason, you feel an emptiness and a sadness as you realize how much that person meant to you.

The second verse picks up with more examples.

“Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low” is a reference to euphoria or happiness. Without feeling happy you can’t feel unhappy, to go from a high to a low is something we can all relate to. One minute you’re on top of the world floating above the clouds and the next you hit rock bottom.

“Only hate the road when you’re missing home” is a reference to how traveling can both be a blessing and a sin. I’ve gone on road trips before where it was excitement the entire way and I’ve gone on trips before where I had to leave my loved ones behind and was not very enthusiastic about the trip.

The next part says he loved her all along and has to deal with what has happened.

Staring at the bottom of your glass
Hoping one day you’ll make a dream last
But dreams come slow and they go so fast

You see her when you close your eyes
Maybe one day you’ll understand why
Everything you touch surely dies

This part heads directly into self-reflection. Staring at the bottom of your glass is a symbol of drinking and depression. She’s in your mind and you pray that she’ll come back but the reality is she’s most likely gone.

So now he’s left with just memories of her and all of the mistakes he’s made. In the end he just wants to make sense of it all.

“Everything you touch surely dies” means that he has made other mistakes in his life, maybe it’s not his first heart break, so now he views himself as a repeat failure. It represents the idea that maybe he’s not good for anyone or anything.

Then comes the chorus to hit the point home again.

Then we get more depression and reflection in the next verse.

Staring at the ceiling in the dark
Same old empty feeling in your heart
‘Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast

Well you see her when you fall asleep
But never to touch and never to keep
‘Cause you loved her too much
And you dived too deep

This verse describes his thoughts while laying in bed. He still feels the same sadness of missing her. He thinks and dreams of her frequently but it doesn’t bring her back to him in reality.

“Cause you loved her too much And you dived too deep” is not something I’m entirely sure about.

The first part is a realization that he is heart broken because of how much he loved her but “Dived too deep” is a confusing lyric.

It could mean that he gave it all he had from the depths of his heart or that he literally dived too deep, meaning he drowned or died on the inside by going too far from her.

I don’t think it means that he put too much into her because it would conflict with the other lyrics.

Followed by the chorus then:

And you let her go (oh, oh, ooh, oh no)
And you let her go (oh, oh, ooh, oh no)
Will you let her go?

This signifies there might still be hope or something he can do to get her back. If it doesn’t mean that then it has a weird twist to it where he hasn’t actually lost her yet but is separated from her and is reflecting on whether or not he really wants to be with her. This would explain why he is drinking and sleeping alone.

This is followed by more parts of the chorus and ends with “And you let her go”

If he was separated then he decided to let her go, if he wasn’t, then he decided there was nothing to be done about it and he let her go.

Either way, she’s now gone.

When relationships end, the bad starts to fade away and all you’re left with is the good. These pictures are symbolic of what you’ll remember. You won’t remember the fights or arguments, you’ll remember this. Take that into consideration when you’re thinking about letting go.

Who wrote Passenger Let Her Go?

Passenger

What genre is Let Her Go by Passenger?

FolkLet Her Go / Genrenull

When did Passenger Release Let Her Go?

2012Let Her Go / Releasednull

Why was Let Her Go written?

Verily Passenger has stated that he did indeed write this song 'literally after a break up' he experienced. And the feeling expressed throughout is one of remorse. That is now that he has actually lost this lady he regrets doing so.