I looked out across the river today
Saw a city in the fog
And an old church tower where the seagulls play
Saw the sad shire horses walking home
In the sodium light
Two priests on a ferry
October geese on a cold winter's night

All this time
The river flowed
Endlessly to the sea

Two priests came 'round our house tonight
One young, one old
To offer prayers for the dying, to serve the final rites
One to learn, one to teach
Which way the cold wind blows
And fussing and flapping
In priestly black like a murder of crows

All this time
The river flowed
Endlessly to the sea

If I had my way
I'd take a boat from the river
And I'd bury the old man
I'd bury him at sea

Blessed are the poor
For they shall inherit the earth
Better to be poor
Than be a fat man in the eye of a needle
As these words were spoken, I swear
I hear the old man laughing
What good is a used up world
And how could it be worth having?

All this time
The river flowed
Endlessly like a silent tear

All this time
The river flowed
Father, if Jesus exists
Then how come He never lives here?

Teachers told us the Romans built this place
They built a wall and a temple
And an edge of the empire garrison town
They lived and they died
They prayed to their gods
But the stone gods did not make a sound
And their empire crumbled till all that was left
Were the stones the workmen found

All this time
The river flowed
In the falling light
Of a northern sun

If I had my way
I'd take a boat from the river
Men go crazy in congregations
They only get better one by one (all this time)
One by one
One by one, by one
One by one

I looked out across the river today
I saw a city in the fog
And an old church tower where the seagulls play
Saw the sad shire horses walking home
In the sodium light
Two priests on the ferry
October geese on a cold winter's night


Lyrics submitted by Novartza

All This Time Lyrics as written by Gordon Sumner

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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All This Time song meanings
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  • +3
    General Comment

    What a cynical philosophy of his father's and his life Sting presents here.... Similar to the theme on the first track of this album Soul Cages, where the boy just wants to escape this miserable town. The townsmen build the ships, sweat in miserable conditions but never see any glory in it. They are told by the rich people who employ them, and their priests....it's ok, you don't want to be rich. It's harder for a rich man to enter into heaven than a camel can pass through the eye of a needle. From the Bible...“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God”

    Silly Bunny above points out that Sting's dad was a dairy farmer. I guess Sting found it easier to point out that the blue collar life sometimes breaks men's spirits and they are told to wait for heaven. But the workers have lost faith in God as well. "If Jesus exists how come he never lived here?" Or, why would we want to inherit to inherit a used up earth?

    I guess this song is about exploitation. And if Sting's father had a tenth of the genous that Sting had, imagine the waste if it never got a chance to flourish. I guess, it's this anger that came up with the grief of losing his father. Merging with Sting's interest in helping the exploited or weaker people in the world....his politics and philosophy and personal story all merging.

    I love the line "and all that was left was the stones the workmen found" Isn't there another song where he says the same thing....in all our works, nothing remains???.

    denverizedon February 03, 2011   Link

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