They met in a hurricane
Standing in the shelter out of the rain
She tucked a note into his hand
Later on they took his car
Drove on down where the beaches are
He wrote her name in the sand
Never even let go of her hand

Somehow they stayed that way
For those 5 days in May
Made all the stars around them shine
Funny how you can look in vain
Living on nerves and such sweet pain
The loneliness that cuts so fine
To find the face you've seen a thousand times

Sometimes the world begins
To set you up on your feet again
It wipes the tears from your eyes
How will you ever know
The way that circumstances go
Always going to hit you by surprise
I know my past
You were there
In everything I've done
You are the one

Looking back it's hard to tell
Why they stood while others fell
Spend your life working it out
All I know is one cloudy day
They both just ran away
Rain on the windshield heading South
She loved the lines around his mouth

Sometimes the world begins
To set you up on your feet again
It wipes the tears from your eyes
How will you ever know
The way that circumstances go
Always going to hit you by surprise
I know my past
You were there
In everything I've done
You are the one



Lyrics submitted by geekusa

Five Days In May song meanings
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8 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    i read up on it once.. jim cuddy.. i think.. wrote this song about his wife.. they actually did meet in a hurricane.. and the part about the writtin her name in the sand.. he was at the beach one time with a friend and his friend wrote his wifes name in the sand and jim asked him why and he just said he does that everywhere he goes because he misses his wife. So Jim makes a point of doing that everywhere he goes now.

    Catie86on March 13, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    One of the nicest Blue Rodeo songs in my opinion..the lyrics are really well laid out and orchestration is just beautiful...

    I always thought it was about how some relationships just "hit you by surprise", when you least expect it, without looking for them... the song starts in a hurricane, which can be related to emotional upheaval, (stress, personal issues) which distract them from looking for love.. then the song jumps to a beach, where there is calm, and even writing a name in the sand has a sense of permanence (evidence of tranquility found).

    What I don't get is the "five days in May"... is this some reference to the ephemeral nature of spontaneous relationships? They disappear without any mention of the an outcome...so I'm left wondering.

    Havenon December 08, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    One of the nicest Blue Rodeo songs in my opinion..the lyrics are really well laid out and orchestration is just beautiful...

    I always thought it was about how some relationships just "hit you by surprise", when you least expect it, without looking for them... the song starts in a hurricane, which can be related to emotional upheaval, (stress, personal issues) which distract them from looking for love.. then the song jumps to a beach, where there is calm, and even writing a name in the sand has a sense of permanence (evidence of tranquility found).

    What I don't get is the "five days in May"... is this some reference to the ephemeral nature of spontaneous relationships? They disappear without any mention of an outcome...so I'm left wondering....

    Havenon December 08, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I first heard this song when I was like 6... Its always stuck with me, even when I didnt know it's name... One of the greatest guitar solos ever in my opinion. Though nothing beats Highway Star.

    imsokoolitsunkoolon January 04, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    thats great.. i didnt really hear any of the songs that i love now until at least within the last 4 or 5 years at least that i remember hearing. am i making any sense?? hmm

    well in any case this song seems like its describing a brief spontaneous yet fleeting experience of summer love, those summer night relationships that dont really last. seems like it was still a huge part of your life though

    Oh well...

    pinkfloyd4241on September 05, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I agree with Catie86, this song is a mixture of different people's experiencing, including Jim, in meeting their wives or falling in love etc. It's a pretty amazing song, one of my favourite songs by any artist. Given that reference, and the fact that they "find a face you've seen a thousand times" I feel that this song refers to a lasting relationship, and that perhaps the 5 days in May reference talks about the first time they met and how magical it seemed etc.

    yoguy2005on January 17, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I really love this song because it has so much feeling. It's a really great driving song.. just cruzin around in the country and reminiscing over all the good and bad times of your life. Blue Rodeo just has that effect on me. Known them since childhood.. this is one artist you just have got to respect :)

    sharkzanddangeron August 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Catie86 is correct...Jim wrote this song as a collaboration of a few stories...one being him and his wife meeting in a shelter during a hurricane, the other being a time when Blue Rodeo was in New Zealand, and they took a day to visit teh beach. Their soundman, Kenny, grabbed a stick and wrote his name in the sand. When Jim asked him about it, he said he does this everytime he's at a beach as a ritual...its basically an honor and connection with his wife. Jim thought it was a beautiful gesture, and combined it with him and his wifes story as the inspiration behind this song.

    The meaning in this song, in my opinion, is that familiarity you feel when you're getting to know THE ONE...how you feel as if you've known them before, and also how no matter how bad things get, life tends to have a way to put you back up on your feet again, wipe the tears from your eyes, and make everything ok.

    ironhead83on December 16, 2009   Link

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