The thrill here is quicker than you'd think
The way some jet-lagged bar kept pouring the wine
From over their heads then sit back down again
Four times is once too much for luck
And that's how many times the clock struck
I wandered home saying your name

The arches here were built 'cause they don't fall
The cathedrals to make you feel small
You might find your small soul
But leave the preaching to the president
The crowd cheers, his eyes get wet, I'm full as it is, I'm full as it is
So don't feed me more

You'll be having my head, big as a birthday
'Cause I left all my doubts on the airplane
I didn't know, I didn't know I'm not in control
I didn't know, I'm not invincible

Now maybe some things are better left unsaid
But if you wanted to test that out, well, yeah, I guess, I could've said
But there were nights in bars that I recall
Your breath was courage laced with alcohol
You leaned in, you said
"Make music with the chatter in here
And whisper all the notes in my ears"
I didn't know, I didn't know the weight of my tongue
I didn't know, I didn't know what I'd done

The lights here are softer than you'd think
The dim lit peacocks in the trees
Are hiding their eyes and their beauty, like me
But if my eyes were on my back
I know what I'd be looking at
Through every shade of browns and greens
I didn't know, I didn't know it was nothing new
I didn't know, I didn't know it was you


Lyrics submitted by giraffes!, edited by jamiza, khonsu, magnum8, cycneavox, ClarityQuest

Oviedo Lyrics as written by Aaron Nebeker

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Oviedo song meanings
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17 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    I think this song is about a young man taking a trip overseas, possibly for the first time, and his first realization of what heartbreak is. I think that the over all tone of the lyrics, even though many are ambiguous, are in reference to his realization that HE broke someone ELSE'S heart. I think the fourth verse is evidence to that:

    "And maybe some things are better left unsaid But if you wanted to test that, I will, yeah, I guess, I could've said But there were nights in bars that I recall Your breath was courage laced with alcohol You leaned in, you said, "Make music with the chatter in here, And whisper all the notes in my ears." I didn't know, I didn't know the way of my tongue I didn't know, I didn't know what I'd done"

    I think the girl he's writing about and had these experiences with in Spain was someone he almost loved but her intensity and, quite possibly, her alcoholism always left him a bit rattled. He would tell her what he thought she wanted to hear, even if he didn't mean it, and in the end... there was just that:

    an end.

    ......... I'm so full of shit.

    • Janel
    JanelHasSpokenon April 03, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I feel like it's about a girl whose heart he broke, but wanting her back. "Four times is once too much for luck," resonates with me as a man who has fallen in love with the same girl four times over, and knowing that it means something. It can't be luck. It must be fate.

    Spain is ultimately irrelevant, I think. It may be the location of one of their encounters, but aside from that it stands only to make a statement about a foreign nostalgia, of a time that seems so different from what he now calls home.

    "If my eyes were on my back, I know what I'd be looking at..." shows that he's hanging on tight to the past, to a happier time, when they were together.

    Rytikoon December 30, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "four times is once too much for luck"

    "Cat dead drawls" is actually some foreign word either French or Spanish, Probably Spanish because Oviedo is in Spain.

    "and if you wanted to test that out ... well ... Yeah ... I guess you couldn't-a said.

    "the weight of my tongue"

    MickTon January 11, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Thank you, MickT.

    Those last few lines kill me every single time.

    TONERon February 16, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    catedrals. spanish for cathedral, or a city with a cathedral in it. makes sense. (The arches of the cathdrals are here to make you feel small, I guess.)

    but cat dead drawls is an interesting interpretation too. : )

    and yeah, definitely 'weight of my tongue'.

    I think...

    CarlyLon March 05, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It's almost certainly a reference to Oviedo: a city in North-Western Spain. The Cathedral is the biggest landmark in this city, which coincidentally, plays host to exchange students from Oregon every year. Also he mentions the pouring wine from over the head - this is a little inaccurate, it's actually cider that is poured like that, but it's a nice nostalgic song.

    sean125on July 21, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Blind Pilot was recently on NPR and Israel said the did spend a year in Oviedo, Spain and that it was so beautiful that he had to write a letter to his friend. Check out the interview, it was awesome.

    Also, cider is poured from above the head but so is wine. The vessel is called a porrom and it is used to pour wine directly into ones mouth. They are awesome and I want one really bad.

    pcaenepeelon July 30, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is so beautiful, i wish i understood what he meant when he said

    "They're hiding their eyes and their beauty, like me But if my eyes were on my back I know what I'd be looking at Through every shade of brown and green" because that part is the most beautiful to me

    sux4uuon January 30, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Also, it is "weight of my tongue"

    JanelHasSpokenon April 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    How does one get lyrics fixed on this site? "cat dead drawl" makes no sense at all, it is clearly "catedral", given the location of the song.

    penitentwhaleron April 25, 2010   Link

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