The xx / Coexist / 2012
Try
aching, restrained yearning
A spare, minimalist meditation on hesitation between two people who keep circling desire without acting on it. The xx use extremely sparse, repetitive language to dramatize emotional paralysis, letting the gaps in the lyric do as much work as the words themselves.
romantic hesitation longing regret emotional withholding trust and doubt
Who's speaking
A first-person narrator addresses a specific 'you,' someone they desire but have failed to fully reach or claim; the voice is intimate but unreliable in its own resolve, admitting to hesitation even as it professes want.
What happens
The song opens in a suspended present tense, waiting for a moment that hasn't happened. It shifts into a kind of retrospective regret, acknowledging that a chance has already passed, before circling back to propose trying again, ending on the same unresolved plea it began with.
How it's built
The song avoids a conventional chorus/verse escalation; instead it uses near-identical repeated phrases as anchors, with only slight lyrical variation between the two verses. This circularity mirrors the song's theme of never quite moving forward, and the return to the opening lines at the end refuses catharsis or resolution.
Section by section
Opening lines
“we bide our time, though the time is fine”
The narrator admits to stalling despite conditions being right, immediately establishing the song's central tension between readiness and inaction.
First verse
“said to myself I'd try”
The confession of self-directed intention rather than spoken commitment suggests the promise to try has been private and possibly unfulfilled, hinting at the gap between internal resolve and outward action.
Second verse
The shift to past-conditional language marks a turn from anticipation to retrospection, as the narrator processes a missed opportunity and the absence of the other person when they were needed.
Bridge-like turn
“can you feel it”
The question posed here breaks the pattern of statement into direct address, exposing vulnerability and uncertainty about whether renewed effort can actually restore feeling rather than just repeat past patterns.
Closing repetition
Returning to the opening lyrical material without resolution reinforces the cyclical, unresolved nature of the relationship, suggesting the 'trying' promised throughout may remain perpetually deferred.
Craft
- repetition
- Key phrases recur almost verbatim across the song, enacting the stuck, looping quality of unresolved desire rather than describing it.
- conditional/subjunctive mood
- Frequent use of hypothetical phrasing ('would have,' 'could be') keeps the emotional stakes always one step removed from actuality, reinforcing the theme of missed or deferred action.
- minimalist diction
- The sparse vocabulary and short clauses leave large interpretive gaps, forcing the listener to fill in the emotional context the words withhold.
Reading it
The most persuasive reading treats the song as a study in emotional inertia -- two people who want each other but are trapped by timing, pride, or fear, unable to convert desire into action. An alternative reading could frame it as a song about the aftermath of a breakup, with the conditional language reflecting mourning for a chance already lost rather than one still possible; the ambiguity between these readings is likely intentional, given the band's general reliance on emotional understatement.
Context
Coexist (2012) continued The xx's minimalist, restrained sound following their debut, often exploring themes of romantic ambivalence and communication breakdown through sparse instrumentation and vocal interplay between Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim. I don't have specific confirmed background on the writing or inspiration for this particular track beyond general knowledge of the album's tone.
Listen for
- The interplay between the two vocalists trading and doubling similar lines, mirroring the song's theme of mutual hesitation
- The sparse instrumentation leaving space around the repeated phrases, reinforcing the sense of emotional restraint
- The shift in tense between the first and second verse, marking a movement from anticipation to regret
- The lack of a musical or lyrical climax, which mirrors the unresolved nature of the relationship described
About The xx
The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx.
2005 - present / United Kingdom
Full biography and catalogue