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Home M Manchester Orchestra I Can Barely Breathe Chords Guitar Tab

I Can Barely Breathe
E
When the dark flood came
D
we wrapped ourselves inside a dirty blanket
E
citing different opinions
D
on whether we should move
E
when the houses came
D
they ate up everyone like they were fishes
E
saying, "come on, come on
D
its the end of the world"
E
and then I saw your face
D
you're turning skin into a dirty secret
E
I watched the beauties, watched the fire
D
and the fire burn the beauty in their eyes
E
when I took the blame
D
we layed in ruins trying to quote your phrase
E
we're yelling, "someone's got the answers,
D
but I'd rather think there's nothing to be found"
C D E
if you knew I was dying would it change you?
C D
E
So when you see me falling backwards down the wall that says I'm still alive,
C D
E
don't be cautious when I'm cautiously approaching on the other side
C D
E
everybody has their reasons, that's the reason we're all going to die
C
because if seeing is believing,
D E
then believe that we have lost our eyes
C D E
when I fly solo, I fly so high (x8)
E D C
don't touch me now.
C D E (x8)
C D E
We all deserve something

Source: http://www.guitarmasta.net/m/manchester_orchestra/354170.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
 
 
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randy
Professional
#1 by randy taylor at Sep 28, 2007 at 2:49 AM EST
I love the lyrics because if seeing is believing, then believe that we have lost our eyes I think this song is about having your own opinions, taking risks, and just living your life. Not everything you see is believable, and you can't always believe what you see. And we DO all deserve something, despite our thoughts that are otherwise to that.
 
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micheal
Lead Player
#2 by micheal mceachern at Sep 28, 2007 at 6:40 AM EST
Does anyone know what he is screaming in the background at the end of the song? i'd be curious to know. p.s. this song is redic.
 
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Athena-beana-fo
Average
#3 by Athena-beana-fo-feena -katrina-gina-go-zeena-fe-fi-fo...ATHENA at Sep 29, 2007 at 11:08 PM EST
I do think this song is about our culture, and the ways we destroy ourselves. "When the houses came" could be overdevelopment, consumerist culture. "turning skin into a dirty secret" could be plastic surgery, makeup, etc. I think "everybody has their reasons, that's the reason we're all gonna die" is a comment about looking out for only yourself, and not the greater good.
 
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Quinn
Rhythm Player
#4 by Quinn I killed my last name at Sep 29, 2007 at 11:15 PM EST
I never knew if he was singing "When I fly solo, I fly so high" or if it was "When I fly SO LOW, I fly so high." And I always thought that he sang "we all deserve TO LIVE," but now that I read the lyrics and once I listen more closely, he definitely is saying "something" and not "to live." Either way, this song is still amazing. I completely fell in love with MO when I heard them perform this song while on tour with Brand New. Speaking of which, does anybody else think that the beginning of this song sounds like the beginning of BN's "Sowing Season?"
 
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taris
Average
#5 by taris leoncho at Sep 30, 2007 at 5:13 PM EST
saying, "come on, come on it's the end of the world" i swear my heart stops when they sing that
 
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lewi
Wanna Be
#6 by lewi broadway at Sep 30, 2007 at 6:05 PM EST
Well...most of the lyrics and stuff baffle me & don't really mean much to me. But two lines set the meaning to me...& it sounds really typical, but it reminds me of a break-up, a really bad one. "If you knew I was dying, would it change you?" My boyfriend of 2 1/2 years broke up w/ me a week ago. As I was driving today & it was raining hard, I worried about getting in a crash. Then I had a thought....if I got in a car wreck, or was diagnosed with a terminal illness or something...would he want to be with me again & realize we are meant to be? He tells me he still loves me but he just wants to be alone right now & feels "old". It sounds like a sick fantasy, but when you just want to change someone's mind so badly...you would do anything. & the way they quietly whisper that line, like they are ashamed to think it, but can't stop wondering, is so right. I also think they are saying, hey, I am dying emotionally, and i am dying inside; so how can that NOT change you?? "When I fly so low (OR it can be SOLO--hence the breakup, you are SOLO & so low)...I fly so high" This is them trying to convince themselves things will be better & lets us see without these bad times we wouldn't appreciate amazing good times. Now that I read it more, I see more & more that shows this could be the end of a serious relationship. So not a typical break-up song & so amazing! But I think it can be interpreted many ways
 
