“White Flag” – Dido

I know you think that I shouldn’t still love you,
Or tell you that.
But if I didn’t say it, well I’d still have felt it
where’s the sense in that?

I promise I’m not trying to make your life harder
or return to where we were

I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love and always will be

I know I left too much mess and
destruction to come back again
And I caused nothing but trouble
I understand if you can’t talk to me again
and if you live by the rules of “it’s over”
then I’m sure that that makes sense

I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love and always will be

And when we meet

Which I’m sure we will
All that was there
Will be there still
I’ll let it pass
And hold my tongue
And you will think
That I’ve moved on….

I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love and always will be

I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love and always will be

I will go down with this ship
And I won’t put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door

I’m in love and always will be.

———————————————

White Flag (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“White Flag” is a song by English singer-songwriter Dido, released as the lead single from her second album Life for Rent on 1 September 2003. “White Flag” is the biggest hit of Dido’s career. It is considered one of her signature songs, and helped Life for Rent sell over ten million copies worldwide. The song was nominated for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 46th Grammy Awards, but lost to Christina Aguilera‘s “Beautiful“. It won the Best British Single at the 2004 Brit Awards. The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn features actor David Boreanaz as Dido’s love interest. The song ranked on Blender’s list “The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born” at number 317. The single fared very well on the charts around the world, peaking at number one in Australia,Austria, Germany, Italy, and Norway; number two on the Irish Singles Chart, and number 18 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song reached number two in the UK being kept off the top spot by the UK top selling single of the year, “Where Is the Love?“. The song was used in several TV series, Smallville, The Inbetweeners, Medium, The Sopranos, Tru Calling, Cold Case, Winners And Losers , and film Perfect Stranger.

Carly Rae Jepsen performed a cover version of the song on Canadian Idol.

Background and composition

“White Flag” was written and produced by Dido, Rollo Armstrong and Rick Nowels. In the song, the protagonist is unwilling to give up, even if they know their relationship is over. In a battle, a white flag signals surrender. By stating there will be “No white flag,” she indicates she will not give up on the relationship and that she intends to fight until the bitter end, and that she will not give up on her relationship with her partner. Dido wrote the song about a past relationship, but later said that she initially regretted writing it because it caused more problems with the person involved. However, she has said that she now likes to perform the song.

“White Flag” begins with a lone synth-chord reminiscent of Sinéad O’Connor‘s “Nothing Compares 2 U“. It features “multi-layered” sound, delicate piano outro, and strings. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, it is written in the key of D minor and Dido’s vocals range from the low note of A3 to the high note of C5.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale.

The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and request for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize surrender, since it is often the weaker military party which requests negotiation. A white flag signifies to all that an approaching negotiator is unarmed, with intent to surrender or a desire to communicate. Persons carrying or waving a white flag are not to be fired upon, nor are they allowed to open fire. The use of the flag to surrender is included in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907.

The improper use of a white flag is forbidden by the rules of war and constitutes a war crime of perfidy. There have been numerous reported cases of such behavior in conflicts, such as fighters using white flags as a ruse to approach and attack enemies, or killings of fighters attempting to surrender by carrying white flags.

Origin

The first mention of the usage of white flags to surrender is made during the Eastern Han dynasty (A.D 25–220). In the Roman Empire, the historian Cornelius Tacitus mentions a white flag of surrender in A.D. 109. Before that time, Roman armies would surrender by holding their shields above their heads. The white flag was widely used in the Middle Ages in Western Europe to indicate an intent to surrender. The color white was used generally to indicate a person was exempt from combat; heralds bore white wands, prisoners or hostages captured in battle would attach a piece of white paper to their hat or helmet, and garrisons that had surrendered and been promised safe passage would carry white batons.

Its use may have expanded across continents, e.g. Portuguese chronicler Gaspar Correia (writing in the 1550s), claims that in 1502, an Indian prince, the Zamorin of Calicut, dispatched negotiators bearing a “white cloth tied to a stick”, “as a sign of peace”, to his enemy Vasco da Gama.In 1625, Hugo Grotius in De jure belli ac pacis (On the Law of War and Peace), one of the foundational texts in international law, recognized the white flag as a “sign, to which use has given a signification;” it was “a tacit sign of demanding a parley, and shall be as obligatory, as if expressed by words.”

