Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: goth
Song Meaning of “The End Of The World Is Bigger Than Love” by Jens Lekman
This reflective and heartbreaking song by Jens Lekman opens with a somberly sung line that sets the tone for what is to follow:
“When the world was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, I thought it’d be easy to understand our love.”
The narrator clearly looks back to the time when he was overwhelmed with love for his partner, when it seemed like nothing could still their passionate romance. But now, after whatever has happened between them, he realizes that what seemed so steady is nothing more than a fleeting moment, a memory in the past.
The chorus then pushes this realization further, in the line:
“The end of the world is bigger than love, so what’s the use of loving.”
The narrator mourns the naive and overwhelming love in which they both once basked, but now realizes the tragedy that exists when relationship, or any human connection, shake. The idea of the world, with its tragedies, losses, calamities, and sorrows existing greater than the love that humans experience emphasizes this point.
The song muses on the difficult concept of love being both a strength and a weakness, the harsh reminder that it can indeed end tragically. It also serves as a personal reminder to remain humble and to learn from experiences in love, circumstances which will show the limits of that love.
Ultimately, it is a bittersweet—but also wise and reflective—exploration of what love is or can be, and what the implications of its end can be.