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Steve
Wanna Be
#7 by Steve Williams at Sep 30, 2007 at 6:16 PM EST
to justlikeheaven, i don't think he says fly so low. he's saying he flies higher when he's alone. that's what i'm thinking. but i totally get your interpretation of the song
 
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Badass
#8 by Nirvana at Oct 1, 2007 at 8:18 PM EST
i love love love this song.. to me, its about making the most of life. don't rely on everybody else and restrict yourself to only what you know. there's not always an answer to everything, and sometimes, you just gotta take risks. some people believe the other, and turn ugly, thus burning the beauty from their eyes. they dont see what he sees, the freedom and happiness. manchester orchestra is amazing
 
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Faiz
Average
#9 by Faiz fender at Oct 3, 2007 at 8:31 PM EST
"someone's got the answers, but i'd rather think there's nothing to be found" this is incredible. i love when he says, "so when you see me falling backwards down the wall that says i'm still alive.." just the way he says it.
 
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Dylan
Average
#10 by Dylan Donovan at Oct 4, 2007 at 8:06 AM EST
"and then i saw your face you're turning skin into a dirty secret" im gonna go with she wears a lot of makeup, and he knows it.
 
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Dunnie
Average
#11 by Dunnie at Oct 4, 2007 at 10:11 AM EST
Well...most of the lyrics and stuff baffle me & don't really mean much to me. But two lines set the meaning to me...& it sounds really typical, but it reminds me of a break-up, a really bad one. "If you knew I was dying, would it change you?" My boyfriend of 2 1/2 years broke up w/ me a week ago. As I was driving today & it was raining hard, I worried about getting in a crash. Then I had a thought....if I got in a car wreck, or was diagnosed with a terminal illness or something...would he want to be with me again & realize we are meant to be? He tells me he still loves me but he just wants to be alone right now & feels "old". It sounds like a sick fantasy, but when you just want to change someone's mind so badly...you would do anything. & the way they quietly whisper that line, like they are ashamed to think it, but can't stop wondering, is so right. I also think they are saying, hey, I am dying emotionally, and i am dying inside; so how can that NOT change you?? "When I fly so low (OR it can be SOLO--hence the breakup, you are SOLO & so low)...I fly so high" This is them trying to convince themselves things will be better & lets us see without these bad times we wouldn't appreciate amazing good times. Now that I read it more, I see more & more that shows this could be the end of a serious relationship. So not a typical break-up song & so amazing! But I think it can be interpreted many ways
 
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Eric
Average
#12 by Eric Boozer at Oct 4, 2007 at 5:20 PM EST
I never knew if he was singing "When I fly solo, I fly so high" or if it was "When I fly SO LOW, I fly so high." And I always thought that he sang "we all deserve TO LIVE," but now that I read the lyrics and once I listen more closely, he definitely is saying "something" and not "to live." Either way, this song is still amazing. I completely fell in love with MO when I heard them perform this song while on tour with Brand New. Speaking of which, does anybody else think that the beginning of this song sounds like the beginning of BN's "Sowing Season?"
 
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St. Jimmy
Wanna Be
#13 by St. Jimmy at Oct 4, 2007 at 7:03 PM EST
because if seeing is believing, then believe that we have lost our eyes amazing.
 
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ian
Average
#14 by ian mckinly at Oct 5, 2007 at 8:47 AM EST
am i just going too farfetched when i say there might be religious undertones?
 
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Rockstar
Professional
#15 by Rockstar at Oct 5, 2007 at 6:40 PM EST
because if seeing is believing, then believe that we have lost our eyes amazing.
 
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the white hendr
Badass
#16 by the white hendrix at Oct 5, 2007 at 10:20 PM EST
boyslikebullets, the first like 3 seconds sound exactly like "Sowing Season".
 
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brad
Average
#17 by brad everett at Oct 7, 2007 at 5:16 PM EST
boyslikebullets, the first like 3 seconds sound exactly like "Sowing Season".
 
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Laurence
Average
#18 by Laurence Alam at Oct 7, 2007 at 10:26 PM EST
I love the lyrics because if seeing is believing, then believe that we have lost our eyes I think this song is about having your own opinions, taking risks, and just living your life. Not everything you see is believable, and you can't always believe what you see. And we DO all deserve something, despite our thoughts that are otherwise to that.
 
