Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: emo
Song Meaning of “Sleep” by Jawbreaker
The song ‘Sleep’ by Jawbreaker speaks to the issue of unreciprocated love, a common narrative of heartbreak that many can relate to. The lyrics of the song reflect a sense of despair and resignation, as if the narrator is coming to terms with the fact that the love they feel isn’t returned. The narrator in this song is bitter and resentful of those in their life who do not meet them with the same level of commitment or care that they pass on to them.
The speaker’s agency in this song is severely limited, as they aggressively ask to “sleep” whenever they feel overwhelmed by their feelings of rejection. The chorus of the song serves to highlight the helplessness felt by the narrator as the person they love continues to reject them; they feel that there is nothing they can do to make things right.
By recognizing the limited power of the speaker, the song further reinforces the notion that the narrator is in too deep and has invested too much emotion to ever get out unscathed. The beginning lines of the verses further illustrate this feeling of enslavement: “Is this my story? Am I a fool?/To have taken love and laid down the rules?” The speaker’s investment in this relationship has left them tied to it and unable to escape, despite their desire for freedom.
In the end, it is clear that the narrator yearns to be relieved of the burden they have carried for too long. They want to be able to give up their attachment to this failed relationship and go back to a simpler, freer life. The song ‘Sleep’ by Jawbreaker expresses this universal emotion of desire for freedom, but also acknowledges the difficulty in breaking that bond and ultimately getting that relief.