“Line Without a Hook” by Ricky Montgomery
Ricky Montgomery’s “Line Without a Hook” is a rather-complicated love song of the ‘I want you back’ variety. For on top of being highly-metaphorical, it is not simply the case of a man lamenting over a love lost in the traditional sorry fashion. But the singer also does a fair amount of introspective analysis. And it becomes pretty obvious via the lyrics that he understands that he has self-esteem issues which are affecting his romance. That is to say that he sounds like a dude who is well aware that he has found a special lady alright.
But his aforementioned wanting self-image makes him feel as if he is not good enough for her. Indeed the title of this track points to the fact that he perceives himself as a man still in development, who may not be quite ready to handle the love of a woman. And this is manifest in the reality that even though he cares for her deeply, he has said things to her which have perhaps permanently damaged their relationship.
Writing and Release of “Line Without a Hook”
This song was written by Ricky Montgomery, an artist who is originally from L.A. And the other co-writer is Jon Heisserer.
The official release date of “Line Without a Hook” was on 8 April 2016. It is one of tracks featured on Ricky Montgomery’s debut album, which itself is entitled Montgomery Ricky.
Who really is Ricky Montgomery?
He is an American singer who first earned popularity on the now-defunct app, Vine, gaining at least 180,000 followers before the app discontinued in 2016. He is best noted for his 2016 hit tracks namely:
- Line Without a Hook
- Mr. Loverman
- This December
He grew up with his father, a gaffer and his mother a teacher, along with his sister. At age 14, he moved together with his mother to St.Louis where he started playing with bands around the West St. Louis County. Some of the bands he released songs with include Henry On The Run, Carpathia, and Adversary In Arms.
In 2014, he released his first EP titled Caught On The Moon. The EP was later extended into his first full album titled Montgomery Ricky. He released his second album The Honeysticks in 2018 and a single titled Cars in 2020.
On the Vine app, he shared video collaborations with popular Vine stars including Will McFadden and J. Cyrus. Some of his most popular Vines were captioned “This Vine is Rated R for Foul Language and Bad Hair” and “World’s Worst Friend Gets a Phone Call”. Rick has gone on to build a large following of about 90,000 people on his Instagram page, and more than 471,000 TikTok followers as at the time of this writing.
According to the Lyrics of “Line Without a Hook”, Ricky implies his self esteem issues is affecting his relationship. Can self-esteem issues really affect a romantic union?
Yes! There is no doubt that the basis of every relationship, including romantic relationships is the one you first have with yourself. Most often we relate to people based on our personal sense of ourselves, and the value we place on ourselves. Self-esteem plays a major role in each relationship and can definitely affect romantic affairs either positively or negatively.
People with healthy self-esteem generally tend to feel positive about their abilities and approach life in a more optimistic manner. They are able to for instance translate this into their relationships hence maintaining the romantic bliss. Having a better image of oneself also means that they can easily enjoy and improve on their sex life, resolve conflicts clearly, support and understand each other in the pursuit of their unique goals.
On the other hand, a person with self esteem issues such as low self-esteem, self-doubt, body dysmorphia, perfectionism among others will not enjoy their romantic relationship as much due to the psychological barriers they may have placed on themselves. Persons with negative self esteem at times try too hard to protect their relationships because they view it as their entire world. Due to this they end up backing down easily, asking for forgiveness and taking responsibility when they shouldn’t. Partners might also find their chronic indecisiveness and self-defeat in the face of difficult situations repulsive.
hello! I have a small quetion! Is this song about a transgender man in a couple but is insecure that he does not have manly features? Because when I lisen to this song that’s what I understand please help thanks!
Hi! I Just Stumbled Upon This Article And Saw Your Comment. What I Can Say About Your Question It’s Whatever You Want The Meaning To Be. 🙂 Since The Meaning Is Debated All Across The Internet It’s Basically Anything You Want To Be, I Don’t Know If The Song Has A Meaning At All So That’s What I Got.
