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.
Time standing all alone
I bled for you
I wanted to
Each drop my own
Slowly they depart
But fall in vain
Like desert rain
And still they fall on and on and on
Got to get back to a reason
Got to get back to a reason I once knew
And this late in the seasons
One by one distractions fade from view
So drifting through the dark
The sympathy
Of night's mercy
Inside my heart
Is your life the same?
Do ghosts cry tears?
Do they feel years?
As time just goes on and on and on
Got to get back to a reason
Got to get back to a reason I once knew
And this late in the seasons
One by one distractions fade from view
I'm looking for you
I'm looking for I don't know what
I can't see there anymore
And all my time's been taken
Is this what it seems?
Allure of a dream
And I'm afraid to walk back through that door
To find that I've awakened
The night seems to care
The dreams in the air
The snow's coming down
It beckons me dare
It whispers, it hopes
It holds and confides
And offers a bridge
Across these divides
The parts of my life
I've tried to forget
It's gathered each piece
And carefully kept
Somewhere in the dark
Beyond all the cold
There is a child that's part of my soul
That's part of my soul
Got to get back to a reason
Got to get back to a reason I once knew
And this late in the seasons
One by one distractions fade from view
The only reason I have left is you
I bled for you
I wanted to
Each drop my own
Slowly they depart
But fall in vain
Like desert rain
And still they fall on and on and on
Got to get back to a reason
Got to get back to a reason I once knew
And this late in the seasons
One by one distractions fade from view
So drifting through the dark
The sympathy
Of night's mercy
Inside my heart
Is your life the same?
Do ghosts cry tears?
Do they feel years?
As time just goes on and on and on
Got to get back to a reason
Got to get back to a reason I once knew
And this late in the seasons
One by one distractions fade from view
I'm looking for you
I'm looking for I don't know what
I can't see there anymore
And all my time's been taken
Is this what it seems?
Allure of a dream
And I'm afraid to walk back through that door
To find that I've awakened
The night seems to care
The dreams in the air
The snow's coming down
It beckons me dare
It whispers, it hopes
It holds and confides
And offers a bridge
Across these divides
The parts of my life
I've tried to forget
It's gathered each piece
And carefully kept
Somewhere in the dark
Beyond all the cold
There is a child that's part of my soul
That's part of my soul
Got to get back to a reason
Got to get back to a reason I once knew
And this late in the seasons
One by one distractions fade from view
The only reason I have left is you
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Back to a Reason, Pt. 2 Lyrics as written by John N. Oliva John Oliva
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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"'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."
Gentle Hour
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Great version of a great song,
Magical
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One of the most powerful songs I've ever heard. The song actually begins at "time, standing all alone" and everything before that is just part of the story written by Jon Oliva of TSO. The full story can be read on their website. It's beautiful, extremely touching and magical, and this is coming from an atheist.
Meaning:
This particular song deals with the father's feelings of guilt and hopelessness after taking the time to think about how he abandoned his child, and how much time he has wasted on a meaningless life with no love or friends. With these thoughts, he decides to go to his son, telling himself his son is the only reason he has left to live.
"Time - Still they fall on and on and on" These lines refer to his past relationship and dead wife. They were a happy couple with everything, but lost it all so suddenly. The bleeding refers to the wound in the man's soul, which bleeds eternally ever since the wound his wife's death had on him. The "falling in vain" may also refer to his drops of blood, continually falling, or it may refer to the ghost of his wife's tears, mentioned in the beginning of the story, which eventually froze into snowflakes.
"Got to get back to a reason - Fade from view" He's trying to remember the way he felt about life when he lived for his wife, and regain that meaning in his life. "This late in the seasons" refers to how during Christmas, what's important seems to become clearer to us, and the things that lead us astray from such things are not present at this time.
"Drifting through the dark - On and on" Literally refers to his late excursion on this Christmas night. The "Is you life the same?" verses may be him referring to his dead wife, again asking if she cries tears, and feels the years of time passing (Which, in the story, she does).
"I'm looking for you - End" This is him finally facing his past, present, and future. Realizing he has wasted so much of his life, and doesn't have much time left to make anything of it. It examines his fear of "waking up," meaning, facing his miserable life for what it really is, and ceasing to live in the cold cage he has built around himself. With the remainder of his time, in these moments he is finding the strength to make right what he still can, and face his problems on this night of Christmas. He finally decides that he will do whatever he still can to get to his son.
On a deeper note: Although this song has a very specific meaning as part of a story, I believe it can loosely be applied to nearly anyone who feels as though they are living only to live, perhaps suffering or in pain, and feeling the weight of time and the past. The fear of seeing life for what it really is is indeed dreadfully scary, and living in a dream is what many seem to do to avoid it. Of course, it can just as well be a song of hope, to those who have finally found something or someone in their life to live for.