If you look at your reflection at the bottom of the well
What you see is only on the surface
When you try to see the meaning, hidden underneath
The measure of the depth can be deceiving
The bottom has a rocky reputation

You can feel it in the distance the deeper down
You stare
From up above it's hard to see
But you know when you're there
On the bottom words are shallow
The surface talk is cheap
You can only judge the distance by the company you keep
In the eyes of the confessor

In the eyes of the confessor
There's no place you can hide
You can't hide from the eyes (of the confessor)
Don't you even try
In the eyes of the confessor
You can't tell a lie
You cannot tell a lie (to the confessor)
Strip you down to size
Naked as the day that you were born
Naked as the day that you were born

Take all the trauma, drama, comments
The guilt and doubt and shame
The what if's and if only's
The shackles and the chains
The violence and aggression
The pettiness and scorn
The jealousy and hatred
The tempest and discord
And give it up


Lyrics submitted by T_D_Phoenix, edited by jimmy11038

The Confessor Lyrics as written by Joe Walsh

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

The Confessor song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

10 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    Its about living your life for the right reasons and living honestly and spiritually.

    MaxBobon March 09, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    The hardest thing for a person to do is take a good look at themselves! With truth comes change! Yeah, that's what's this song is about! Parts of the self have to die to be born again, self awareness, self realization! JUST SAYING

    in2sighton April 07, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Love this: "On the bottom words are shallow on the surface talk is cheap you can finally judge the distance by the company you keep"

    Erika144on March 26, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I've little doubt the main part of the song DID inspire the Confessors of the SoT series... I can't find any reference that Goodkind has said as such, though. Anyone?

    'In the eyes of the confessor, There's no place you can hide You can't hide from the eyes (of the confessor) Don't you even try. In the eyes of the confessor You can't tell a lie You cannot tell a lie'

    Anyone can tell a lie under ANY torture, and many have doubtlessly done so, but under a SoT Confessor, it simply is not possible. Except, of course, for one who already truly loves her of their own free will, unequivocally. :D Those persons can lie to her. I'll see my way out...

    jon1029406on January 27, 2016   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Joe stood before God. The first thing God does is shows you that he knows everything about you. He has been right beside you every second of every day.You instanley know all the way through your soul that there are no lies.There is no blaming anyone else there is no place to run you know through your very being that he is real hes with you and he knows evrything about you.and he has the power to send you to heavan or hell at that moment your nakedness is horrifying to you in front of God.The reality that he is I Am The One True God Alpha And Omega is beyond human comprehension.This Is what happend to Joe Walsh and this is what the confessor is about.

    Confesson April 27, 2017   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It truly is about getting to know one's self! It is Step 4 of the 12 Steps in Alcoholics Anonymous! That's where Joe came up with this song! Very great song! One of my all-time favorites!

    j111920967on August 13, 2017   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion

    A great song, fabulous guitar work. One of my all-time favorites, for sure!

    Maverick1950on September 09, 2023   Link
  • -1
    General Comment

    Joe is better known as the clown prince of the Eagles (Life's Been Good, Rocky Mountain Way), so it was nice to see a song like this, spiritual and meaningful, get such good reception. Very powerful.

    arob3000on August 09, 2007   Link
  • -1
    My Interpretation

    I wonder if this is in reference to Confessors in the Sword of Truth books by Terry Goodkind, also popularized on TV as Legend of the Seeker. A Confessor is a magical woman who, by touching you and releasing her power, can take control of your mind and prompt you to tell or do anything.

    Myuzon December 06, 2009   Link
  • -1
    General Comment

    .... Huh.

    Yeah, this is a weird one.

    42 stepson February 10, 2017   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
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.