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 seem to recognize your face
Haunting, familiar yet
I can't seem to place it
Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name
Lifetimes are catching up with me
All these changes taking place
I wish I'd seen the place
But no one's ever taken me
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
I swear, I recognize your breath
Memories like fingerprints are slowly raising
Me, you wouldn't recall for I'm not my former
It's hard when you're stuck upon the shelf
I changed by not changing at all
Small town predicts my fate
Perhaps that's what no one wants to see
I just want to scream hello
My God it's been so long
Never dreamed you'd return
But now here you are and here I am
Hearts and thoughts they fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade
Haunting, familiar yet
I can't seem to place it
Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name
Lifetimes are catching up with me
All these changes taking place
I wish I'd seen the place
But no one's ever taken me
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
I swear, I recognize your breath
Memories like fingerprints are slowly raising
Me, you wouldn't recall for I'm not my former
It's hard when you're stuck upon the shelf
I changed by not changing at all
Small town predicts my fate
Perhaps that's what no one wants to see
I just want to scream hello
My God it's been so long
Never dreamed you'd return
But now here you are and here I am
Hearts and thoughts they fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade
Lyrics submitted by Trent, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town Lyrics as written by Jeff Ament Dave Abbruzzese
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
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,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
"I just wanna scream 'hello' My god it's been so long, never dreamed you'd return"
this part must be on a top 5 pj moments
most definately!
Haha yep, as emotional as it is, it would be right up there :P
its written from the point of view of the elderly woman, who has some menial job behind a counter in a store, who has never left her small town. someone has just walked in who she recognizes from her past. the song is about the flood of feelings and memories (hearts and thoughts) that she experiences seeing this person walk through the door.
@PJ10 It's not just anybody. It's a former lover, from her 30s I dare to guess.
@PJ10 I think Alieno is correct AFA being lovers.
This song reminds me of someone I as a young girl wanted to have a relationship with. We met when we were kids and clicked from day one. Things never materialized into a relationship. He left town, went away got married, the whole nine. I thought of him for years. He had said when he left he had wanted me to be that girl. Finding out he was gone, with someone else... I decided it was not meant to be. Some years later he gets a hold of me. I never thought I'd see or talk to him again. We share a phone call. A few more years pass. He is broken up and living back in the area. We see each other and he can't recognize me as the same girl. We spend some time together, seems things are the same as far as spending time together. It means to me hearts and thoughts they do fade over time, but seeing someone in person once there is that recognition they can come flooding back. To me this song signifies change, sadness, what could have been and confusion.
For me it is a lot about lost love and what could have been. Having grown, but not sure if you are changed so much that you cannot have what you once had, or even if that's what you really wanted all along. It's about regret for the past and hope for the future. Maybe even being too scared to admit you made a mistake or if you will repeat it. It's all about timing. Life leaves a lot of times for what ifs.
This always seemed, to me, about a couple in love as young people, and then the man walks into some nameless small town when he's like eighty, and recognizes his first love again but is afraid to say anything to her, and she recognizes him as well but due to being trapped in her small life, she doesn't say anything.
It's a bit like my grandmother...married 50 years, then my grandfather died. Two years later, she runs into the boy she knew when she was 16 who she dumped to date my grandfather. They are now married.
The story about your grandmother makes me smile... :)
I think this is about: like we all go through phases in life, teenager, college, adult. And like you separate them in your mind. Then you go back to a place and it brings you back to a time. And it's like "damn, I'd forgotten that whole period of my life and it meant something to me, but I've lived so many lives since I've lost it, and it's a shame that isn't still ingrained in me as part of the fabric of my soul." Even though it might be to a degree. I think it's like you go into this grocery store and there's this woman that always asked how you were doing and told you about her kids and you knew her name and her favorite cigarette and now you walk back in and it's like "Shit, that was a part of my life that completely fell away from my memory and I can't even remember her name." I think it's about wanting to live a lot of lives, but being sad that they couldn't all just be one, even though in a way they are.
@rbach48 this is a really interesting take on it and you could be right. I see the meaning as a feeling of love for someone that you got you had. 'Hello, there you are' referring to those feelings you forgot you had for that person. But I guess it could also be a place or time in life. It's nice when people have different looks at tracks ????
I was led to believe by an online source that this title was chosen in response to the many critics of Pearl Jam's former use of short song titles, and to put it bluntly, "rip the piss" out of them; and was totally irrelevant to the actual meaning of the song. Whether or not this is true is of course debateable, and many users have already posted convincing arguments about it being written from the perspective of the mentioned elderly woman.
What I feel cannot be disputed though, is that this song is about a person returning to a certain place they have visited, or re-establishing feelings they may have once had, in the past; and realising that deep-down, everything is the same as it ever was. "Hearts and thoughts" may fade away over time, but can be brought back in the picture from memories in an instant.
I feel here that Eddie is RTP out of em arrogantly without judging and 180 at the same time relating to his fans in a phenomenal way that makes us appreciate his sacrifices
Listlessness is contagious to only strangers that pass by without the willingness to touch.
When touched..the depravity infects and fades. But the sorrow of hopes released to reality of circumstances that no longer stings.... Is mature and unfamiliar.
It is.
It is and reality recognizes the difference between death and the road to it.
We all fade away.
We are that counter.
That place.
We are that small town.
It's not if...
It's when.
" lifetimes are catching up with me"
"Memories like fingerprints"
I just want to scream...my God it's been so long..."
Our place is no different.
We will either rejoice or regret.
Or a mix thereof.
Makes me think of my 8th grade crush. Loved her to death. Would've taken a bullet for her. I knew her like a good friend and thats what we had been. Then she made other friends and, well, we just stopped talking. "Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away" is how I felt day after day of trying to get her out of my head. This song really helped me through this as well as "One Man Army" by OLP. Heard this on the radio the other day and it brought these memories up again.
need4creed good agrument, your probably right. But Creed sucks, I'm so glad they broke up and I'll never have to change the radio station to avoid hearing their new one.
I like what PJ10 said. I grew up in a small town, and I know the feeling of walking in the general store and seeing the same old woman behind the counter there. Every time you see her it's a little bit depressing, just that she spent her whole life doing that.
Hahahahaha.. 'MtterOFctItsAllDrk' well summed up. need4creed, that's some very good analysis, but i just don't understand how someone who obviously knows his shit, can choose to have a favourite band that were one of the crappest going around!? Shame shame shame