All along

A rewrite of Olivia Dean's "I've Seen It All"

August 9, 2026

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(Verse 1)
I’ve seen it last for thirty years,
Seen it lift, then reappear.
I’ve seen it after school and in the park.
Sat right across me on the Tube,
It got off at my stop too,
Seen it trying not to fall apart.

(Verse 2)
I’ve heard it laced in every song,
And still the words all come out wrong.
It doesn’t ever answer when I call.
Brings out the worst, brings out the best,
I understand it less and less,
I guess I’m not supposed to feel at all.

(Verse 3)
I’ve seen them dance together round the table,
In Eleanor, Rosie and Louise.
And it makes me cry to think that I’m not able
To take the thing they’re offering to me.

(Verse 4)
I’ve seen it grow old and forget
Whatever started it. And yet
It doesn’t need a reason to go on.
I’ve seen the films, I’ve read the books,
I know exactly how it looks,
The fairy tale, the search goes on and on.

(Verse 5)
The less I look, the less I find,
The world gets smaller all the time.
I close my eyes and still it isn’t gone.
Brings out the worst, brings out the best,
I know it’s somewhere in my chest,
I guess it’s been inside me all along.

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These are Olivia Dean’s lyrics, mostly. Her song “I’ve Seen It All” never names the thing it’s about — you only work out it’s love from the overall context.

The trick of this song is that almost every line survives being pointed at something else…