stolen

"Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional

We watch the season pull up its own stakes
And catch the last weekend of the last week
Before the gold and the glimmer have been replaced,
Another sun soaked season fades away

You have stolen my heart
You have stolen my heart

Invitation only, grand farewells
Crash the best one, of the best ones
Clear liquor and cloudy eyed, too early to say goodnight

You have stolen my heart
You have stolen my heart

And from the ballroom floor we are in celebration
One good stretch before our hibernation
Our dreams assured and we all, will sleep well

You have stolen
You have stolen my heart

I watch you spin around in your highest heels
You are the best one, of the best ones
We all look like we feel

You have stolen my
You have stolen my heart


The emotions of people in love oftentimes ebb and flow in their intensity and meaning, coming and going yet always leaving their mark. The same can be said of time; we give it definition through the things happening in our lives as it elapses. It comes and then it goes, but we never forget certain things that have happened to us at certain times. Emotions are at times uncontrollable, the results of inner turmoil and outer stimuli that occur naturally. Just as we cannot always control what we feel, we cannot stop the flow of time. In this way, it is possible to compare emotions and time through the various attributes they share. In their song "Stolen", Dashboard Confessional relates emotions to time through allusion and comparison, demonstrating that people cannot control their feelings any more than they can control the hands of time.

The first stanza of the song makes repeated references to the passage of time; the end of one season and the next one's beginning are described. The fact that this stanza is followed by the repeated line "You have stolen my heart" makes it clear to listeners that the lyrics represent two people in love who observe the changes in time yet remain together as they do so, putting forth the idea that relationships can weather change and long durations. The line "Before the gold and the glimmer have been replaced/Another sun soaked season fades away" suggests that the meaning and appeal of this couple's relationship have not worn off even as time goes on, proving that the longevity of this pairing is stronger than the constraints of weeks, months, and entire seasons. These allusions to weather and the changes that occur in it between different seasons convey to listeners that much time can pass without doing damage to a relationship; it is possible for the bond between people to remain the same even as the things that surround them adapt to new situations.

A comparison between time and emotion is made even more evident by the second stanza with its opening line, "Invitation only, grand farewells/crash the best one, of the best ones". As we perceive that we are running out of time, we lose power over what we feel and do, making ourselves susceptible to failure. Feeling excluded or limited by time incites incredible emotions of helplessness and hopelessness as we understand that we cannot stop time; therefore, we cannot stop our own failure. When people feel like this in regards to a relationship, they may blame themselves for not working to make things better while they still had the chance; they regret letting time get the best of them. The next stanza represents a turn from these emotions: "And from the ballroom floor we are in celebration/One good stretch before our hibernation/Our dreams assured and we all, will sleep well". Listeners imagine a couple dancing happily, perhaps enjoying themselves one last time before facing a big change. The last line of the stanza suggests that perhaps the couple knows that it will have a happy ending after enduring this change. The people in the relationship are strong enough to stand the test of time, both as individuals and as part of a couple. The word "hibernation" conveys the idea of a resting period, which again relates back to seasons and is representative of people's ability to take the time to remove themselves from a situation and return later, refreshed and just as strong as--if not stronger than--before.

Time is an unstoppable force which can be difficult to face but must always be reckoned with. People enduring difficult emotions will find that the same is true of emotion. "Stolen" effectively portrays this commonality between time and human feeling through alluding to seasons and comparing feelings such as failure and relief as they relate to the passage of time. When we have the opportunity to step back and look at something challenging--such as the preservation of a long-term relationship--in terms of things to which we are well-accustomed and able to handle, such as seasons, we have the chance to renew our drive and conquer any difficulties we may face on the path to success.