There are 3 parties mentioned in this song, and we should identify these parties in order to make sense of the song. “They tell me your…” line makes reference to 3 parties: They, me and your, which also suggests that he himself is talking to a person and telling that person what other people perceive in that person. This line also rules out the possibility that “you/your” refers to the audience.
The video is nice and seems to match the word, except the line “You tell me don’t lie” suggests that the artist is talking to a person. Prior to that, it seems like he’s using the word “you” in reference to talk to the audience to comfort us if we were having a bad day. Otherwise, how could “you tell me don’t lie” be us telling Daniel Powter that he’s lying?
Having established the parties and points of reference, I will analyse the meaning independent of the video clip. The artist is comforting a person’s sorrows, who seems to be denying his/her own sorrow, hiding it, and denying comfort from other people. He’s trying to make this person admit their sorrow and not bottle it up. “Love” is not mentioned in the whole song, so the relationship between the artist and the person is open to interpretation. It could be a best mate, it could be a girlfriend.
“They tell me your blue skies fade to grey They tell me your passion’s gone away And I don’t need no carryin’ on” The artist is telling a person that people notice he/she is feeling sad, and that he doesn’t need to continue repeating this because it’s evident.
“You’re faking a smile with the coffee you go.” “You sing a sad song just to turn it around” “You work on a smile and you go for a ride” The person is trying to hide their sorrows.
“You say you don’t know You tell me don’t lie” The sad person is denying knowledge of their sorrows. The next bit where that person is telling the artist “don’t lie” is a bit baffling, but I think the artist is saying this person’s a hypocrite because he/she is telling the artist not to lie when the person is lying to his face about his/her sorrow. The fact that the person is telling the artist not to lie, suggests that this person is female, or a girlfriend, because its more common that girls to say this to guys.
“The camera don’t lie” The evidence of her sorrow is in the photos/videos. Sad people often have a bitter smile or not at all, or just a long face.
The artist tries to make this person admit his/her (possibly her) sorrow, and is showing allot of understanding and compassion. Sometimes admitting one’s sorrow is the first step to recovery, instead of bottling it up.
