Angels of the Silences

"Why'd you leave me till I'm only good for waiting for you"

^that says it all (along with the rest of the amazing lyrics) Sounds like my ex boyfriend :-/

This song is about his loss of innocence and the guilt he feels (usually at night when lying in his bed).... Angels of the silences are those moments at night when it's too quiet and you are forced to think and reflect about our " sins "; for Adams and many of us, this is painful. These inner angsts(subconcious and conscious) also manifest themselves in dreams where the angels again appear to further torment us. Guilt is a central theme here -A wickedly spiritual and awesome song!!

I met someone once who inspired me, woke something up in me that had been paralyzed for a long time, and before I could really appreciate who this person was, they were gone. I have been wanting more for some time now, and I can really relate to this song, because I am standing here with feathers in my hand. I love this song, and anyone else who loves it.

To me this song is all about being heartbroken because of someone very close to you dying, and contemplating suicide just so you could get near to that person again. "Feathers in my hand" maybe refers to how Adam once felt he was close to an angel, but now all he has are remnants and memories of that person, i.e. feathers, in his hands. "Leave me where I stand" and "might not be too many who would stand beside you now" refers to how his angel has left him, and implies that the person is now in heaven, i.e. no longer standing beside other people in the human world.

The chorus "Only good for/Waiting for you" shows that nothing in life interests him anymore and he is merely waiting for his own turn to die so that he can be with the person again; "All my sins...I would pay for them if I could come back to you" - seems to me that he doesn't mind going through purgatory just so he could go to heaven and be with that person. I think his "angels of the silences" are not so much to do with guilt but tempting him to the other side, by telling him that they are still waiting for him and offering him their arms (to go with them). The dreams of Michelangelo refers to how he is seeing angels on the ceiling, like those in the Sistine Chapel, every time he sleeps - in other words he is dreaming of death.

Finally, he seems to give in to his wish to kill himself: his blood is sucked and his nerve is broken, and he only wants to "stand here" and let his angels take him. The "I'm gone, I'm gone, I'm gone" repeated endlessly over the closing notes of course refers to how he has now removed himself from this world.

Anyway, there is no doubt that is this a truly awesome song. Of course I'm not saying that my interpretation is the only one possible, the best thing about counting crows is how Adam doesn't write lyrics but poetry, so everyone can interpret it however he or she likes. Just thought I'd drop in my 2 cents because I love this song so much and can't stop thinking about it.

• Fooby

Wow why are there no posts here? This song is a great song. It's about faith...wanting to have faith, wanting someone to have faith in you...and about faith in God. I think this song to me, was the first crows song that ever really got me interested in the crows. And it's the kind of song that just makes you want to get up and do something, anything.

ok. cant beleive only 1 other post before me. This song means so much. I know what it means to me it wont mean to you but.... to me this is about....when you are so tied up about someone you cant sleep at night 'Little angels hang above my head and read me like an open book Suck my blood break my nerve offer me their arms ' you kind of know what you should do but.....you just dont have the bottle to do it....its about having the balls to cut the tie and move on! or at least thats what this song is for me. I am sure to Adam it might be a bit different.

i agree with the two above...GREAT SONG! i just can't put what it means to me into words....i'm just bad like that

This song is awesome, its sounds really good when it's played loud.

Great song. One I love to drive too. :)

like gentle demon i have trouble expressing what this song means...it's so many thoughts and ideas all bundled in to 4 minutes

another genius piece of work by duritz and the crows