I don’t believe it does. The song is full of things that aren’t actually literal, but I believe what it’s talking about is he feels that he’s not mentally a man, meaning he’s insecure and has a hard time with his emotions. I think the whole song is him debating whether his love for someone outweighs the pain he is in from the relationship with whom he loves.
oh that’s such a cool interpretation!!! i love it omg
No
The song is simple, u misinterpreted it, its about a boy who is not confident about himself, “A line without a hook” means he can’t bring back or cannot get the women she has a crush on. “She’s a lady and I’m just a boy” means he’s who is not confident to talk to a women because he is not a man, just a BOY.
This is better
What u said seems like more appropriate meaning of the song……well said
You nailed it bro THANK YOU WITH THAT.
Personally, I think of it as a man ( possibly transgender ) who is insecure of himself, especially mentally and that is why the line “she’s a, she’s a lady, and I am just a boy” refers to a woman who is clearly mature, but he believes he still acts much like a child, therefore leading to low self esteem where he finds himself believing she is too good for him.
We have the same interpretation.hes having insecurities seeing he’s man singing”she’s a she’s a lady” cause his not
Wth no! Stop that bs
why you gotta be transphobic like
Bruh, he isn’t being transphobic. It’s just kinda stupid what this guy asked. Ricky Montgomery is literally a boy, it seems this was written as a true story so.
bro i hear what your saying but you worded that wrong. trans men are still “boys.” the right term is cisgender (gender assigned from birth) so “Ricky Montgomery is literally cisgender” or “cis” just so you dont offend anyone in the future!
It’s the first time I heard about this song 2 hours ago and I’ve been playing it in a loop. For me, the song speaks about an intense emotion towards someone which transcends the very reason of loving (as we know it). The person portrayed in the song finds love but can’t contain such emotion. A feeling that is a mix of serenity and chaos as observed in the line “Oh, all my emotions
Feel like explosions when you are around” making it clear that he was having a hard time understanding and even embracing how he feels. There are also traces of passion (physical) towards the person but he’s trying to control himself, thinking he might instill pain instead. The line “Was it something I said to make you feel like a burden” points out that he blames the person he loves for the way he is feeling. However, they don’t have a “lable” as supported by the line “Guess there is something, there is nothing, there is nothing in between”. Ultimately the singer decided to end whatever they “might” have and he thought it was his win as supported by “I said no (I said no), I said no (I said no)
Listen close, it’s a no
The wind is a-pounding on my back
And I found hope in a heart attack
Oh at last, it is past
Now I’ve got it, and you can’t have it” but then it backfired when he realized that he really felt a strong attraction as well as connection with that person but it’s too late, he already put the person in pain, making what the possibility of something into nothing. And it haunts him… as he tries to convince himself that he did what he thought to be best he was rather confronted with self-blame as supported by “Darling, when I’m fast asleep
I’ve seen this person watching me
Saying, “Is it worth it? Is it worth it? Tell me, is it worth it?”
Ultimately it can be interpreted as a song of regret but the cause is not a usual case as the person battled his inner self and now he is trying to calm his own weakness, even convincing himself that they are not really meant for each other, which the line “She’s a, she’s a lady, and I am just a boy”
He’s singing, “She’s a, she’s a lady, and I am just a line without a hook” suggest.
that was funny lol
For me its all about this lady before she commit suicide she just talking to this guy who is a true villain. He betrayed her just to steal everything from her. This girl is naive and innocent. SHe falls inlove but all of them betrayed her. She died that day when she jumped and let all her powers scattered all over that place. I guess i imagination so wide.
This song just reminds me of My Own Private Idaho for some reason idk why
does anyone know if this song is about the movie “The Road Within”? i saw a tiktok a few months ago mentioning it, and just got to watching the movie, and it seems like the song is about the movie. (spoilers to the movie!) in the movie, there are 3 main characters (vincent, alex, and marie). marie, vincent’s love interest, has anorexia and has a heart attack in the end. alex seems to like vincent, so does the “found hope in a heart attack” reference marie having a heart attack, and alex having a chance with vincent?
my interpretation of this song is that a man was unable to protect his lover from being r*ped and she ends up killing herself and he feels very guilty.
