Context

This line is from the poem "If You Forget Me," written by Pablo Neruda (1952).

On its surface these lines seems like they're written to a lover. The speaker tells his beloved that if she decides she doesn't love him, then he'll return the favor and stop caring about her, too. Harsh, but Pablo Neruda doesn't want to end up dancing like Drake and complaining about how this girl used to call him on his cell phone.

Another interpretation of this quote is that the poet is addressing his native country of Chile. This poem was written around 1952, when Pablo Neruda was in exile for his leadership role in the Communist Party, which had just recently been outlawed in Chile. He was smuggled out of the country by friends and eventually made his way into Europe. Was Neruda thinking about his homeland when he wrote this?

It makes sense. He tell his country that he'll love it as long as it loves him. But if he's gotta live in exile forever and they stop caring about him back home… well, it's so long Chile.

Where you've heard it

Even though these verses might have been written about a country, they're really the perfect thing to post to your Facebook wall after a bad breakup.

Was CeeLo Green channeling Pablo Neurda when he wrote the words to "Forget You"? We like to think so.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

No one will dare give you an eye roll when you let loose with these broken-hearted verses. A hug maybe, but definitely not an eye roll.