Verse 1
Bell bottom blues, you made me cry
I don’t want to lose this feeling
And if I could choose a place to die
It would be in your arms
Bell Bottom Blues seems to be a nickname for someone. (The opposing theory is that it is just a reference to the song genre and Clapton references his love for the blues.) The narrator is reluctant to say goodbye. Dying in someone’s arms is a literary archetype. For example, Romeo and Juliet. It is a wholesome idea that shows how love and death are intertwined. Death makes room for love because you love something when you can lose it.
The image above is drawn under the interpretation of someone with a terminal illness. However, this is only one interpretation. Use your own interpretation so the song sings closer to your heart.
Chorus
Do you want to see me crawl across the floor to you?
Do you want to hear me beg you to take me back?
I’d gladly do it because
I don’t want to fade away
Give me one more day, please
I don’t want to fade away
In your heart I want to stay
The narrator is desperate because he doesn’t want to fade away. No one wants to perish and he struggles with this naive desire to be remembered. We are only remembered by people who care about you deeply. This narrator seeks that, who seems to have no one who cares about him/her deeply.
It can be in vain to live just to be remembered. There is the famous poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Shelley. Ultimately death catches the old and a new wave of people replace the old. It is the course of nature. It can be fruitless to go against this nature.
Verse 2
It’s all wrong, but it’s all right
The way that you treat me baby
Once I was strong but I lost the fight
You won’t find a better loser
Things are going wrong in their lives, but comforting with “it’s all right.” He was strong and independent, but life happens and we fall sometimes. (In my drawing, a terminal illness can be devastating) Without a social support structure or anyone to lean on, we can fall harder.
Verse 3
Bell bottom blues, don’t say goodbye
I’m sure we’re gonna meet again
And if we do, don’t you be surprised
If you find me with another lover
The narrator is reluctant to say goodbye. Maybe they’ll meet oneday in heaven perhaps. Regardless, I’m going to carry on without you.
I enjoy the tune. Derek and the Dominoes does a fantastic cover and Clapton’s “The Lady In The Balcony” session cover was amazing as well.
