"Lights On" is the second track from FKA twigs's debut studio album, LP1. It was released on August 6, 2014 through Young. It was written by FKA Twigs, Arca, and Tic and produced by Arca.
Background
For many, the initial reaction to the song's chorus is that it is about physical vulnerability in a sexual relationship. However Twigs told Pitchfork the lyric isn't as lustful as it seems. "Some of the songs that people think are the most sexual are not at all to me," she said. "Like when I sing, 'If you want to touch me you can do it with the lights on,' that's a metaphor for letting certain people see the different, ugly sides of you that others won't be able to see."
Somewhere along the line the chorus got altered as the lyric actually goes, "When I trust you we can do it with the lights on."
Lyrics
[Verse]
I shy away in my mind
In hope someday I could share this place, with you
You'll be the first one to find
The shadows that make the girl you undo
'Cause the man that you are is defined
By the way that you act in the light
[Pre-Chorus]
Break or seize me
If the flame gets blown out and you shine
I will know that you cannot be mine
Live or leave me
[Chorus]
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we'll make love until the morning
Let me tell you all my secrets in a whisper till the day's done
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we'll make love until the morning
Let me tell you all my secrets in a whisper till the day's done
[Pre-Chorus]
Break or seize me
Let the things that I tell you survive
In the way that you handle your size
Live or leave me
[Chorus]
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we'll make love until the morning
Let me tell you all my secrets in a whisper till the day's done
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we'll make love until the morning
Let me tell you all my secrets in a whisper till the day's done
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we'll make love until the morning
Let me tell you all my secrets in a whisper till the day's done
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we'll make love until the morning
Let me tell you all my secrets in a whisper till the day's done
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we'll make love until the morning
Let me tell you all my secrets in a whisper till the day's done
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we'll make love until the morning
Let me tell you all my secrets in a whisper till the day's done
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we can do it with the lights on
When I trust you, we'll make love until the morning
Let me tell you all my secrets in a whisper till the day's done