OMG this is what I think of too!
yo hold up how can you come up with that conclusion
She drowns herself or somehow kills herself with water. “Oh and if I could take it all back I swear that I would PULL YOU FROM THE TIDE” ( not trying to be ride with caps btw, just trying to show what part of the line hints at a water-related suicide.
Yeah and it also says “I broke all my bones that day I found you, crying at the lake.
Was it something I said to make you feel like you’re a burden?” so it hints at a water suicide.
This is totally what I thought when I heard it, and I was like god DAMN this song is dark but then I googled it and apparently not many others think this??
Many People believe this song to be about someone standing up for a Transgender Woman. The following lyrics: “Shes a, Shes a Lady.” Is on standing up for her. “I am just a Boy.” Many people believe is her responding in a Negative point of View. Another time of this lyric when it changed: “…,And I am just a Line without a Hook.” Which is again, her talking in a negative point of view that she does not have the features of a woman. What do you think? I personally don’t believe this and don’t really understand the plot!
I imagine jack singing this to rose
Si je devais donner un avis, je pense que cette musique est faite pour que chacun puisse donner sa propre explication, la plupart des phrases sont vagues ce qui fait que suivant la personne ce sera interprété de différente manières. Pour ma part je vois un amour impossible, il veut une relation avec elle mais ne trouve pas ce déclic qui le permettrai. Qu’en pensez-vous ? (et pardon pour les fautes)
Is this song really related with lgbtq ?
You may rest in peace
I feel like this song is about a boy who notices that his girlfriend is losing interest in him, “Line without a hook” in terms of dating can mean that the person is incapable of holding her lover, he can see that she’s losing interest in him but he can’t do anything about it. He knows that the girl in questioning the relationship, “Is it worth it?”, he is desperate for her. “Was it something I said to make you feel like you’re a burden?” He’s asking if it’s something that he did which made her lose interest in him, “Oh, and if I could take it all back, I swear that I would pull you from the tide” He says that he would do anything and everything to save the relationship. “And I found hope in a heart attack, Oh at last, it is past, Now I’ve got it, and you can’t have it” I think this is the point where he said that he took all the pain and let her go….
i always felt like this was a song about a lover going through depression, possibly k*lling herself and the singer is talking about it. the “is it worth it, tell me is it worth it” part is the s/o questioning if she should stay alive and asking if she should even try. the “i am a wreck when i’m without you, i need you here to stay” could mean that the girl passed away. “broke all my bones that day i found you crying at the lake” is more to indicate that his s/o had issues. there’s more but it’d be a long comment
i’ve always seen this as a queer man who’s in love with another man, and they have a complicated relationship where they aren’t really together, and he’s insecure about another woman who is in love with the second man.? idk if i explained it well but this song feels undeniably queer to me
Hey that actually makes a lot of sense, thanks for sharing
SAME!!!! I DO FEEL THAT!!
woah, that really does make a lot of sense
I love this song at first, because it felt like such a good tune to hear… i got to listening to this over and over for a couple of weeks… but something in my relationship feels like it’s starting to shift… i realized that i have molded into something that rather pleases him more for the sake to patch up his insecurities. While he’s quite the timid nd self reserved person, im the opposite— and i loved my curiosity to meet new people and always in the mingle… soon he found out he didn’t like it too much. Now he’s more insecure than before, and I’m feeling like in slowly succumbing into a shell for him to keep me in his pocket, i feel… caged? But im in love with him, I’d tell him there’s nothing for me to leave him for— he’s fantastic in his way too but there’s a line in the song… when i heard it once more it hit me differently now. It’s a sad song for me now, smthg i used to love hear happily now gets me to quiet tears. This song encompasses our relationship now, id like him to know, i wish i would let him know… but with that, in some way, would somehow severe our relationship badly. I feel like the girl crying at the lake, and he’d never forgive himself knowing what he unconsciously did to me.
i need your help guys someone asked me if i listen to ricky montgomery, i said yes and line without a hook is my favorite,then they asked “what if there is?” what’s the meaning of that?
