Dido - White Flag - Lyrics Meaning

Britain's singer / songwriter Dido recorded "White Flag" on her "Life for Rent" album which was released in September 2003. The biggest hit of her career, it sold one million copies in five days on its way to total sales of over five million, making it the fastest selling album by a female artist.

The song was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 Grammy Awards, but lost out to Christina Aguilera for "Beautiful."

I will go down with this ship,

And I won't put my hands up and surrender

There will be no white flag above my door

I'm in love and always will be

When in battle, a white flag indicates that the person behind the door wants to surrender. By the absence of a flag, the narrator is essentially stating that she intends to fight until the bitter end, and that she will not give up on her relationship with her partner.

Dido wrote the song about a past relationship, but later said that she initially regretted writing it because it caused more problems with the person involved. However, she has said that she now likes to perform the song.