In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I walk the streets of Japan till I get lost
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
With a graveyard tan, carrying a cross
Yeah, it doesn't remind me of anything
I like studying faces in the parking lot
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like driving backwards in the fog
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
The things that I've loved, things that I've lost
Things I've held sacred that I've dropped
I won't lie no more, you can bet
I don't want to learn what I'll need to forget
I like gypsy moths and radio talk
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like gospel music and canned applause
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like colorful clothing in the sun
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like hammering nails and speaking in tongues
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
The things that I've loved, things that I've lost
Things I've held sacred that I've dropped
I won't lie no more, you can bet
I don't want to learn what I'll need to forget
Bend and shape me
I love the way you are
Slow and sweetly
Like never before
Calm and sleeping
We won't stir up the past
So discreetly
We won't look back
The things that I've loved, things that I've lost
Things I've held sacred that I've dropped
I won't lie no more, you can bet
I don't want to learn what I'll need to forget
I like throwing my voice and breaking guitars
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like playing in the sand, what's mine is ours
'If it doesn't remind me of anything
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
With a graveyard tan, carrying a cross
Yeah, it doesn't remind me of anything
I like studying faces in the parking lot
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like driving backwards in the fog
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
The things that I've loved, things that I've lost
Things I've held sacred that I've dropped
I won't lie no more, you can bet
I don't want to learn what I'll need to forget
I like gypsy moths and radio talk
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like gospel music and canned applause
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like colorful clothing in the sun
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like hammering nails and speaking in tongues
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
The things that I've loved, things that I've lost
Things I've held sacred that I've dropped
I won't lie no more, you can bet
I don't want to learn what I'll need to forget
Bend and shape me
I love the way you are
Slow and sweetly
Like never before
Calm and sleeping
We won't stir up the past
So discreetly
We won't look back
The things that I've loved, things that I've lost
Things I've held sacred that I've dropped
I won't lie no more, you can bet
I don't want to learn what I'll need to forget
I like throwing my voice and breaking guitars
'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like playing in the sand, what's mine is ours
'If it doesn't remind me of anything
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
personally i find it equally, if not more offensive when non-religious/non-spiritual people sit there and bitch about "christians" pushing their views of religion on them, yet those same people sit right back and ridicule and try to push their lack-there-of religious views on others. its the same thing, actually its WORSE because of the extraordinary levels of hypocrisy these folks possess . you are free to have your opinions JUST as i am free to have mine as chris cornell is free to have his as your mom is free to have hers. difference is i wont judge you or ridicule for your views because they differ from mine. and i'm pretty sure chris cornell probably wont either.
okay now that that is out of the fucking way..
sorry to break it to the angry atheist andrews on here but chris cornell is very open about his spiritual beliefs and being a recovering drug addict/alcoholic. if anyone knows a lil about recovery it seems obvious what a whole bunch of audioslave songs are about. but only the writer truly knows. i believe the song is about basically getting outside of your mind for a lil while. doing something for another person instead of focusing on himself, enjoying the true beauty of the world, in the little things that many and most of us take for granted. and for a true addict/alcoholic.. to have a few minutes that you can separate you from yourself and get out of your mind for a lil bit is like a sanctuary.
I disagree. I won't get into the rant, but the song seems to be more about oblivion than having some sunshiny moment. When someone has led a tortured life, even the seemingly positive aspects of the past can invoke painful memories. He wants to escape his past completely, forget everything, and begin anew. Sadly, this is impossible, so he can only cling to idiosyncrasies