he’s my crush btw so im very curious lol
Their asking about what would happen if the line had a hook?
i thought that the line, “she’s a, she’s a lady and I am just a boy” was pertaining to a mature woman and a not-a-mature or undeveloped man who’s not ready for a relationship. where most of the lyrics are about doubting himself due to lack of self-esteem. but then it shows that even he doubts himself handling a relationship he still wants to feel loved by his lover to the point that he is being unsure of himself and desperate for his lady.
idk
I’ve been hearing this as a man with self esteem issues, depression and I’d guess anxiety is talking about how the way they treat themselves is affecting his relationship with his partner (my mind goes to lgbtq with the op line of not caring if they touch and be affectionate when they are alone), cuz they don’t want to see him hurting himself and it’s putting a wedge between them and they are starting to pull away. Or at least struggling. eg. The line about if he didn’t hurt himself would they love him more.
The line ” cause there is something and there is nothing, there is nothing in between” does this imply that the relationship has no vision and it started off great in first place then suddenly the interest fades?
I personally thought this was a guy sing about a trans girl he fell for and stating to transphobes that ” she’s a, she a lady”
It reminds me of the zodiac cancer.
In my opinion, this is what the song is about, but of course it is up to interpretation: (note I’m going to skip over lines that have almost very literally meaning) In short, it is falling out of a relationship because he has romantic feelings for a girl, but not sexual. He starts with: “I don’t really give a damn about the way you touch me, when we’re alone”. In my mind this means he doesn’t care for sex, and “you can hold my hand if no one is home” is he’s only willing to do very little. He believes that she is only in the relationship for sex with “if I went and hurt my body, baby, would you love me the same?”. Now imagine saying all of that to your partner, word for word. How would that make them feel if they really were only in it for that. Save that thought for later. His bones coming back are the strength for him to get back in to the relationship. “You’re a pond and I’m an ocean” could be the weight of emotion that each feel, or the complexity. The curse could be the way he feels when he is without her. I broke all my bones that day I found you is again a reference to the strength or willingness he has for the relationship. After he told her those things about sex, she went to the lake to cry about it, and afterwards, when finding her, he lost the strength of the relationship. Again think back to saying the opening to your partner (was it something I said to make you feel like you’re a burden) And if he could take it all back he would pull her from the tide. This is referring to he is a line without a hook. Without a hook, it is hard to pull something from a tide, and he is willing to put that hook on (that hook being sex) if it means he can get back with her. “The wind is a pounding on my back and I found hope in a heart attack” is a reference to how he found a realization in a heart break (or attack) that sometimes you have to make sacrifices for love. This is we’re I’m most concerned about it, because with the “and you can’t have it”, but I digress. (Skip over refrain) “Darling when I’m fast asleep I hear this person watching me saying is it worth it?” This is looking in himself asking whether or not it will actually be worth it. I’m not sure about “guess there is something” though “singing”, but saying she’s a lady and I’m a boy is that she has sexual emotions, like adults do, whereas kids tend to have actual feelings of love as they don’t process sexual feelings as much. And after he says she is a lady again, he goes to “A Line Without a Hook”, because in his eyes, he is there, but there is nothing for her to grab onto, thus a hook. When talking to my brother about it, I had to tell him it was a song about fishing to get his attention, and metaphorically, it can be.
This is literally the best interpretation
i feel like the tide refers to uncertainness of the relationship “hence i would pull you from the tide”
I think this song is about a man who really has a low self esteem.
The first verse is like saying he doesn’t really care about skinship because he feels detached, but he still care about what she thinks of him.
Line without a hook, it’s like you are saying you are a man but not completely mature.
She’s a, She’s a lady, meaning she is very mature for him because he thinks of himself as a boy, not a man.
Was it something I’ve said to make you feel like you’re a burden. It’s like saying because of his immaturity and self esteem issues he made the girl feel like it’s her fault, feeling burden for their relationship.
If I could take it all back, I’d swear that I would pull you from the tide. It’s like saying if only he doesn’t have self esteem issues, he could have take the lead in their relationship and take that burden from her.
