I’m waiting for you/
For I’m broken down…

The narrator of Broken by Jake Bugg, tells us at the beginning of the song that he is broken and waiting for his Sophie. But he knows she is not coming. You see, Sophie committed suicide at her house, after she perhaps had unsuccessfully tried before. She was broken.

He knows that for at least the immediate future, a big part of his life will be overcoming the fact that he, himself, is broken. He is angry, yet he still loves her. Why could she not see this? He feels an obligation to appear together, perhaps because there are other people in her life who are equally hurting.

 

The next section of lyrics are slightly obfuscated—so we have to fill in some of the blanks to create a coherent picture of what Bugg is singing about.  How does he keep it together? It appears that he imagines her in a happy, heaven-like place: “down in the valley where the church bells cry…with a future bright…never broken.”

He tries to share this vision of her (in a better place) with others, and it seems to bring him some sort of peace. In this future he and all her friends and family will gather in the valley of the church bells. This thought brings him peace.

The vocal delivery really makes this song. It is a sad song and Bugg delivers it perfectly. While the immediacy of the lyrics might not hit us, it is clear what emotion he is expressing. That is a rare feat in music. Bugg sounds like a mix of Dylan and Donovan-which is saying something.

Broken Lyrics

I’m waiting for you
For I’m broken down.
Coming down this time.
For my heart lies
Far and away where they took you down.
Let them over to your house-
Where I’m broken.
Down by the people if they let you breathe;
Don’t give a damn if you still can’t see,
Still my heart beats, for you
Have become, all I love
And all I hoped for.
But I, must carry on
Always one
Never broken.
Run to the lobby where I saw you try.
Don’t give a damn for your reasons why.

Where Sophie’s down in the valley where the church bells cry,
I’ll lead them over to your eyes.
Woah, I am one.
I am one.
Pray, story eye
Peace and love
In a future
Bright. Sacrifice
Came around, never broken.
Down by the people if they let you breathe,
Don’t give a damn if you still can’t see,
Traveling a street that I did not go.
Lifetime to the winter load.
Down in the valley where the church bells cry
I’ll lead them over to your eyes.
Woah, I am one
Woah, I am one
I am one.

written by Jake Bugg/Crispin Hunt