I walked around my good intentions
And found that there were none
I blame my father for the wasted years
We hardly talked
I never thought I would forget this hate
Then a phone call made me realize
I'm wrong

And if I don't make it known that
I've loved you all along
Just like sunny days that
We ignore because
We're all dumb and jaded
And I hope to God I figure out
What's wrong

I walked around my room
Not thinking
Just sinking in this box
I blame myself for being too much
Like somebody else
I never thought I would just
Bend this way
Then a phone call made me realize I'm wrong

And if I don't make it known that
I've loved you all along
Just like sunny days that
We ignore because
We're all dumb and jaded
And I hope to God I figure out
What's wrong

And I hope to God I figure out what's wrong
I hope to God I figure out what's wrong

And if I don't make it known that
I've loved you all along
Just like sunny days that
We ignore because
We're all dumb and jaded
And I hope to God I figure out
What's wrong

And if I don't make it known that
I've loved you all along
Just like sunny days that
We ignore because
We're all dumb and jaded
And I hope to God I figure out


Lyrics submitted by dsfire

4 A.M. Lyrics as written by Michael Maida Arnold Lanni

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

4 A.M. song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

82 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +3
    General Comment

    4am has a double meaning. He wrote it at 4 a.m. and 'for A.M.', his father's initials.

    He says he wrote the chords and lyrics in about five minutes.

    fadelon April 23, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    The message behind the song is pretty obvious, but you probably didn't know that Raine wrote this song after having a dream that his father was in the hospital dying. In the dream, he didn't make it to the hospital in time to say I love you. So in the song he says if he doesn't make it, if it really happens, know that I've always loved you although we haven't really talked alot.

    egoat711on December 12, 2001   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I used to think this song was about a suicidal person who blamed his father for keeping him (the speaker) and a significant other/friend apart. "If I don't make it" is sort of like, "If I don't make it out of this depression (if I kill myself), know that I loved you all along." He hopes he can figure out why he's so depressed before he does something drastic.

    I realize now that the song is aimed toward the speaker's father, but I guess my adolescent mind thought every song was about a Very Depressed Person, ha ha.

    Mendalusa77on September 12, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    tool.freak is absouletly right. I always thought it was about a kid who didnt get along with his father but really inside he loved him so after he heard he died ( "a phone call made me realize I'm wrong", maybe someone called him to tell him his father died). The line "Sunny days that we ignored because we're all dumb and jaded" means that they spent all their time fighting and not noticing what a nice day it was. Well there a lot of line's that could prove my meaning right if you read it. Anyways it a really great song and its really good to listen to if your sad.

    sic n twistedon May 12, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i love olp, and always have. i have listened over and over to these lyrics, and the lyrics to all there songs. I met them recently, er jeremy and steve anyway, and they were such cool, down to earth ppl. i swear that between these lyrics and their personalities, they are a pretty much perfect beings.

    EmothicAon June 03, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this is my favourite olp song and maybe even my favourite song in the world... it's so moving and the pain in raine's voice just makes it sound so beautiful...

    fortunebrighton June 15, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is really good. i could listen to our lady peace all day! :) they're just wicked! oi

    cherrypunkker07on June 15, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this is my favorite song of all time of theirs, this and theif. and it's so moving when u see him do it live the emotion that he puts behind it. it's amazing. OLP rox my sox :)

    atarisgirl17on June 29, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    beautiful song. i love olp they're the greatest band in the world. this is probably their last great song until somewhere out there

    canadakickasson July 05, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i completely agree with everything that everyone has said about this song so there's no need to repeat it. i just thought i'd say that on the 4th of july i went up to milwaukee, WI to see them at Summerfest and it was just unbelievable (my 2nd time). i love how he lets the crowd sing a whole song, and this was the song that he chose. i was really glad that he did because it means so much to me. whenever i listen to OLP my heart swells with love, appreciation, and respect. and seeing them live is a very moving experience. everyone should when they get the chance. heh, i even got steve and jeremy to sign my shoes afterwards. raine and duncan didnt come out though :( but there's always the chicago show! lol.

    -saM->

    harmonicApparitionon July 07, 2002   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
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"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.