"Hello Seattle" as written by and Adam R. Young....
Hello Seattle, I am a mountaineer
In the hills and highlands
I fall asleep in hospital parking lots
And awake in your mouth
Hello Seattle, I am a manta-ray
Deep beneath the blue waves
I'll crawl the sandy bottom of Puget Sound
And construct my summer home
Hello Seattle, I am the crescent moon
Shining down on your face
I will disguise myself as a sleeping pill
And descend inside of you
Hello Seattle, I am a cold seahorse
Feeling warm in your sand
I sing about the tide and the ocean surf
Rolling in the evening breeze
Hello Seattle, I am an albatross
On the docks and your boats
I sail above your inlets and interstates
Through the rain and open wind
Hello Seattle, I am an old lighthouse
Throwing beams of bright lights
Red in the morning, blue in the evening sun
Taking heed from everyone
Hello Seattle, I am a mountaineer
In the hills and highlands
I fall asleep in hospital parking lots
Take me above your light
Carry me through the night
Hold me secure in flight
Sing me to sleep tonight
Take me above your light
Carry me through the night
Hold me secure in flight
Sing me to sleep tonight
In the hills and highlands
I fall asleep in hospital parking lots
And awake in your mouth
Hello Seattle, I am a manta-ray
Deep beneath the blue waves
I'll crawl the sandy bottom of Puget Sound
And construct my summer home
Hello Seattle, I am the crescent moon
Shining down on your face
I will disguise myself as a sleeping pill
And descend inside of you
Hello Seattle, I am a cold seahorse
Feeling warm in your sand
I sing about the tide and the ocean surf
Rolling in the evening breeze
Hello Seattle, I am an albatross
On the docks and your boats
I sail above your inlets and interstates
Through the rain and open wind
Hello Seattle, I am an old lighthouse
Throwing beams of bright lights
Red in the morning, blue in the evening sun
Taking heed from everyone
Hello Seattle, I am a mountaineer
In the hills and highlands
I fall asleep in hospital parking lots
Take me above your light
Carry me through the night
Hold me secure in flight
Sing me to sleep tonight
Take me above your light
Carry me through the night
Hold me secure in flight
Sing me to sleep tonight
Lyrics submitted by JetstyleArmada, edited by wwsamson
"Hello Seattle" as written by Adam R. Young
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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i think it's more about the hopsital aspect. he says, "i am a sleeping pill" like something a doctor might use to get a patient to sleep. and how the lighthouse is "red in the morning, blue in the evening son"; lighthouses aren't red and blue, but ambulance lights are.
maybe he knew someone who was in the hospital at the time he wrote this. and all of the "hello seattle, i am..." are what they dreamed about beyond life in the hospital.
and then it goes, "Take me above your light/Carry me through the night/Hold me secure in flight/Sing me to sleep tonight" which, depending on the context, isn't necessarily happy. maybe they were dying.
you know?
In the song, Adam talks about how he is a mountaineer, but “I fall asleep in hospital parking lots.” A mountaineer is supposed to be someone who is strong and not afraid of anything. Because the person falls asleep in hospital parking lots, they probably know someone in the hospital. It is obviously someone they love, because they don’t want to leave them in the hospital. They sleep in the parking lot so that they are still at the hospital, even outside of visiting hours, because they can’t leave this friend of theirs who is dying. They are only pretending to be a mountaineer. On the outside they act strong and brave, but on the inside they are worried more than anything about this person.
In the next few verses, I am not sure what exactly Adam means. In the one starting with “I am the crescent moon,” he talks about being a pill. Pills are associated with sickness and hospitals, so there is probably a connection there. I think that the “moon shining down on your face” could be some kind of a light that the doctor is shining into the patient’s eyes. I’m not sure about that one though.
Later, he gets into the verse about the lighthouse, and someone else already said something about the lighthouse that was brilliant, so I'm just going to repeat it. The lighthouse is a building that helps people. However, lighthouses are not red and blue. The lighthouse here is actually an ambulance with its red and blue lights. Others take heed from an ambulance, and, like a lighthouse, it helps people. The two have similar purposes, but the difference is that an ambulance is a symbol of panic and injury, while a lighthouse is a savior. The lighthouse covers up the pain that the ambulance brings, but nevertheless, the ambulance is still there.
When he starts singing “Take me above your light…” the point of view has switched. Before, the narrator was the protector, or the one trying to help the patient. Now, the patient is speaking. The patient talks about the things he or she wants. All that the patient wants is to feel safe. They don’t even mind dying, I don’t think, as long as they have that first narrator there to protect them. “Sing me asleep tonight.” Here, they do not actually want to be sung to sleep. Sleeping is a metaphor for dying. Small children like to be sung to sleep because it calms them down and is peaceful. They can fall asleep because they have that sense of security from the singer being there. The patient does not mind dying, but all they want is to be with the person when it happens for that extra comfort. Once they have that friend there to ‘sing to them’, they can ‘fall asleep’ and feel safe.
Ah, sorry this is so long.
"Take me above your light
Carry me through the night
Hold me secure in flight
Sing me to sleep tonight"
I LOVE THIS SONG =]
I love the part about him praying.
This is definitely the most accurate interpretation in my opinion. (:
I might be reading into it too much cuz im a native, but if youve been here and spent enough time to really appreciate the city youll most likley fall in love with it too...
"Hello Seattle, I am an Albatross, on the docks and MOORED boats." A moored boat is one that is tethered to a dock, anchor, etc. usually by rope, cables, or chains. Listen carefully, and you can hear it.
I love this song. It's so haunting and beautiful...
but, i guess it could also be a dream sequence..(Guava)
or about being comfortable with someone you love...(theBLUESToctober)
or being mentally dead..(eyaewo)
or about God...(sablechatrat)
haha, who cares, its just a good song?
maybe this is one of those songs where the lyrics are intended to be taken any way you want.
:]