I had to take someone to the airport just this morning
I had forgotten about all the faces
Everybody that I saw was going to or coming from different places
But they all looked the same
crushed and shy or loud and angry
Everybody just walked along without looking at anyone

I ran into a friend of mine from my junior high days
I spent the night at his house once
I remember that night vividly
We were nearly strangers now. It’d been so long
And he was headin' off to Germany
It was him and his girlfriend, and he was gonna study French there
Or maybe it was it German

CHORUS
People go by like a flame
And you never even know their name
You might get warm
You might get burned
But either way a flame is not the sun
That rises every day

His girlfriend wasn’t there when I showed up
and I remember thinking how lonely to go to Germany alone
Then he told me that she’d be there soon
But it still seemed really sad to me
He still looked like he was on his own
Now he was smart. He knew a lot
But I wanted to ask if him he was okay
There was just something in his eyes

BRIDGE
Late at night, the moon is bright
And the fields are silver-gray
And no, it’s true it ain’t no sun
But it’s pretty anyway



Lyrics submitted by ThreeMilesDown

People Go By Like A Flame song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment

    From Don Chaffer's solo album, What You Don't Know

    ThreeMilesDownon April 20, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song has several meanings to me. Mostly I think it's about people and the emotions they evoke in your life. The narrator is awash in nostalgia over running into a friend he hasn't seen in years. Comparing this to the cold anonymity of being in a crowded airport he gets to the chorus.

    He thinks about how thousands of people just flash in and out of our lives and even though we never interact with them they all have an important story, just like his forgotten friend. It's about recognizing that, and the significance people have in our lives - they might comfort us (get warm) and they hurt us (get burned).

    Since waterdeep is a Christian band i also think "sun" is meant to be interpreted as "Son" as well (Jesus - God's son). people are really important, but they are just a small "flame" compared to the "sun" that is Jesus Christ.

    count_floydon April 11, 2006   Link

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