Fool (If You Think It's Over)

Chris Rea's 'Fool (If You Think It's Over)' is a song that speaks to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of heartbreak. The lyrics tell the story of someone who has recently experienced the end of a relationship and is feeling the acute pain that often accompanies such a loss. The song's narrator addresses the heartbroken individual, offering both empathy and a hopeful perspective that this ending is not the definitive close of their emotional journey, but rather the beginning of a new chapter.

The song uses the metaphor of a 'dying flame' to represent the end of the relationship and the subsequent feeling of liberation ('You're free again'). The 'pains of seventeens' line suggests that the subject of the song is young, likely a teenager, and that the pain they are feeling, while intense, is part of a larger tapestry of life experiences they will have. The narrator encourages the listener to save their tears for a future day, implying that there will be more significant moments worth crying over as life unfolds.

The chorus, with its repeated line 'Fool if you think it's over,' serves as a reminder that life goes on after heartache. The comparison of 'new born eyes' crying at the first sight of the morning sun is a powerful image that conveys the idea of rebirth and new beginnings. The pain of the first heartbreak is likened to the shock of coming into a new, bright world, suggesting that what feels like an ending is actually the start of something new and full of potential. The offer to 'buy your first good wine' symbolizes the narrator's promise of better experiences to come, and the assurance that the heartbroken will find joy again.