This is my all-time favourite Katie Melua song.

I love the arrangement after her first verse, and the way she sings "we went so far, we flew so high
, now it’s not easy to watch it die, to just let go". Such sorrow expressed through her singing. It's great!

Video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iOIZRu1G1As

Lyrics:
It’s only pain

It only hurts

I’m only down on the floor

Where I’ve been before

And I’ll be here again

Though it hurts to lose you

It’s only pain



We went so far

We flew so high

Now it’s not easy to watch it die

To just let go

And not ask the reason why

But it don’t matter anymore

Chorus:


It’s only pain

It only hurts

I’m only down on the floor

Where I’ve been before

And I’ll be here again

Though it hurts to lose you

It’s only pain



It’s not my style

It’s not my way

To see the future in shades of grey

Though I still

Can’t bring myself to say

That you don’t matter anymore

<Chorus>

It’s only pain

It’s only pain




Written by Mike Batt

Published by Dramatico / Sony ATV Music

From the single 'It's Only Pain'

Released on September 11, 2006 from the album Piece by Piece: Special Edition.

I am in agreement with you. It is also one of my favourites and I think the video is beautifully done. I think it is a track that is completely under rated and I always felt it should have done a lot better than it did.

The song has been performed live on 5th October 2006 in the NDR Foyer Hamburg in occasion of a little radio concert. As soon as I can I will upload it in *wav format, if no one minds.

Some more performances of "It's Only Pain".

Heaven & Earth (October 9, 2006)


Max and Catherine (October 10, 2006)


There's also an interview where she mentions acting in the music video versuses acting in films, but it's not worth listing here.

The 'It's Only Pain' video is one of my favourites.
The fragment:.."that you don't matter anymore..' is amazing...

Beautiful song indeed... I underrated it in my ranking but I love it more and more as I listen to it, it just takes a little time, probably because of the very beginning which might be said "unconventionnal".
It's shame I can't see the videos right now

I have to say 'It Is Only Pain' is not one of my favourite songs of Katie.

But there is one little tiny fact I really appreciate around this tune: On the PbP Special Edition CD - when 'I Do Believe In Love' with Katies wonderful sweet '... yoooouuuuuuuuuuu' ends and at the next track she gegins to sing 'It's Only Pain ....' with a changed, smokey voice WOW! If I think about this part I got goose bumps

Maybe I have to stop playing the CD randomly to find this But whatever the previous song is there's the change of voice... I will check if it's better with IDBIL

I love the song too, especially the video is amazing. and rememeber, we did bring that song on No4. in the Radio Regenbogen Listener Charts.

For me, this song is one of the most underrated songs from Katie. It has so much power in the lyrics and the way Katie sings that song is just breathtaking.

This track grows on you the more you hear it. The video is quite good once you get around the concept and all. I definetly would like to see KaTie do more songs in this style.

It's the song I heard most times of all Katie songs so far. The reason however is also that I had an MC player in my car until one year ago, and I had to fade out the song at the end of side A, and so I started it again at the beginning of side B. In this way everytime when I heard "Piece by Piece" in car, I heard "It's only Pain" two times.
I love it a lot, and if I hadn't been already a huge Katie fan when the second album was released, I would have become it by hearing that song.

The title in my eyes is a bit confusing because it describes a moment or a period of sorrow but it's not the main message of the song. The main message is positive, and it's here:




It's a song about losing but also about loosening.

It's not so sophisticated musically, it's one of those melodious uptempos I like a lot. Comparing it to a wine it reminds me of dark spanish wines like Rioja, with some bittersweet flavour.

This is the recording I mentioned above:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/5f2735/

Fantastic song
I used to listen it all days long for about a week
Just love it, maybe because of a video clip where Katie dressed different

Great song, just like the rest

There should have been more time between the single release and the special edition of PBP, then it could be a number 1 hit.

I love this song, and I have always loved the video. Definitely one of my favourite songs.

I adore the dress that she wears in the video, and to be honest I love her makeup too - It's so different and unusual, I just love it

is it caused by your gothic past?

We do NOT mention that! But maybe

This reminds me of another song of hers though . Maybe she said that, but for me it's not the central (or final) message of the song. The song does not end with "pleasure" but with "no matter anymore". Positivity or negativity of the song has been discussed a lot in the past without ever come to a conclusion.

Great song indeed. This was the first time I saw Katie playing live.
There was only a small audience (15 persons) so it was super seeing her singing that short distance in front of us

Yes, that's the line that get's me too. How her voice breaks as she sings it, I don't mind admitting it brings tears to my eyes even now just thinking about it!

Can anybody explain what the video means, who the 'real' Katie is watching?

I explained my interpretation of it on Meluniverse, I'll try to put it here too.

I see it as what is on stage is inside Katie's mind in the video. The dancers fading in and out are her other emotions, which she is trying to mask her pain with (represented by the made-up Katie on stage). Like she is washing over her pain trying to hide it and pretend it's not there. Saying that it doesn't matter. She is watching, on stage, her emotions.
When the line "doesn't matter anymore" comes, the dancers become stronger, like she is letting her pain hide.

Then, when the Katie watching starts to sing the lyrics, this is like her letting the pain show through unwillingly. She is singing the lyrics, and the dancers get weaker. She is allowing the pain to come.

Then at the end when the made-up Katie comes offstage to hug Katie, and the "real" Katie disappears, that is like her pain completely taking over and her allowing it to, allowing it to sweep over her. The last line "It's Only Pain", to me, shows that she is thinking that it is pain, and it does hurt, but that it's okay because it is only pain, and that's all. And it's okay to feel that way.

My explanation on Meluniverse was better, but I think that that is okay

Thank you for taking the time to explain that again. What you say makes sense and I can understand the role of the ballet dancers now, and how the anguished katie on the stage fades in and out as her emotions fight with each other. It seems though that pain wins in the end, which is a pretty depessing message.
But if this is so, why is the title 'It's Only Pain'? Is this a kind of 'pull yourself together' attitude because that doesn't really fit the video interpretation?
Still a bit confused but loving it more and more!

I like your explanation but I don't know whether agree or not. One reason for that, besides, is also that I'm always (generally) wondering if we aren't interpreting much more than is the intention of who wrote a song.

In my eyes "It's Only Pain" is not actually the last line, it's the last line of the chorus which is repeated the whole song, but the mere song for me ends with:



There is a future mentioned which could be without shades of grey if she only managed bringing herself to say...

In my eyes the stage and what happens there is the past and the "normal" Katie is the presence. The fallen chair she picks up at the beginning of the clip could be a symbol for trying to work off the past.

Anyway, your interpretation of "only" is very interesting!

I think that the song ends with pleasure, as she realises that It's Only Pain. I like your interpretation though, it makes sense too See, this is why Katie doesn't say what she wrote them about - I like interpreting them in my own way, as other people do

For me the video also shows, how great actor Katie is. How she plays with that emotions.

@Naomi, Great interpretation. Makes a lot of Sense

I'm a little bit sad, that Katie doesn't play that song on her ongoing tour.