Come, hold me now, I am not gone
I would not leave you here alone
In this dead calm beneath the waves
I can still hear those lost boys calling

You could not speak, you were afraid
To take the risk of being left again
And so you tipped your hat and waved and then
You turned back up the gangway of that steel tomb again

And in Mott street in July
When I hear those seabirds cry
I hold the child, the child in the man
The child that we leave behind

And in Mott street in July
When I hear those seabirds cry
I hold the child, the child in the man
The child that we leave behind

The spotlight fades, the boys disband
The final notes lie mute upon the sand
And in the silence of the grave
I can still hear those lost boys calling

We left them there when they were young
The men were gone until the west was won
And now there's nothing left but time to kill
You never took us fishin' dad and now you never will

And in Mott street in July
When I hear those seabirds cry
I hold the child, the child in the man
The child that we leave behind


Lyrics submitted by PolesApart76

Lost Boys Calling Lyrics as written by Roger Waters Ennio Morricone

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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LOST BOYS CALLING song meanings
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4 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    It's a great song, probably the best of the ureleased songs on Flickering Flame.

    thedanman344on November 04, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This I think is a song about, the men who went to war and got killed in action.

    SpinMunkeyon February 05, 2007   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    I feel this song applies to all the lost moments in a human childhood. Its lyrics haunt the grown child who still carries the pain of feeling pushed aside, unimportant, unloved in so many instances that most details have have been expunged from the memory; only an evasive, sinister , aching lingers, invading ones sense of well being. Conversely, the aging parent painfully regrets abandoned opportunities for joy for both his offspring and the child deserted within himself.

    LyndaDriscollon April 08, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Man, can Waters pen a lyric! Just reading them, knowing full well how achingly beautiful the melody he sings over it, gives me chills. I think this song speaks broadly about the passage of time and who, over time, we need to leave behind, be that a military person, a cherished friend, or close family. There's also something about Mott Street, which is in Little Italy in New York City. I think the lyrics are reflecting the struggle of the immigrant at the turn of the 20th century. Leave it to Roger to be able to write a lyric that captures something specific inside of something so broad. He's been doing it for decades.

    FloydianTheoryon August 27, 2021   Link

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