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.
I don't remember, were we wild and young
All that faded into memory
I feel like somebody I don't know
Are we really who we used to be
Am I really who I was
The lights will draw you in
And the dark will bring you down
And the night will break your heart
But only if you're lucky now
Waiting outside while you find your keys
Like bags of trash in the blackening snow
City of neon and toes that freeze
We've got nothing and nowhere to go
We've got nothing and nowhere
And the lights will draw you in
And the dark will take you down
The night will break your heart
But only if you're lucky now
And if the lights will draw you in
And the dark will take you down
But love will mend your heart
But only if you're lucky now
I don't remember were we wild and young
All that's faded into memory
I feel like somebody I don't know
Are we really who we used to be
Am I really who I was
All that faded into memory
I feel like somebody I don't know
Are we really who we used to be
Am I really who I was
The lights will draw you in
And the dark will bring you down
And the night will break your heart
But only if you're lucky now
Waiting outside while you find your keys
Like bags of trash in the blackening snow
City of neon and toes that freeze
We've got nothing and nowhere to go
We've got nothing and nowhere
And the lights will draw you in
And the dark will take you down
The night will break your heart
But only if you're lucky now
And if the lights will draw you in
And the dark will take you down
But love will mend your heart
But only if you're lucky now
I don't remember were we wild and young
All that's faded into memory
I feel like somebody I don't know
Are we really who we used to be
Am I really who I was
Lyrics submitted by thesmokemonst3r
Lucky Now Lyrics as written by Ryan Adams
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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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.
Getting older and trying to remember how you got there. The chorus seems to suggest a recollection of wild youthful nights filled with drama, and to appreciate that they made you feel alive. Drama is better than nothingness, of course.
The imagery in the second verse reminds me of "My Blue Manhattan," with its snow to cover the ugliness of the city. But when the snow begins to blacken, that illusion of innocence is lost.
The twist in the lyrics of the final chorus represents the hope in this song, and I like it very much.
She keeps telling me I'm "unlucky". But this song keeps making me smile.
I agree with your assessment, David. Even though things may not be the way they used to be, and we are not the same people we were, we're lucky to still be here....to have the chance at living today and chosing to be happy. In a similar vein, check out James McMurtry - Just Us Kids. Not his best song, cuz many of them are sheer genius, but a cool track nonetheless.
When I hear this song I think of someone who is looking back on a relationship. The first verse is kind of a query that would be similar to this couple trying to figure out if it will work after everything in their past. They are different people now and they are looking back at the "wild and young" feeling from when they first got together. The second verse seems to comment on the feeling of desperation sometimes between a couple undergoing a fair amount of uncertainty. The chorus is where you get a sense of what is going on. The relationship had its typical trend with a spark of a start ("the lights will draw you in"). Then that faded and the real world set in along with problems that eventually drove the two apart ("the dark will bring you down, and the night will break your heart"). And then later the two figured out that they really did love each other and got back together ("and love can mend your heart"). That change of the last live of the chorus suggests that love is the answer to "the dark" of a relationship and is what will stop "the night" from breaking your heart and ending a relationship. The singer is saying that this is something worthwhile and that you are lucky if you experience it. He claims its lucky beacuse the loss teaches you just how important the person is to you and how much you love them. And he is also saying that if they love you and mend your broken heart you are equally as lucky. I love his music and love this song.
Perfect.
I heard this on Later Live... with Jools Holland as was blown away. Such a beautiful song, and the way he sings it makes it feel so raw. I find myself clinging to the change of line in the final chorus; if not it is a very sad song indeed. It's true that only love can help us through the darkness and long, lonely nights.
...looking back on wild life. Time keeps moving and memories get further away, things get fuzzy and the past is surreal.
If you're lucky you will still feel incandescent emotions and passions that break and move you. If you let it pain can make you numb, so you must fight. Years can rob you of that spark, they make questions arise.
But...
If you're lucky you'll hang on to your intrigue and desire, excitement will still be felt and you'll be safe in a great growing love.
I'm gonna take a stab at this one and I'm probably gonna be wrong:) Someone is going through a difficult time and questioning if the person he cared for ever really knew him. He's saying his highs will attract people to him, but the lows will push people away. And the night (what goes on in it perhaps) will defect others. I suppose the title means that he'll be lucky if he receives love, but what do I know. I suck when it comes to interpretation.
Is that what he wants? If it is he just has to say it...and really mean it. I can't read much on anything into the lyrics as they stand now.
Typical
Sorry the timing is bad for you, Hinder. Enjoy.
I just became a member here and was looking for Ryan's intent on the song. However, I think it may just simply be a song to associate with your own life. Just like so many artists do. "take it as you hear it" Your own interpretation. Kind of like that song by The Buggles in the the 80's "Videos came and broke your heart" changing the meaning of what you thought the song was for you in your own life.
another classic from Ryan - he has a great body of work behind him now. Saw him perform this on Jools Holland. Sat on a stool with acoustic guitar. It was incredible. Please try and look it up if you can.