This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Do you ever look around
Turn your ear to the ground
Show your face to the sky
On a night when the skies echo sounds
From inside of your mind
On the stage that you shone
Where the sun did become you
And move with your thoughts
Through the sighs and the scenes
Of the worlds you have seen
And the sights that have been
Your reflection in shadows and dreams
Your reflection in shadows and dreams?
Did you ever see a man
Who did walk down the street
White robe with no shoes on his feet
And on top of his head place a box with two slits?
And the sign from his neck said
"I do not exist"
Or a woman who could not remember her name
Did stutter and stutter
Again and again
And saw you and called you her son?
Her eyes said
"My being is gone"
"But still I'm not dead"
Oh, miserere, miserere
Miserere, miserere
Miserere me
Have you ever seen a sound?
Have you listened to an image?
Have you ever touched a thought?
Have you ever tasted nothing?
Have you ever told a lie
That was true more than truth
Because truth it had lied
All its life when it spoke to you?
And what did it say?
It is that, it is this
This goes here, here is there
It is not, yes it is
It was dulling your senses
Your eyes they were bound
Have you ever, my friends
Been looking around?
And the other replies
With a wave of a hand
I am already here
In this promised land
But not by a God and not by a king
And not by a spirit
Deep from within
I am here
Because a miracle's a whim
It's a flash of glory
It's an empty tin
And maybe might lets you in
Not to save you
But to keep on looking
Oh, miserere, miserere
Miserere, miserere
Miserere me
Oh, miserere, miserere
Oh, miserere, miserere
Have you ever
Been so happy that you're sad?
That the lights turn to stars
And the stars become eyes
And hellos are goodbyes
And the laughs are the sighs
And the show disappears with the note
"Until next time"
Long live living
If living can be this
Long live living
If living can be this
Long live living
If living can be this
Long live living
If living can be this
Do you ever look around
And find what is yet to be found?
Turn your ear to the ground
Show your face to the sky
On a night when the skies echo sounds
From inside of your mind
On the stage that you shone
Where the sun did become you
And move with your thoughts
Through the sighs and the scenes
Of the worlds you have seen
And the sights that have been
Your reflection in shadows and dreams
Your reflection in shadows and dreams?
Did you ever see a man
Who did walk down the street
White robe with no shoes on his feet
And on top of his head place a box with two slits?
And the sign from his neck said
"I do not exist"
Or a woman who could not remember her name
Did stutter and stutter
Again and again
And saw you and called you her son?
Her eyes said
"My being is gone"
"But still I'm not dead"
Oh, miserere, miserere
Miserere, miserere
Miserere me
Have you ever seen a sound?
Have you listened to an image?
Have you ever touched a thought?
Have you ever tasted nothing?
Have you ever told a lie
That was true more than truth
Because truth it had lied
All its life when it spoke to you?
And what did it say?
It is that, it is this
This goes here, here is there
It is not, yes it is
It was dulling your senses
Your eyes they were bound
Have you ever, my friends
Been looking around?
And the other replies
With a wave of a hand
I am already here
In this promised land
But not by a God and not by a king
And not by a spirit
Deep from within
I am here
Because a miracle's a whim
It's a flash of glory
It's an empty tin
And maybe might lets you in
Not to save you
But to keep on looking
Oh, miserere, miserere
Miserere, miserere
Miserere me
Oh, miserere, miserere
Oh, miserere, miserere
Have you ever
Been so happy that you're sad?
That the lights turn to stars
And the stars become eyes
And hellos are goodbyes
And the laughs are the sighs
And the show disappears with the note
"Until next time"
Long live living
If living can be this
Long live living
If living can be this
Long live living
If living can be this
Long live living
If living can be this
Do you ever look around
And find what is yet to be found?
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Ed Sheeran
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“Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.
This is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. It's art.
I can't suggest a meaning for the entire song but I can offer a few for smaller parts.
Miserere apparently is a latin term for "have mercy!"
A man who walked down the street with a white robe and no shoes sounds like someone from a hospital, possibly a psych patient, but people ignore him, coz he's weird or whatever...
