The song analyzes Birdy's unhealthy relationship referred to as "skinny love". It describes how the relationship is broken with references to blood and crushed veneer. Birdy wants the relationship to last but realizes it is taking a toll on her. She tells her lover to be patient, kind, and balanced but realizes this did not happen. Over time, Birdy gains the strength to leave the relationship, cutting the ropes and owning the tickets to freedom while her ex is left with the ruins. She wonders how the relationship deteriorated and questions who will care for her ex now that she is gone.

1. Lyric Analysis
Birdy – Skinny Love

2. Come on skinny love just last the year,
Pour a little salt we were never here,
My my my, my my my, my-my-my my-my...
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer.
Tell my love to wreck it all,
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall,
My my my, my my my, my-my-my my-my...
Right in the moment this order's tall.
And I told you to be patient,
And I told you to be fine,
And I told you to be balanced,
And I told you to be kind,
And in the morning I'll be with you,
But it will be a different kind,
'Cause I'll be holding all the tickets,
And you'll be owning all the fines.
Come on skinny love, what happened here?
Suckle on the hope in light brassieres,
My my my, my my my, my-my-my my-my...
Sullen load is full, so slow on the split.
And I told you to be patient,
And I told you to be fine,
And I told you to be balanced,
And I told you to be kind,
And now all your love is wasted,
Then who the hell was I?
'Cause now I'm breaking at the britches,
And at the end of all your lines.
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
And who will fall far behind?
Come on skinny love,
My my my, my my my, my-my-my my-my...
My my my, my my my, my-my-my my-my.

3. Come on skinny love just last the year-
From the opening line of the song I can infer that the singer’s
relationship in which she is involved in, isn’t of good nature and can be
deemed as being unhealthy. This is later confirmed by the use of the
word ‘skinny’ which represents the unhealthy and undernourished side
to the relationship. Contrasting to this, it is apparent that the artist is
trying to allow the relationship to survive through the use of the words
‘just last the year’. This alone signifies her underlined plea for the love
to maintain.

4. Pour a little salt we were never here-
From this line of the song it can be interpreted as a resemblement of
how Birdy is attempting to heal the broken relationship from all of the
open scars, as if they were ‘never here’. Salt is commonly known for the
purification of open wounds, this can link into the fact that she wants
the relationship to become pure and un-broken.

5. My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer-
From these lines I can gather that the artist Birdy is struggling to move
forward in this relationship. With a sink usually being linked in with a
place of cleanness, however; with the lyrics stating ‘blood and crushed
veneer’ is involved, metaphorically showing that before she was
innocent and clean but something has drove her to becoming dirty and
tainted, the thing, typically being sinister, which relates to the crushed
veneer and blood.

6. I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
Regards to the first line of these two lyrics it can be interoperated as
linking in to how she is wishing that her lover would end the
relationship in order to prevent further pain. This then relates to the
second line; ‘cut all the ropes and let me fall’. This signifies that all
aspects of the relationship need to be dropped and cut in order to
create a release for the lovers.

7. My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right in the moment this order’s tall
From these lyrics I have inferred that the singer could be implying that
her being the one to end the relationship would prove to much of a
struggle, however staying within it is causing to much of a demanding
pain. This is evident from the lyrics ‘this orders tall’ suggesting that
working the relationship out and quitting it is equally as hard and
unbearable.

8. I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
From this set of lyrics it is apparent that the singer asked her
lover to follow through with these wishes, but from these it is
very clear that this did not happen. I can tell through the use
of ‘I told you to be’ suggesting that Birdy told him to do
something but he refused which led to the orders being too
tall.

9. In the morning I’ll be with you
but it will be a different kind
To me, these specific lyrics have the meaning that even after another
day the relationship that the person is involved in will still remain the
same, however, the feelings within it will not. This could be suggesting
that Birdy is becoming stronger to pick up the courage to leave the
relationship and breaking the orders being too tall. I gathered this
information from ‘’I’ll be with you’’ and ‘’it’ll be a different kind.’’ This
being the inference that her body is still intact, however her soul is
slowly deteriorating.

10. I’ll be holding all the tickets
and you’ll be owning all the fines
These lines suggest that Birdy has escaped the relationship with ‘’I’ll be
holding all the tickets’’ which can be interpreted as being her one way
out of the relationship. Her lover on the other hand, ‘’owning all the
fines’’ meaning they will have to pick the pieces up for themselves after
she leaves. This alone suggests the heartbreak aspects of the situation,
acting as a metaphor for a debt that they owe.

11. Come on skinny love what happened here
This line symbolises the questioning of Birdy and her relationship. She
can be seen as wondering how she and her own partner allowed their
relationship to progress to such bad state and in a poisonous situation.
This is aimed at the ‘what happened here’ verse.

12. Suckle on the hope in lite brassiere
my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full; so slow on the split
‘’sullen load is full, so slow on the split’’ to me, creates the symbolism
of how long the couple took to finally put an end to the poisonous
relationship. It has taken them a long journey seeing as Birdy
mentioned a break up earlier on within the song

13. I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
Now all your love is wasted?
Then who the hell was I?
Here, the lyrics state ‘now all your love is wasted, then who the hell
was I?’ This meaning that Birdy feels like the love that was given whilst
in the relationship wasn’t true and was consequently, a waste of time.
She is questioning herself on how and why she would do that to
herself.

14. Now I’m breaking at the britches
and at the end of all your lines
Here Birdy states how she is breaking all the Britches which refers to
her wanting to cut all the ropes earlier in the song. This can be seen as
her way of saying goodbye and that she is through with the
relationship. This works well as this is how the song is seen to end.

15. Who will love you?
Who will fight?
And who will fall far behind?
This part in the song where Birdy starts to question herself and her
relationship once again. As she has acted as a nurturer towards her
lover, she wonders who will take her place. She wonders who will take
care of him like she did in the past. It can also be seen as her
wondering who will let him fall from the ropes like he did to her.