Song Overview
Song Credits
- Producer: Dan Grech-Marguerat
- Composer: Tom Odell
- Release Date: 2012-10-15
- Genre: Piano Rock, Alternative Rock, Ballad
- Album: Long Way Down (Expanded Edition)
- Instruments: Piano, Drums, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion
- Label: Columbia Records
- Language: English
- Recorded At: RAK Studios, London, England
- Length: ~4:00 (varies by version)
- Mixing Engineer: Cenzo Townshend
- Mastering Engineer: Tony Cousins
- Background Vocals: Max Clilverd, Dan McDougall, Max Goff
Song Meaning and Annotations
“Another Love” by Tom Odell is the kind of track that sits you down gently, hands you a warm drink, and then rips your heart out mid-sip. It isn't a conventional love song, and that’s exactly the point — it’s the aching aftermath, the emotional debris, the shadow of love rather than the thing itself. It's about trying to give your heart to someone new when you know — deep down — that the last person took all of it with them.
Verse 1 & Pre-Chorus
I brought you daffodils in a pretty string
But they won't flower like they did last spring
Odell sets the tone with withering flowers and frozen intentions. This is grief dressed as romance. The metaphor here — daffodils that won’t bloom — cleverly nods to lost renewal and emotional infertility. Love, in this state, isn’t growing. It’s on ice.
I wanna cry and I wanna love
But all my tears have been used up
These lines hit like the sudden realization that you've got nothing left to give. The repetition across the chorus acts like emotional waves — rising and crashing in an endless loop. This isn’t melancholy, it’s exhaustion. Emotional bankruptcy. The heart's been foreclosed.
Verse 2
And if somebody hurts you, I wanna fight
But my hand's been broken one too many times
Now we get a glimpse of the narrator’s inner protector, bruised and disarmed. The metaphor of a broken hand signifies past emotional violence — self-inflicted or otherwise. What’s left is only a voice, and even that’s turning hostile: “I’ll be so fucking rude.” This isn’t gallantry; it’s damage control.
Bridge
I wanna sing a song that'd be just ours
But I sang 'em all to another heart
Oof. That moment when your love songs belong to someone else. The weight of past affections taints any attempt at new beginnings. This is perhaps the song’s cruelest truth — some people get your best poems, and the next never get a chance.
Sonically, “Another Love” builds slowly but deliberately — beginning with intimate piano keystrokes before erupting into a cinematic soundscape. There’s a distinct sense of theatricality, which mirrors the song’s narrative arc — from internal monologue to anguished declaration.
Odell himself described the song as “confusing,” which is fitting. It embodies that muddled feeling of loving with an empty tank — of offering warmth from within a cold, cracked shell. It’s grief that masquerades as a torch song, drenched in reverb and bitter tears.
Similar Songs
- "Skinny Love" – Bon Iver
Like “Another Love,” Bon Iver’s classic whispers through cracked vocals and minimalistic instrumentation. Both songs pull us into a cold cabin of emotional disarray, drenched in past affections. While Bon Iver leans more into indie-folk, the thread of romantic exhaustion connects them profoundly. - "Let It Go" – James Bay
Bay’s sweeping ballad and Odell’s piano confessional share DNA: both are pleas for clarity, sung from the eye of an emotional hurricane. They each tackle the idea of release — not because the love is dead, but because there’s no room left to hold it. - "Unsteady" – X Ambassadors
This one dives deeper into familial grief, but thematically resonates with Odell’s emotional depletion. The musical swells and lyrical repetition create a similar rollercoaster of vulnerability and catharsis.
Questions and Answers
- What is the main message of "Another Love"?
- The song explores the inability to offer new love when emotional resources are depleted from past heartbreak. It’s about being present physically, but absent emotionally.
- Why does Tom Odell repeat the chorus so many times?
- The repetition mirrors obsessive thoughts — that loop of grief and frustration when trying to move on. It reinforces the emotional paralysis the singer feels.
- Is "Another Love" autobiographical?
- Yes. Odell has said the song was written to someone he wanted to be with, trying to explain why he couldn’t be fully there. It's a raw confession disguised as a pop single.
- Why is the line "But I sang 'em all to another heart" so impactful?
- It encapsulates the finality of giving away parts of yourself that you can’t retrieve. It’s devastating because it shows the past still owns the best parts of him.
- What genre is "Another Love"?
