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I've read the lyric Elastic Heart by Sia, and I don't really understand in this part:

And I wanted it, I wanted it bad

But there were so many red flags

Now another one bites the dust

Yeah let's be clear, I'll trust no one

I'm not sure about this, but does red flags here mean something like blockades?

And how about bites the dust? I have no idea what this means.

English isn't my main language, so I'm not really sure what these lyrics mean.

tripleee
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JTR
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  • This question belongs on http://english.stackexchange.com/ or even better http://ell.stackexchange.com/ considering that these are common expressions. Or how about Google: https://www.google.com/search?q=what%20does%20%22red%20flags%22%20mean ? – BCdotWEB Jun 10 '16 at 09:09
  • Agree with @BCdotWEB. [english.se] has a "lyrics" tag for exactly this. [ BTW similar on the French one. – Angst Jun 10 '16 at 18:19

1 Answers1

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Now another one bites the dust

Yeah let's be clear, I'll trust no one

Sia uses the common metaphor of love as war. The opening phrase, “another one bites the dust,” borrows the title of a Queen song to suggest a recent relationship has failed, and that it feels like a death.

This metaphor sets up lines in the song that refer to both love and to Katniss Everdeen, the warrior for peace in the Hunger Games trilogy. The second line suggests that Sia does not have Everdeen’s aim.

And I wanted it, I wanted it bad

But there were so many red flags

Sia wanted things to work out but there were too many ‘red flags’, referring to warning signals, like flags used in motor racing. They indicated conditions were too unsafe to continue, and this hints that the singer is the one who ended the relationship.

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