In the quiet silent seconds I, I turned off the light switch
And I, I came down to meet you in the half light the moon left
While a, a cluster of night jars sang some songs out of tune
A mantle of bright light shone down from a room

Come down in time I still hear her say
So clear in my ear like it was today
Come down in time was the message she gave
Come down in time and I'll meet you half way

Well I don't know if I should have heard her as yet
But a, a true love like hers is a, a hard love to get
And I've, I've walked most all the way and I, I ain't heard her call
And I, I'm getting to thinking if she's coming at all

Come down in time I still hear her say
So clear in my ear like it was today
Come down in time was the message she gave
Come down in time and I'll meet you half way

There are women, women, and some hold you tight
While some leave you counting the stars in the night


Lyrics submitted by Novartza

Come Down in Time Lyrics as written by Elton John Bernie Taupin

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Come Down In Time song meanings
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15 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment

    Hey, anyone hear Sting's version on the Tribute Album for Bernie and Elton? Great song, great lyrics. AND I can relate to the last part since I have been left counting the stars in the night one time too many. Damn.

    Peace

    daedoloson December 10, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I think it's about how a memories are more distinct if they're emotionally loaded - and they can be at once positive and negative. It could also be about promises coming true or not coming true - she said come down in time and I'll meet you half way but now he's left counting stars in the night without her.

    The music tracks with the emotion, from the crushing sorrow of the verse to the empty promise in the chorus to the face-punch of the final line of the chorus.

    Like a few songs on Tumbleweed Connection, it grows and grows on you until you think it's so awesome you're not sure why it wasn't a bigger hit- but it's just too gorgeous to hit people with the immediacy of a pop/radio hit.

    interpretatoron January 28, 2016   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    way under rated. wonderful, wonderful song.

    nelia_slye_on September 25, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "And I'm getting to thinking, If she's coming at all."

    One of the saddest lines in song.

    mousey03on January 20, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song haunts me . Only Elton and Bernie could make art like this happen . I listen to it over and over trying to figure out why it's so soulful and beautiful . Tumbleweed version , live in Tokyo and Stings version as well .
    I looked up Nightjar , it's a small nocturnal bird. : ) "And I'm gettin to thinkin' if she's comin' at all"

    Kent

    Kenth777on November 25, 2014   Link
  • +1
    Translation

    a lucid dream, perhaps, about a person you are deeply attracted to in real life and would like to be engaged with them romantically in real or a lucid dream about someone you do not even know, but attracted to in the dream. The reason I think it is about a dream is because Night Jars birds are nocturnal. Also cutting out then night lights could be symbolizing going to sleep. 'Come down in time' is the person you see in the dream telling you to hurry before you wake up and miss her. Sadly, the person never got really talk to the person again..because they woke up. Playing with translation here, but trying to decipher anything a brilliant writer like Bernie Taupin put down on paper is difficult. I just know that this is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. The whole Album, Tumbleweed Connection' is perfection. Not many writers have accomplished with Bernie and Elton have. Thanks to them both.

    aurajon May 19, 2018   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning

    I don't know of another song that halts mid-sentence like this. It is trying to capture the indecision of the person in this situation. He thinks he's found true love, but he is not with her. He remembers there was a spark, she wanted him once, and he is stuck waiting, just as the listener is hanging, waiting for the song's line to complete when the singer pauses. He's hurting for sure. The birds are out of tune, and the oboe ends its phrase on a sour note, an accidental. It's an interesting dynamic isn't it? Bernie Taupin could write knowingly about relationships with women, and Elton would sing them, though I imagine he was tapping into his memories of the men he had been with to give his singing of it emotion. Listen closely to the orchestration in the original, it is masterful.

    Scot6113on January 03, 2020   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    One of this song's subtle beauties is the unique arrangement that emphasizes conjunctions in the lyrics by pausing for them and setting them apart, adding an elusive feeling..."there are women women AND some hold you tight WHILE some leave you counting THE stars in the night". The whole song is remarkable in that way, with the unique cadence emphases. Bernie wrote the lyrics, of course, but Elton turns in a remarkably restrained and beautiful performance here - easily one of the best things he's ever done.

    jerry11424on October 09, 2021   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Why hasn't anybody commented on this song? Its fantastic!!

    DeManon August 19, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Yes, indeed it's been far too long a wait, but I agree it's an impossibly delicate song from Elton and Bernie. One of the few times they came together to achieve perfection.

    tooloudon October 13, 2004   Link

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