- It's primarily alternative rock with strong influences from piano ballads and adult alternative. Its minimalist beginning evolves into an emotional crescendo typical of indie rock epics.
Fan and Media Reactions
“This song still hits like a truck, even after a decade.” — @AriaBlues
“He wrote the anthem for those who tried again… and again… and just couldn’t anymore.” — @melancholydia
“Every time I think I’ve outgrown this song, I come back. And it wrecks me. Again.” — @deepfidelity
“The way the chorus builds? That’s what heartbreak feels like in surround sound.” — @tonightwesuffer
“This isn’t just a breakup song. It’s what you play when you’ve been emotionally bankrupted.” — @feelingsarchive
Critics and fans alike often call this Odell’s most resonant work — a song that ages, but never dulls. Whether on a breakup playlist or echoing through a cinema trailer, “Another Love” remains an anthem of beautiful emotional depletion.
Tom Odell - Another Love
If you are a bit handy with your keys/strings,
you will find it is pretty easy to play the intro/vocal melody while playing the chords.
Give it a try!
(hold): Hold for two extra bars.
INTRO
|---------------------0-------------1---1---0-------------------------------------------|
|-----1-------1---3---1---1-----1---1---1---1---1-----1---3---0----0---0-----0---1------|
|-----2-------2-------0---0-----0---2---2---2---2-----2---2---0----0---0-----0---0---0--|
|-----2-------2----------------------------------------------------2---2-----2---2------|
|-0-------0-----------3------3--------------0------0----------------------2-------------|
|-----------------3-----------------1------------------------------0--------------------|
|---------------------0-------------1---1---0-------------------------------------------|
|-----1-------1---3---1---1-----1---1---1---1---1-----1---3---0----0---0-----0---1------|
|-----2-------2-------2---2-----2---2---2---2---2-----2---2---0----0---0-----0---0---0--|
|-----3-------3----------------------------------------------------2---2-----2---2------|
|---------3-----------0------0--------------0------0----------------------2-------------|
|-1---------------3-----------------1------------------------------0--------------------|
FILL
|-----------------------------------------------|
|------1------1------------1------1-------------|
|------2------2------------2------2-------------|
|----3------3------3-----3------3------3--------|
|---------3------3------------3------3----------|
|-1-------------------1-------------------------|
Intro
C
Em C Em
Bm C
Em C Em
Bm C (hold)
Em C Em
I wanna take you somewhere so you know I care,
Bm C
but it's so cold and I don't know where
Em C Em
I brought you daffodils, on a pretty string,
Bm C (hold)
but they won't flower like they did last spring
Em C Em
And I wanna kiss you, make you feel alright,
Bm C
but I'm just so tired to share my nights
Em C Em
I wanna cry and I wanna love
Bm C (hold)
But all my tears have been used up
G Em
On another love, another love
Bm C
All my tears have been used up,
G Em
on another love, another love
Bm C
All my tears have been used up,
G Em
on another love, another love
Bm C G
All my tears have been used uuuhuuuhuuup
Em Bm C
Ooohoooh
Em C Em
Bm C
Em C Em
Bm C (hold)
Em C Em
And if somebody hurts you yeah I wanna fight,
Bm C
but my hands been broken one too many times
Em C Em
So I use my voice, Ill be so f**king rude
Bm C
Words they always win, but I know Ill lose
Em C Em
And Id sing a song that would be just ours,
Bm C
but I sang them all to another heart
Em C Em
And I wanna cry I wanna learn to love,
Bm C
but all my tears have been used up
G Em
On another love, another love
Bm C
All my tears have been used up,
G Em
on another love, another love
Bm C
All my tears have been used up,
G Em
on another love, another love
Bm C G
All my tears have been used uuuhuuuhuuup ah
Em Bm C
Ooohoooh
Em C Em
Bm C
Em C Em
Bm C
Em C Em
I wanna sing a song that would be just ours,
Bm C
but I sang them all to another heart
Em C Em
And I wanna cry I wanna fall in love,
Bm C
but all my tears have been used up
G Em
On another love, another love
Bm C
All my tears have been used up,
G Em
on another love, another love
Bm C
All my tears have been used up,
G Em
on another love, another love
Bm C G
All my tears have been used uuuhuuuhuuup
Em Bm
Ooohoooh
That's all.
Best,
Jacob Time-Traveler
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