What Goes Around…/…Comes Around Interlude by Justin Timberlake Lyrics Meaning – The Spiraling Karma of a Broken Heart
Lyrics
You know I gave you the world (world)
You had me in the palm of your hand
So why your love went away
I just can’t seem to understand
Thought it was me and you, babe (babe)
Me and you until the end
But I guess I was wrong (uh)
Don’t want to think about it (uh)
Don’t want to talk about it (uh)
I’m just so sick about it
Can’t believe it’s ending this way
Just so confused about it (uh)
Feeling the blues about it (yeah)
I just can’t do without ya
But tell me, is this fair?
Is this the way it’s really going down?
Is this how we say goodbye?
Should have known better when you came around
That you were gonna make me cry
It’s breaking my heart to watch you run around
‘Cause I know that you’re living a lie
But that’s okay, baby, ’cause in time you will find
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around, yeah
Now girl, I remember everything that you claimed
You said that you were moving on now (on now)
And maybe I should do the same (maybe I should do the same)
The funny thing about that is
I was ready to give you my name
Thought it was me and you, baby (baby)
And now it’s all just a shame
And I guess I was wrong, yeah
Don’t want to think about it (no)
Don’t want to talk about it (huh)
I’m just so sick about it
Can’t believe it’s ending this way
Just so confused about it (uh)
Feeling the blues about it (yeah)
I just can’t do without ya can you tell me, is this fair?
Is this the way it’s really going down?
Is this how we say goodbye? (Uh)
Should have known better when you came around
Should have known better that you were gonna make me cry
And now it’s breaking my heart to watch you run around
‘Cause I know that you’re living a lie
But that’s ok, baby, ’cause in time you will find
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around, yeah
What goes around comes around (comes around, comes around)
Yeah
What goes around comes around (comes around, comes around)
You should know that
What goes around comes around (comes around, comes around)
Yeah (yeah)
What goes around comes around (comes around, comes around)
You should know that
Yeah, don’t want to think about it (no)
Don’t want to talk about it (uh)
I’m just so sick about it
Can’t believe it’s ending this way
Just so confused about it (uh)
Feeling the blues about it (yeah)
I just can’t do without ya
Ah, tell me, is this fair?
Is this the way it’s really going down?
Is this how we say goodbye? (Oh)
Should have known better when you came around
Should have known better that you were gonna make me cry
It’s breaking my heart to watch you run around (’cause I know that you’re living a lie)
But that’s ok, baby, ’cause in time you will find
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around
What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around, yeah (yeah babe)
Let me paint this picture for you, baby (yo, yo) (uh)
You spend your nights alone and he never comes home
And every time you call him all you get is a busy tone
I heard you found out
That he’s doing to you what you did to me
Ain’t that the way it goes
When you cheated, girl
My heart bleeded, girl
So it goes without saying that you left me feeling hurt
Just a classic case scenario
Tale as old as time girl, you got what you deserved
And now you want somebody to cure the lonely nights
You wish you had somebody that could come and make it right
But girl, I ain’t somebody with a lot of sympathy
See, see (uh)
(What goes around comes back around)
I thought I told ya, hey (hey)
(What goes around comes back around)
I thought I told ya, hey (hey)
(What goes around comes back around)
I thought I told ya, hey (hey)
(Ha, what goes around comes back around)
I thought I told ya, hey (hey)
Take it to him
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Take it to him
See (hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey)
You should have listened to me, baby
Take it to him
(Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey)
(Hey, hey, hey) Take it to him
(Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey)
Uh
Hey girl
Because what goes around comes back around
Ooh
The enigmatic chiasmus of ‘What Goes Around…Comes Around’ operates not just as a title but as a haunting refrain throughout one of Justin Timberlake’s most celebrated tracks. Released as part of his 2006 album ‘FutureSex/LoveSounds,’ this song delves into the depths of betrayal and the inevitable arc of karma in romantic relationships.
