Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart - Lyrics Meaning

"I Will Possess Your Heart" is a 2008 single from the band Death Cab For Cutie. It was the debut single and music video from Narrow Stairs - the band's sixth studio album. The song received a 2009 Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Song. It was also named the 2008 iTunes UK song of the year.

The song was written by Ben Gibbard and depicts an otherwise nice gentleman that ends up obsessing over one woman. He believes so much that the two of them are meant to be together that he is oblivious to the fact that he's stalking her. In his delusional mind, it's irrelevant how many times she rejects his advances, as he feels he must patiently wait until she realizes what a great guy he is. He believes he will win her heart once she sees the potential that exists between the two of them.

The lyrics are repetitive at times but this is seemingly done to drive home the haunting, somewhat creepy, narrative to the song. Some people, without carefully listening to the lyrics, think of the song as a love song, unmindful of the song's tale of love gone dark. Gibbard described the song as a work of fiction inspired by the experiences of a few people close to him.

The album version of the song clocks in at over 8 minutes due to an almost 4-minute instrumental opening. The band recorded the song live to analog tape and decided to let the music build a theme before jumping into Gibbard's lyrics. The radio single and MTV version of the video removed the long intro.