Get a pen, make a list of your crimes and then hand it over.
Who says you can't switch sides? It's that simple.
And you can't make mistakes, but as men we are able to folly.
You say that's just fine. That makes no sense.

They'll throw that book at us,
And they're aiming for our young but they'll miss by a long shot.
Yeah not by a long shot
Will we join them?

Cause you're old and you're scared,
It's the luxury of youth that allows us to see a different side.
Do you remember?
A sudden surge of the tide,
Saw it wash away life I say that we can prevent this.
You say it's a sign. Aren't you lucky?


Lyrics submitted by jxnarcoticz

Not by a Long Shot Lyrics as written by Jeff Widner Alex Burton

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Not By a Long Shot song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

1 Comment

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    i get a vibe from that this song implies humanities carelessness and abandonment to eachother and the earth. at first our wrongs ("crimes") and 'handed over' to maybe something/one greater? im mean, maybe a god of some sort? no? yes? okok...and then

    "they'll throw the book at us"...the older generations so used to the conformed to the way things are will reject the us, the young. they'll give up. "and they're aiming for our young but they'll miss by a long shot." but we move on and progress without them. "it's the luxury of youth that allows us to see a different side."

    thingsgreenon May 29, 2007   Link

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

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
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.
Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.