Did you say what you wanted said?
And now you're just putting the days to bed
Young actors want to play and play
And you'll play, but you're working

Call applicants and stole cornering them
We're all waiting for the big day
If you feel crazy that you're still crazy
It hasn't happened for a few days
Well just wait

In hindsight you're gonna wish you were here
You keep scratching at the old paint
But the wood is still there
And the room is still there

If you're trying to feel the wind
Well that's a window you're pressed against

You never told me your secrets
So I guess they stayed safe with me
Tall orders from such small shoulders
And invitations on blue paper

But I'm bailing water and bailing water
'Cause I like the shape of the boat
You asked me and I told you
And you asked me and I told you and I told you

In hindsight you're gonna wish you were here
You keep scratching at the old paint
But the wood is still there
And the room is still there

If you're my anchor then I'm throwing you over the side
Before I have the time to say
I never wanted anyone this way
But I'm smoking cigarettes when no one else does
And if I hold you now will I be holding a snowball
When the season changes and I'm craving the sun?

Are you still training for the big race
By hoping the runners will die?
Churning the words of your disgrace
But it's how you are when you're down that counts

And you know we're a good thing
It's been a long time since you said
Put down your camera and let me ask you
Is this new move just to keep moving?

In hindsight you're gonna wish you were here
You keep scratching at the old paint
But the wood is still there
And the room is still there

If I kiss you now like sun streaming in a tavern's door
Would you wonder what I'm kissing you for?


Lyrics submitted by mdon06

Hindsight Lyrics as written by John Roderick

Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Hindsight song meanings
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9 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    This is my favorite song on "Putting the Days to Bed," even though something about it makes me so sad. I honestly nearly fell down the first time I heard the stanza about bailing water. It's just so beautiful.

    mdon06on June 04, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song. I can totally relate. Its about someone searching for some unknown thing when what they need is right in front of them. And this song is trying to warn them not to split because they're gonig to regret it.

    musicfrkon September 18, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song. I can totally relate. Its about someone searching for some unknown thing when what they need is right in front of them. And this song is trying to warn them not to split because they're gonig to regret it.

    musicfrkon September 18, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    it's almost as though his lover is one who always wants the easy way out: "Are you still training for the big race by hoping the runners will die?". It sounds like things got hard and instead of facing the problem she's wanting to take the easy way out, she's wanting to run away from the problem instead of facing it. All the while the singer is seeing what she's doing and knows that if she opts to take that comfortable path then she'll, in the long run, regret what she did.

    at least that's how i'm seeing it and can relate to some of the lines given my current situation.

    RomanCandleon October 30, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    it's almost as though his lover is one who always wants the easy way out: "Are you still training for the big race by hoping the runners will die?". It sounds like things got hard and instead of facing the problem she's wanting to take the easy way out, she's wanting to run away from the problem instead of facing it. All the while the singer is seeing what she's doing and knows that if she opts to take that comfortable path then she'll, in the long run, regret what she did.

    at least that's how i'm seeing it and can relate to some of the lines given my current situation.

    RomanCandleon October 30, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    yes, I agree. and i believe the hard thing is for her to commit to him or to be willing to enter the relationship. he's saying that she knows "we're a good thing" and that she's going to regret it if she decides not to be with him, which is what she knows is right but she is afraid of at the same time.

    phonographon January 30, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think you all are forgeting that it's not all her. He's met his match in the running game and they both know they're a good thing. They'll both regret a dissolution but it won't happen, both are trying to make things work in their lives and it's harder with each other but they'd regret it if they didn't try harder with each other.

    lurkeron February 20, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is my favourite song on the album.

    To me, for some reason (possibly only the line about 'invitations on blue paper'), it is about a man who's getting cold feet about marrying a woman, only it's not 'cold feet', but rather a certain knowledge that it's just not right. Maybe he felt pressured into proposing and she's just excited about being a bride.

    He's afraid that the girl knows it too, but will just plow on hoping that the doubts will go away and they'll be happily married:

    "...but I'm smoking cigarettes when no one else does..."

    He's the only one prepared to do something nobody else will, in saying that he thinks they should call it off, because as bad as it'll be, he'd rather that than make the mistake and be left with the consequences:

    "...and if I hold you now will I be holding a snowball when the season changes and I'm craving the sun?"

    If he doesn't do what he feels is right, will they be stuck in a broken marriage by next season?

    peanutisminton March 18, 2007   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning

    From an interview with John Roderick (lead singer for The Long Winters):

    Track 4: "Hindsight" - "I'm baling water and baling water 'cause I like the shape of the boat"

    JR: I'm afraid that this lyric is already perfectly self-explanitory. When I say it's self-explanatory I'm not trying to be difficult, it's just to me nothing could be clearer than a lyric like that. It's a lyric about the small-scale, almost charming, tendency we all have toward self-destruction. If we weren't humans, if we were able to judge like computers or Vulcans, the only logical criteria for a BOAT would be that it floats without leaking. How it looks couldn't be less relevant to how it functions. Our humanity is revealed by our love for lost causes, for three-legged dogs and rusted-out "classic" cars, and there's something pathetic about us for that reason. The same eye that loves art and music will plunge us into buying a house with a cracked foundation, while a perfectly solid, and cheaper, house next door is rejected for being not as "cute". I celebrate this quality in people; it's what makes us interesting, and lovable, and individual, even if it means that we're doomed, somewhat. Why be in a relationship with someone? For love, comfort, support and encouragement. How many of us are in relationships that provide none of those things, but which we fight for against all odds?

    ervo3000on July 25, 2012   Link

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