Everyone saying it’s hinti g a water suicide but earlier in the song he say “you’re a pond and I’m an ocean” maybe implying she’s getting lost in his feeling/ or insecurities making it feel like she’s a burden
I always thought the song was about someone who’s partner comitted suicide
SAME
Em, but i think this is all about a lady who has a secret relationship with one of the employees. And this is the girls POV.
to me it feels like this is about someone in love with another, who they’re not sure if they like them back, but in the way that an observer can see that they do feel the same, but also aren’t sure. they may also be dating but both are unsure if they deserve the other’s love. there’s a lot of stress and mutual pining in this relationship. it could be in the perspective of just one side, or one side mainly singing with the other side adding parts in. either way, they both have self-esteem issues. the main singer would be singing both of these lines: “if I went and hurt my body baby would you love me the same,” “I broke all my bones that day I found you crying at the lake”. the first one is explaining how they have tendencies towards self-harm, and they don’t know if the other will still love them even though they’re broken (I say broken because that’s how the singer feels they are, but s-h doesn’t make you broken). the second one seems to be about the other almost committing s**cide, but not being able to do it and just crying, and that’s how they were when the singer found them (this made the singer die inside for them). the singer goes on to wonder if they had caused them to feel this way. “and if I could take it all back I swear that I would pull you from the tide” is a bit ambiguous about what happened. did they end up k**ling themselves and the singer feels bad for not being able to save them? does the singer feel sad and guilty that they let them get to that point and wished they had noticed something sooner? to me it feels like both and neither are true, as the ‘layers of stories’ nature of this song suggests. “darling when I’m fast asleep I’ve seen this person watching me saying, is it worth it… is it worth it… tell me is it worth it…,” is the singer worrying about them even as they are asleep. “because there is something and there is nothing… there is nothing in between” is their self-doubt about whether this relationship even means something or if the other feels as much for them as they do (either one could be singing this). this also relates to “you’re a pond and I’m an ocean”. “and in my eyes there is a tiny dancer watching over me” is a metaphor for intrusive and self-doubting thoughts and feelings, and feeling like there is someone inside you telling you these things, but also trying to keep you on the right track slightly (I’ve heard this referred to as an ‘inner critic’). “singing she’s a she’s a lady… and I am just a boy” could be about thinking the other will leave them for someone else, but I like to think of it as they’re seeing them as wonderful and amazing and deserving of the entire universe, and feeling like they’re so metaphorically small in comparison. when it switches to “and I am just a line without a hook,” this could be from the other person’s perspective, too, where they’re similarly almost worshipping their partner, but feeling like they are incomplete and possibly undesirable because of it.
I wasn’t sure where to put these parts so they’re just at the end: “oh whoa whoa whoa I said no… I said no… listen close it’s a no” may be the singer trying to convince the other not to k**l themself because they mean too much to them. “the wind is a-pounding on my back and I’ve found hope in a heart attack… oh at last it is past” is from the other’s point of view, having a chest pain and thinking they might finally die, but also being relieved that they didn’t.
… and after all of this, I still can’t figure out what “and I’ve found a way to kill the sound” means.
after listening to this song multiple times, it’s like the guy is having a problem with his mental, after he found he was kinda happy and able to shut the sound in his head =)
i just wanna know what does the, “do you like it when I’m away?” line means 😭😭
it doesn’t really fit with this interpretation, but I always thought of that line as the singer being insecure and wondering if their partner wants them around or would be happier without them. (:
i always thought of that line as the singer feeling insecure and wondering if their partner wants them around or if they would be happier without them
He felt like their separation saved the both of them from pain but in truth, the singer knows how much he is in pain while the person he loves can never answer back.
Is this about a relationship, pregnancy, life, death, and realizations? About a boy, girl, and an unplanned baby in the womb?
i just want to know what does the “mama never really learned to live by herself” line means? please
Someone must have already said this, but creative words mean different things to each hearer. Often, writers want to give expression to what they feel, or what they want to convey, but in a way which is open for others to feel and understand in their __own__ ways. If a writer is asked what their words mean, they might answer, but they run the risk of ruining that work for people who understood it differently and felt connected to it.
