Interpretation of “You stopped evoking love” by Pyx Lax

2026-02-02

For this interpretation I have picked one of the many brilliant hits from the collection of the Pyx Lax band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhVp03i1fjI. The rhythm is upbeat, the words are thought-provoking, and the vibes are strong.

Below are the lyrics, my translation of them, and further comments on what all this means to me.

Έπαψες αγάπη να θυμίζεις

Ερμηνεία:  Πυξ Λαξ
Στίχοι:    Φίλιππος Πλιάτσικας, Όλγα Βλαχοπούλου, Νίκη Παπαγεωργίου
Μουσική:   Φίλιππος Πλιάτσικας


O καφές σου έχει κρυώσει
και το ράδιο κλειστό τώρα για μέρες
Σε θυμάμαι είχες ξαπλώσει
Στου μονού κρεβατιού τις καλημέρες

Το ξέρω πως δεν το διάλεξα
αν έπρεπε τη σκέψη μου να ορίζεις
Μα ακόμα δεν κατάλαβα
γιατί έπαψες αγάπη να θυμίζεις

Υπάρχουν το νιώθω υγρά μονοπάτια
Υπάρχουν κομμάτια από φως στη σιωπή
Τραγούδια που'γίναν με δάκρυα στα μάτια
Τραγούδια που'γίναν απλά η αφορμή

You stopped evoking love

Singer:  Pyx Lax
Lyrics:  Philippos Pliatsikas, Olga Blachopoulou, Nike Papageorgiou
Music:   Philippos Pliatsikas


Your coffee has gotten cold
and the radio is switched off for days now
I remember you had laid down
on the single bed's good mornings

I know I did not choose
whether you should define my thought
But I have yet to understand
why you stopped evoking love

I feel there are humid paths
There are pieces of light in silence
Songs that were made with tears in the eyes
Songs that were made as an impetus

The titular “you” is each of us in potentiality. We stop evoking love when we no longer care about our wellness. The coffee that stays there is a metaphor for the fact that we do not pay attention to our state of being: what should be savoured in a timely fashion is neglected altogether, left to the side where it cannot give joy anymore.

It helps to think of our person as a stranger. What would be our response to someone who, with sincerity in their eyes, would seek our help? We would probably react with kindness. We would even be willing to make a small sacrifice to accommodate this troubled soul. We would be eager to show our support in the hope of engendering in this person the belief that everything is going to be alright.

What we usually do, however, is to take our self for granted. Even if we are still polite to others, we assume we have a licence to apply a double standard: politeness for them, disregard or even scorn for us. This is not a sustainable arrangement. Each of us is like a delicate flower: if we do not water it enough and clear the weeds periodically it will wither away.

In the absence of self-love, there is no capacity for love at-large. The reason is that we make everything a matter of desert (as in “to deserve”). We argue that we do not deserve to be loved and how we are not good enough in this or that way. Self-loathing takes hold which eventually transmogrifies into a worldview of negativity, contempt, and resignation. Ultimately, it begets the thought that nobody is deserving of love as they too have many faults if we pay close attention.

The image of the radio that is switched off points to the disconnect we thus experience. Our view of the world is no longer informed by what is actually happening around us. We have become a cruel judge that ignores the facts, or selects only those that support their prejudice, and then has no capacity for equitable adjudication of the case. Once we mentally check out from our surroundings, we let our fears and insecurities define our outlook.

Exactly why we might withdraw into this bleak condition is unclear. Each individual will be formed by different experiences. The common in the multitude, though, is that the turn inward is not done with an intent for temporary introspection but a want for permanent escape. To be introspective is to look inside in order to find that which is of use outside. Whereas to seek an exit is to toy with the notion of giving up on life.

Others may care about us, but are nevertheless powerless to sustain the fire in our heart. We do not accept love because we do not believe we are worthy enough. Only our own initiative can change this opinion. It happens when we try, little by little, to reach the point of looking in the mirror without regrets, with no sense of guilt, with mere lightness having accepted who we are.

The final verse reminds us that there is scope for a rebound. Making songs with tears in the eyes still constitutes song-making. Those tears are the honest representation of the moment. We do not hide them nor do we pretend that everything is in order. We let it all out so that it cannot exert power over us. And then, from a position of clarity, we notice how there is light in the darkness, and that this song shall provide the impetus for a new beginning: to regain the capacity to give love and to receive it; to love despite all the imperfections.