 

“People think a soul mate is your perfect fit and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you’ll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave. A soul mate’s purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master…”  ―Elizabeth Gilbert

 

There is a saying that I’ve heard a very long time ago and it goes something like this – “If you really want to be a good friend to someone, you need to leave them as being a better person than when you first met them.” A true friend will not stand by and watch you endorse your faults; rather, he/she will try to knock some sense into your head. He/She will literally shake you up till you realize what the course of your life ought to be; they will show you how you can improve your own life and all the lives of those that cross your path and whose lives you touch – whether for the better or the worse. A soul-mate might give you the impression that they are “moving on” with their lives – but it is often a clever tactic that is used by them to make other people realize that they ought not to take their loved ones for granted; that they ought to realize that they have a true friend before such an occurrence becomes part of the past tense.

Each one of us – at some time or another in our lives – finds such a soul-mate who will – figuratively speaking – slam our heads against the wall (if “push comes to shove”) because they truly believe that we have great potential but that we are wasting everyone’s time by not using that potential – of becoming better people – to its fullest extent. A true soul-mate is very difficult to accept and love unconditionally: they are the mirrors into our soul; they can see into the very core of our being with the utmost clarity and honesty.

 

Most people tend to share a “love-hate relationship” with their soul-mates. However, if they ever took the time to sit back and give their whole personal relationship a lot of deep

and constructive thought, they’d realize soon enough that they loved their soul-mate much, much more than they ever hated them. In that feeling of LOVE is the ultimate truth of the situation at hand – the truth that you ought to pursue till the bitter end – if it ever comes to that!

 

Let me give you all some consolation – your soul-mate NEVER really walks out on you and on the relationship that you both share; sometimes, the  sad fact remains that certain people need their ‘systems’ to be given a rude shock and an unpleasant jolt before reality sets in – sometimes, a stinging slap to the face is much more constructive than a hug or kiss can ever be.

 

Your soul-mate is your LIGHTHOUSE –YOUR ‘EVERGREEN BEACON OF GOOD HOPE’. He/she has the innate ability to bring to shore and safety many a lost and abandoned soul from many a stormy and raging sea. The Lighthouse is – believe it or not – your Guardian Angel sent down to you from the Heavens above. If you have such a Guardian Angel in your life, then you ought to know that that person never stopped believing in your worth and potential to be a much better than what you already are. Be grateful for his/her presence in your life.

 

The truth is that YOUR LIGHTHOUSE NEVER GIVES UP ON YOU – NOT REALLY. WHAT IS SO SAD IS THAT MOST PEOPLE TEND TO GIVE UP ON THE LIGHTHOUSE. SOMETIMES IT WOULD BE SO GRATIFYING IF THE KIND FAVOR WAS RETURNED TO THAT LIGHTHOUSE ONCE IN A WHILE, DON’T YOU THINK SO? It may surprise you to know that the Lighthouse needs you, as much as you need him/her.

 

YOUR LIGHTHOUSE IS NOT ABOUT TO WALK OUT ON YOU – NOT NOW OR EVER. He/she will, however, wait for YOU to make the first move. Even if that wait extends to many – seemingly unforgiving – years of silence, may it console you to know that the warmth of LOVE, the goodness of FRIENDSHIP and the evergreen nature of the benevolence of FORGIVENESS wait at the end of it.

 

It is only the people who YOU love (and those who love you in return) who have the ability to hurt YOU and make YOU cry. They can – and will – make you cry, only when they consider it as being absolutely necessary to do so and with best interests of everyone in mind, in the longer run.

 

If you didn’t love that person, in the first place, how did they ever manage to hurt you? How did they manage to make you cry?

Just think about it.

 

I have a very good piece of advice for you all – when I am furious with someone, I first allow myself sufficient time to calm down and cool my raging emotions. I then allow myself to sit back and think – “Do I love this individual much more than I am angry with them? I’m sure that you already know the answer: MY LOVE FOR THAT PERSON WINS OUT EVERY SINGLE TIME after such an occurrence. It has helped me save many a good   personal relationship in my life – you would do very well to do the same!

 

“I will go down with this ship
and I won’t put my hands up and surrender.
There will be no white flag above my door
I’m in love and always will be!” 

It is often said a captain of a sinking ship will go down with it, because he is totally loyal to it, and in charge to the very last.
A white flag has been used in combat situations for many years when a soldier or an entire platoon want to tell the enemy to stop attacking them because they wish to give themselves up (surrender.)
The last line confirms that the protagonist will not give up on the person who she truly loves.

 

What is left to say that has not already been said and overtly expressed in actions and gestures? Just this – “I love you and always will. I will drown with the sinking ship if I have to, but I will never give up on my love for you!

 

LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING and the fact is that God DOES Move in Mysterious Ways!

 

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