That said, has anyone actually gone fishing? Attached a sharp barbed hook to a line? How did it feel? Powerful? Or dangerous? Or cruel? Did someone tell you to not be a child, to stop wondering if this sharp thing was going to hurt another creature? Did it feel like a rite of passage? Someone could write a book about the “boy” not having a “hook” or only being a “line.”
If you look at it another way, the song is full of lines. Popular lines are called hooks. If you read this far down into the comments, something about this song “caught” you. Without directly asking him (and are you sure you want to know?) the writer did something for you, with you or to you with each word and note; would you willingly take away this “hook” to know exactly what he meant?
i was wondering what does the line “if wouldnt hurt my body would you love me the same”
I feel this is a song I can relate to in a way. My own interpretation is that it’s about a toxic relationship. The beginning of the song immediately strikes a few red flags in this regard, speaking of the feelings of not only needing to be around his partner but also feeling helpless and vulnerable to a point where his partner could do anything to him and he wouldn’t protest no matter how many alerts are going off in his head. At this point it seems like he’s scared of his partner, he tells himself he will deny his partner, “Woah woah! I said no!” but he’s either unable to do so or he does and his partner does not listen. He senses his mind telling him this is wrong, but he continues despite what she’s doing to him. It seems like he feels that he is guilty of many wrongdoings, that he deserves to be punished in whatever way his partner should punish him, no matter how painful it is. He feels he is inferior to her, she is this matriarch who should be worshiped and while he’s doing all he can it never seems to be enough, and because he trusts her word so much he does not admit that she is at fault. It’s as if he believes he’s doing this to himself or that he deserves it. There are parts of his brain questioning all of this, but there are also parts trying to reinforce his skewed image of himself and his partner. When you’re trapped in a toxic relationship, the partner often manipulates you and your way of thinking so you end up siding with them after all because of what they have you believe. Your own self image drops to the lowest it can be, while your image of this person is above anything else in the world. At that point you depend on this person for your needs and wants, you have no direction without this person who may raise many red flags in the eyes of any onlookers. It’s insanely difficult to realize you’re the victim of domestic abuse, far more than people give credit for. If this is a correct interpretation, not only does it show what it’s like to feel in this position and not fully be aware that the other person is abusing you, but it also shows that girls can be the abusers too. Men are often stereotyped as the abusers when it comes to relationships, and women the victims. For many people it’s inconceivable for anyone to accept that it is actually the other way around. Men can be victims of assault, abuse, and many more things and often have a much harder time speaking up about it, especially if they truly did not understand what they were subjected to in the moment. Looking back on abuse you didn’t realize was abuse is even harder to explain. And who would believe a man over a woman? It’s a double edged sword in these cases. But anyway this interpretation could be completely off, it’s just sorta how I saw it. Either way it’s a magnificent work of art, especially to have as many different ways of seeing it as I see in these comments. In my opinion, I don’t think there is a “correct” interpretation exactly, it’s about perspective and artists who leave it up to the viewer like that are really, truly talented.
I also thought that the “line without a hook” part was like a symbol. It basically says “hey, I’m here,” and the fish notices that line but won’t take it unless it has a hook. The hook is something new or interesting about that person that that person had to invent or reinvent for the fish to finally notice it. Even if it’s a lie. When he says “I swear that I would pull you from the tide,” means that he’ll do anything over again (including being a new person) to catch the person/fish’s attention again and finally have the strength to protect it (because the tides are scary and he wants to rescue it) and never do any harm again.
(Also I’m mid-mental breakdown rn so if it doesn’t make any sense, I’m sorry)
i did relate this song personally to self harm, taking the lyrics “if i hurt my body baby would you love me the same” like he knows he cant stop himself but he wants the lover to know he still cares about them, and “I can feel all my bones coming back” like he’s healing and getting over his harm. And “I broke all my bones that night i found you” like he got mad at himself for accidentally hurting their emotions so the progress stopped. and “Is it worth it? is it worth it? Tell me, is it worth it?” it like questioning.