Lyrics Page

At Arms' Length

By Plumb

762 views Sep 14, 2026 updated Need You Now album Verified editorial review

Song Meaning

Plumb sings this one from inside an argument that's gone on too long — "I put my heart up for sale, and you gave yours away for free," a relationship reduced to "words that hurt" and "all this misery." She names the defense mechanism directly: "I don't wanna hold you at arm's length... it's just a knee jerk reaction."

The turn isn't a fix so much as a decision to stop protecting herself: "maybe we can heal each other, maybe this won't hurt forever." Plumb doesn't claim certainty — "maybe" repeats through the whole chorus — but she chooses to reach anyway: "don't run away... come back to me, my love is here."

Paul's instruction in Ephesians 4:32 to "be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another" fits the exact posture Plumb is choosing here, and Peter's promise that love "shall cover the multitude of sins" in 1 Peter 4:8 explains why she keeps reaching instead of walking away. The title itself becomes the thing she's refusing to settle for.

Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team

[Chorus]

Maybe we can heal each other

Maybe this won't hurt forever

I don't wanna push you away

I don't wanna hold you at arm's length

I don't wanna push you away

It's just a knee jerk reaction


[Verse 1]

I put my heart

Up for sale

And you gave yours

Away for free

And now we're mad

At the world

So now we

Bruise and hit

With words that hurt

But love is faster than a bullet

It's the perfect remedy


[Chorus]

So maybe we can heal each other

Maybe this won't hurt forever

I don't wanna push you away

I don't wanna hold you at arm's length

I don't wanna push you away

It's just a knee jerk reaction


[Verse 2]

I kick and scream

You scream and shout

If we don't get our way

Right now

We act like children

On a Ferris wheel

We go

Round and round

Until we stop

And nothing's left

For us to drop

I'm sick of feeling

All this misery


[Chorus]

Maybe we can heal each other

Maybe this won't hurt forever

I don't wanna push you away

I don't wanna hold you at arm's length

I don't wanna push you away

It's just a knee jerk reaction


[Verse 3]

Don't run away, don't run away

Come back to me

Don't run away, don't run away

Come back

Don't run away, don't run away

Come back to me

My love is here, my love is here

At arm's length


[Chorus]

Maybe we can heal each other

Maybe this won't hurt forever

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