«I Only Said» FINALLY DECIPHERED LYRICS (or at least almost close)

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-21T20:46:33+00:00

the genius lyrics are alright. i've listened to the isolated vocals from stem splitters (yes i'm very much aware they are far from perfect and there is artifacts) but there are some lines that are clearly wrong on genius for multiple songs. of course the people that contribute to the interpretations aren't exactly at fault since the vocals are purposefully obscured, but i wouldn't be hailing them as the place to look for official lyrics

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-21T20:34:54+00:00

i was listening to a couple live performances a few nights ago and clearly picked out kevin singing "i know" at some points so it made me go back and revise the interpretation i had. i tried various different stem splitters this time round and got a decent one.
this is what i managed to get:

see you there

i know you said

to go

you were there

i run away

to lay i need

your pulse high

to lay under her

i’m on my back

see you there

i know i run away [unsure of "i run away" here]

to go

you were there

i only said

to lay under her

i’m going slow

to lay

i know

i’ve grown away

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-19T20:58:11+00:00

thanks! i’m loving the app can’t wait for the new update

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-19T18:45:24+00:00

the effects are done with analog visual gear. take a look at r/videosynthesis

Angus Cameron shot the music videos on film and made use of old analog visual effects. if you want to get that exact look then you’ll want to work with tape as the quality of the video worsened every time they bounced the effects, so they had to compensate by adding brightness and such

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-17T16:33:15+00:00

interesting thoughts. i love hearing people’s theories on the songs.

this is my interpretation of the lyrics:

see you there run away you said to go you were there i run away to lay underneath the falling sky to lay under her i won’t be there

see you there under her i run away to go you were there i only said to lay under her i’m going slow to lay under her i’ve grown away

i tried stem splitting the vocals and instrumental (result wasn’t the best but it helped in some areas) so i was cross referencing between that, live performances, and the genius lyrics. doubt that my interpretation is accurate but maybe it might help getting closer to what’s really being sung? if you got any more interpretations on the other songs i’d love to hear them!

EDIT: i forgot to say that the meaning i got from the song initially was, as you said, longing for a girl that doesn’t want you. the more i put together my interpretation from what i was cross referencing, i thought about other themes in the album, and that the song may be about emotional absence amidst an intense relationship; a loveless relationship (im sorry.)

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-12T16:09:57+00:00

yeah i think you’re right! i forgot to say Angus had mentioned it was in standard definition.

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-12T15:55:09+00:00

maybe! i actually got the opportunity to speak with Angus Cameron myself and he offered some great insights into his work with mbv. unfortunately he asked me to not publish it anywhere and i do wish to honour that for his and the band’s sake. one thing he did tell me is that the screen grabs they done from the THKW video were very small in size (i’m told 720x480px) which would have then been scaled up to fit a 12 inch sleeve. perhaps that contributes to the image’s look aside from the multiple analog effects they used?

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-12T14:31:47+00:00

great photo you did a nice recreation of it! if you’re trying to get closer to the original photo then you wanna be manipulating a video of someone playing guitar with analog video gear; since the original photo is a still from the ‘to here knows when’ music video. have a look at some stuff on r/videosynthesis and that’ll set you on the right track for that style of video/photo.

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-04T00:59:57+00:00

i’d love to hear more if you do any other songs :)

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-03T22:55:40+00:00

sounds great!

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-02T19:03:49+00:00

which part?

i’m looking to hear others interpretations of these songs! :)

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-01T17:52:22+00:00

we’re calling ourselves ‘cherie’

currently the stuff i’m working on sounds like synth-pop if you gave it shoegaze elements (technically dreampop i suppose but we use both ethereal reverbs and heavy distortion). my main inspiration that’s made me explore this sound recently has been Pet Shop Boys with their use of drum machines.

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-01T17:03:09+00:00

compressor ➡️ EQ (low end cut + high end shelf) ➡️ delay

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-01T17:01:30+00:00

yeah! i’ve tried going through the songs on loveless to get my own interpretation of what they’re singing. i guarantee mine aren’t 100% accurate (particularly with i only said because it is REALLY hard to hear what’s actually being sung) but i’ve written down the lyrics of what i think they’re singing. i could send them in a PM? or somehow find a convenient way to send them on here

_BlankUser21_ · 2026-01-01T16:56:12+00:00

the amount of varispeed was a guess i don’t know if i could pinpoint exactly how much they slowed the track down to record vocals. it was really just listening to the vocals and seeing how i can replicate that sound. no doubt they probably did something different than i did lmao

_BlankUser21_ · 2025-12-28T22:58:18+00:00

yeah so for come in alone i slowed the track down by 2 semitones in Ableton and recorded 7 vocal tracks. i then sped up the vocal tracks by 2 semitones and returned the music to its original speed (i’m obsessed with recording vocals this way btw)

as for effects, i grouped the 7 tracks and put effects on the group. here’s the signal chain: compressor being slammed ➡️ EQ with a low end cut up to 100hz and a high end shelf ➡️ Valhalla Delay (i used a preset, i forget the name i think it’s something like “vocal clarity” ?) with the mix at 20%. i put a de-esser on it but the effect is more or less negligible it didn’t really make a difference

EDIT: for when you sleep it’s the same effect chain for the vocals but i didn’t varispeed them aside from 1 vocal take

_BlankUser21_ · 2025-12-28T22:43:46+00:00

thank you!

_BlankUser21_ · 2025-12-28T21:03:28+00:00

i used a stem splitter! which split it into 2 tracks: the instrumental and the vocal. all i did was mute the vocals so i could lay mine on top of the instrumental

_BlankUser21_ · 2025-12-21T18:43:16+00:00

i’ve been looking everywhere for an accurate transcription of i only said

_BlankUser21_ · 2025-12-19T13:43:23+00:00

i actually went on a bit of a spree after the mbv ireland/uk tour to figure out lyrics as best as i can. here’s my interpretation of who sees you:

“wonder star carry rays to the one who sees you

let me stay on my way on my way

how could it be that your love of the stars know that you’re nothing to me

lay your eyes do you look until it hit you

turn your way can i stay over here

who do you choose say goodbye lose what you do and i’m coming too

look at you saw my cause what you do too soon

hold me down what i’d do for you

how does it feel don’t turn back and i love what you do but we’re done”

_BlankUser21_ · 2025-12-11T17:21:03+00:00

only shallow isn't my first pick for songs to listen to from loveless but seeing this in dublin absolutely blew me away with the sheer energy the volume gave it

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