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Squats
Average
#19 by Squats at Oct 8, 2007 at 12:32 AM EST
This must be my favourite MO song. All of the lyrics are... amazing.
 
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TonkpilS
Average
#20 by TonkpilS at Oct 9, 2007 at 9:45 AM EST
because if seeing is believing, then believe that we have lost our eyes amazing.
 
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Colleen
Average
#21 by Colleen Shmeltin at Oct 9, 2007 at 12:48 PM EST
to justlikeheaven, i don't think he says fly so low. he's saying he flies higher when he's alone. that's what i'm thinking. but i totally get your interpretation of the song
 
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Jon
Badass
#22 by Jon Coath at Oct 10, 2007 at 9:49 PM EST
i love love love this song.. to me, its about making the most of life. don't rely on everybody else and restrict yourself to only what you know. there's not always an answer to everything, and sometimes, you just gotta take risks. some people believe the other, and turn ugly, thus burning the beauty from their eyes. they dont see what he sees, the freedom and happiness. manchester orchestra is amazing
 
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Kornowski -
Wanna Be
#23 by Kornowski - Im не русский, Бог Черт возьми! at Oct 11, 2007 at 2:18 AM EST
"someone's got the answers, but i'd rather think there's nothing to be found" this is incredible. i love when he says, "so when you see me falling backwards down the wall that says i'm still alive.." just the way he says it.
 
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mike
Average
#24 by mike duncan at Oct 11, 2007 at 10:47 AM EST
love
 
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Gladis
Wanna Be
#25 by Gladis McHumphry at Oct 11, 2007 at 12:43 PM EST
This must be my favourite MO song. All of the lyrics are... amazing.
 
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Josh
Average
#26 by Josh at Oct 12, 2007 at 6:44 PM EST
because if seeing is believing, then believe that we have lost our eyes amazing.
 
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Lenny Judd (Pap
Wanna Be
#27 by Lenny Judd (Papa Smurf) at Oct 12, 2007 at 7:46 PM EST
i took a different opinion of the song. i saw the song talking more about how we handle the disappointments and disasters of life. "i watched the beauties, watched the fire and the fire burn the beauty in their eyes"
 
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Tom
Average
#28 by Tom Gregory at Oct 13, 2007 at 3:56 AM EST
am i just going too farfetched when i say there might be religious undertones?
 
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Dusty
Wanna Be
#29 by Dusty Delonge at Oct 14, 2007 at 5:30 AM EST
i took a different opinion of the song. i saw the song talking more about how we handle the disappointments and disasters of life. "i watched the beauties, watched the fire and the fire burn the beauty in their eyes"
 
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Jeremy
Rhythm Player
#30 by Jeremy Dosser at Oct 15, 2007 at 5:12 AM EST
saying, "come on, come on it's the end of the world" i swear my heart stops when they sing that
 
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little
Average
#31 by little emo at Oct 15, 2007 at 4:39 PM EST
Does anyone know what he is screaming in the background at the end of the song? i'd be curious to know. p.s. this song is redic.
 
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bec
Average
#32 by bec madden at Oct 15, 2007 at 10:44 PM EST
I do think this song is about our culture, and the ways we destroy ourselves. "When the houses came" could be overdevelopment, consumerist culture. "turning skin into a dirty secret" could be plastic surgery, makeup, etc. I think "everybody has their reasons, that's the reason we're all gonna die" is a comment about looking out for only yourself, and not the greater good.
 
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cinn
Professional Badass
#33 by cinn mcrickson at Oct 16, 2007 at 2:28 AM EST
"If you knew I was dying, would it change you?" So simple, but so meaningful.
 
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Eric
Average
#34 by Eric at Oct 16, 2007 at 9:10 PM EST
love
 
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Sir Stuff
Professional
#35 by Sir Stuff at Oct 17, 2007 at 6:58 PM EST
"If you knew I was dying, would it change you?" So simple, but so meaningful.
 
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Dan The English
Wanna Be
#36 by Dan The English at Oct 17, 2007 at 10:50 PM EST
"and then i saw your face you're turning skin into a dirty secret" im gonna go with she wears a lot of makeup, and he knows it.