A man can tell a thousand lies/
I learned my lesson well…
Madonna’s “Live to Tell” is strong lyrically and musically and her vocals are impeccable. The song is about the narrator losing her innocence. Perhaps she was a child, perhaps this is a relationship she experienced when she was fairly young. She doesn’t get into details.
We do know that a man deceived her and that she carries that secret within her. She anticipates that a time will come when she will be able to release herself of this burden. Until then, she must survive, in part, so as to see the truth come out. She must “live to tell”.
The mystery behind the secret is part of the allure of the song. We can imagine all sorts of unimaginable things that a child might have to endure and what a burden it would be to keep that inside. A child who only desires to live so that one day her trauma can some day be told is quite a powerful story. The fact that this narrator is (partially) revealing their secret is captivating. This is Madonna’s best writing.
The bridge is especially good (“If I ran away…”). It addresses a question that the listener must be asking, “Why haven’t you left?” The answer is not completely satisfactory, but by addressing it she acknowledges that she, too, is looking at this problem logically and trying to solve it in any way she can. It also suggests that she is still very much involved in the relationship that caused the trauma. She has not yet escaped.
While the story and lyrics are fantastic, it is Madonna’s vocals that make this song great. She sings the song with the proper emotion that such a story deserves. The keyboards are great. In the 1980s, producers had a bad habit of going crazy with adding bizarre keyboard sounds.
In “Live to Tell” the keyboards supplement Madonna’s voice. The keyboards also have a nice intro that really adds to the song. It is also a rare occasion in which a song uses various modes on a keyboard and it doesn’t sound gimmicky. That is a credit to production.
Live To Tell Lyrics
I have a tale to tell
Sometimes it gets so hard to hide it well
I was not ready for the fall
Too blind to see the writing on the wall
A man can tell a thousand lies
I’ve learned my lesson well
Hope I live to tell
The secret I have learned, ’til then
It will burn inside of me
I know where beauty lives
I’ve seen it once, I know the warm she gives
The light that you could never see
It shines inside, you can’t take that from me
A man can tell a thousand lies
I’ve learned my lesson well
Hope I live to tell
The secret I have learned, ’til then
It will burn inside of me
The truth is never far behind
You kept it hidden well
If I live to tell
The secret I knew then
Will I ever have the chance again
If I ran away, I’d never have the strength
To go very far
How would they hear the beating of my heart
Will it grow cold
The secret that I hide, will I grow old
How will they hear
When will they learn
How will they know
A man can tell a thousand lies
I’ve learned my lesson well
Hope I live to tell
The secret I have learned, ’til then
It will burn inside of me
The truth is never far behind
You kept it hidden well
If I live to tell
The secret I knew then
Will I ever have the chance again
A man can tell a thousand lies
I’ve learned my lesson well
Hope I live to tell
The secret I have learned, ’til then
It will burn inside of me
Songwriters: Madonna Ciccone / Patrick Leonard