As for: "Or a woman who could not remember her name, Did stutter and stutter again and again, And saw you and called you her son, Her eyes said “My being is gone, but still I’m not dead”
...That is spot on for dementia/alzheimers. She can't remember her name and stutters, and she thinks everyone is her son. Very typical. And the bit about her eyes means that anything recognisable and any part of her mind is gone but her body lives on.
"Have you ever been so happy that you’re sad, That the lights turn to stars, And the stars become eyes, And hellos are goodbyes, And the laughs are the sighs, And the show disappears with a note Until next time"
Maybe this is realizing the shortness of life at the same time as appreciating the beauty of it. It could work...
but any other suggestions would be good.
this has got to be the best song in the world.. what would i do without the cat empire?
Did you ever see a man, Who did walk down the street, white robe with no shoes on his feet, And on top of his head placed a box with two slits, And a sign from his neck said “I do not exist”
i always thought this was some god metaphor..?
anyways this is such a beautiful song... i love the singing in the background.. i love the lyrics.. its so beautiful is makes me want to cry
What a great song, seriously. I've heard songs that were spiritual and well put together but this song just keeps getting deeper and deeper and its sucking me in. It's a very rare talent to be able to tie phrases together so beautifully and then to afterward fill it in with near-perfect music. <br /> <br /> But back to the interpretations, I agree with Light bulb101 about the man being "Christlike". In literature, a character that is introduced as barefoot is often considered to be christlike. Also, I feel as though the white robe is a sign of god as well, and that when i imagine this song, it feels like the first half is based in a night time, and a man walking down the street with a white robe almost sounds glowing. But the real thing that sells me to believing this man represents god is "On top of his head placed a box with two slits". The two slits experiment is designed around cutting two small slits in a small piece of something slightly thicker than paper, or at least thick so light wont shine through except the slits. If light is shone on the slits with a surface behind it the light not only lines against the surface in the shape of the two slits, but spreads out like waves. <br /> <br /> If you are more of a visual learner, the two slits experiment can be shown here<br /> youtube.com/watch<br /> <br /> With the two slits on the top of his head, things can come out of his head and wave across, spreading. Your head can produce, ideas, taste, smell and sight but it also contains your brain commanding your body what to do. Everything done by you is related back to your head. The two slits is talking about a christlike figure demonstrating to the world how to live life in my opinion.<br /> <br /> As for the "I do not exist" part, I am still wondering what he could be getting across. <br /> <br /> This is all just my interpretation of this, please feel free to comment back with any comments or disagreements.<br /> <br />
the little boy's voive in the song is feilx's younger brother max
feilx said that the song maght sound sad and depressing, but it is meant to be an uplifting song
i actually find it really uplifting from about the 4m30s mark where the beat picks up and the long live living bit starts i jsut get goosebumps, its definately about appreciating what u have, and respecting those who dont have it as good
what a beautiful song. when i first got this album i skipped past this song because i preferred the more upbeat tracks but now it's one of my favourites. love the trumpet :D long live music, if music can be this :)
I love this song... the lyrics are so awesome, and it really is an uplifting song, especially at the end. I think the song kind of takes you on a journey, early on it shows the trouble that some people can have in their life, the situations of those 'less fortunate'... and then, moving to appreciate the beauty of everything...
Have you ever seen a sound? Have you listened to an image? Have you ever touched a thought? Have you ever tasted nothing? Have you ever told a lie that was true more than truth? Because truth it had lied all its life When it spoke to you
I love this verse, it really invites you to explore everything around you with all of your senses and not to take anything for granted. Anyway, the song then becomes wonderfully uplifting in its style as well as its lyrics... this verse is my absolute favourite... musical genius, i say
Have you ever been so happy that you’re sad, That the lights turn to stars, And the stars become eyes, And hellos are goodbyes, And the laughs are the sighs, And the show disappears with a note Until next time
Long live living, if living can be this
And what a last line! Sums up the goal of the song in one perfect line... I just try to think this line as often as possible and it really makes you appreciate life.
Thankyou Cat Empire for this awesome song... i love all of their music but this is just so brilliantly done.
This song sounds really really sad, but it does seem to have a sort of happy/uplifting message... It still makes me want to cry though...
This song sounds really really sad, but it does seem to have a sort of happy/uplifting message... It still makes me want to cry though...