The lush arrangement and Timberlake’s emotive delivery create a seductive yet painful auditory roller coaster, as he serenades listeners through the narrative of love lost and the lessons learned in its aftermath. Examining the song through a kaleidoscope of heartache, poetic justice, and complex human emotion, we uncover the layered truths embedded in this modern anthem of the wronged.
The Heart of Betrayal: A Story Told in C Minor
With resonance that echoes through the hearts of those wronged by love, Timberlake captures the universal truth of suffering at the hands of another’s infidelity. The lyrics serve as a detailed canvas, painting the picture of a lover who gave his all, only to be discarded. The song’s structure mirrors the cyclic nature of karma—building up the sheer emotional investment and its subsequent downfall like a tragic hero’s narrative arc.
As Timberlake croons, ‘You had me in the palm of your hand,’ the listener can almost feel the weight of trust that was granted, and its devastating break. The melodic delivery twists a knife of angst, further drawn out by the interlude’s shift in tone—signaling the shift from heartbreak to karmic resolution.
A Box of Sonic Surprises: Dissecting the Song’s Hidden Gems
Beyond its surface narrative of karmic retribution, there’s a nuanced exploration of emotional stages one undergoes during a breakup. From denial as captured in ‘Don’t want to think about it,’ to bargaining in the lines ‘Feeling the blues about it…I just can’t do without ya,’ Timberlake channels the inner workings of a psyche in turmoil. The song’s crescendo practically pulsates with the growing recognition of the bitter truth.
Another layer unfolds in the production itself; Timberlake and producer Timbaland use a blend of rich instrumentation underlying a hypnotic beat to create pulses that drive the point home. The musical interplay acts as a metaphor, with the rhythmic push-pull mirroring the back-and-forth nature of a tumultuous relationship and the oscillation between pain and acceptance.
Reflections in a Broken Mirror: Memorable Lines that Pierce the Soul
Each line of ‘What Goes Around…/…Comes Around Interlude’ resonates as a shard of broken reality, with certain lyrics embedding themselves into the listener’s consciousness. The repetition of ‘Should have known better that you were gonna make me cry’ implicates not just the betrayer, but also suggests a self-admonishing recognition, a rueful awareness that one might have turned a blind eye to red flags from the start.
The stark contrast between the hopeful ‘I was ready to give you my name’ and the harsh truth of ‘And I guess I was wrong’ capture the crushing reversal of dreams that come with recognizing love’s conclusion. As each syllable vacillates between regret and sobering clarity, the song carves itself into the legacy of love’s sometimes painful canon.
The Pendulum Swings: The Cycle of Despair and Awareness
Not only does Timberlake shine a light on personal agony, but ‘What Goes Around…’ also extends its reach, painting a broader stroke on the canvas of relational justice. The poetic refrain ‘What goes around comes back around’ is both prophecy and paradox, a warning to the heartbreaker that their actions are bound to a universal equilibrium.
The song ushers listeners through a pendulum swing from despair to searing awareness and, ultimately, a stoic embrace of life’s cycles. This internal revolution offers both a sober introspection and a touch of schadenfreude as the betrayer is poised to face their own medicine. It serves a dual function: as a lamentation and as a detached observation of life’s poetic justice.
Echoes of Karma: The Timeless Truths of Justin’s Lament
Justin Timberlake’s ‘What Goes Around…Comes Around Interlude’ transcends its pop boundaries, touching on a concept as ancient as time itself—the boomerang effect of our actions. The title’s premise of karmic retribution isn’t just the crux of the narrative; it’s a thread woven through human storytelling across cultures.
As the track fades out with an almost ominous repetition of the title’s axiom, listeners are left to ponder their own experiences within karma’s embrace. The song’s engaging melancholy acts as a reminder of love’s complications and the immutable laws of cause and effect, often our only consolation as we navigate through love’s uneven terrain.
