There's only one way of life
And that's your own

My father when I was younger
Took me up on to the hill
That looked down on the city smog
Above the factory spill
He said this is where I come
When I want to be free
Well he never was in his lifetime
But these words stuck with me

I ran from all of this
And I climbed that highest hill
And looked down on my life
Above the factory spill
I looked down onto my life
As the family disgrace
Then to all my friends on the starting line
Their wages off to chase
and all my friends and all their jobs
And all the bloody waste

CHORUS

I grew up, learned to love and laugh
Circled A's on the underpass
But the noise we thought would never stop
Died a death as the punks grew up
And we choked on our dreams
We wrestled with our fears
Running through the heartless concrete streets
Chasing our ideas

And the problems of the world
Won't be solved by this guitar
And they won't stop coming either
By the life I've had so far
And the bright lights of my home town
Won't be getting any dimmer
Though their calling has receded now
Like some old distant singer
And they don't seem so appealing
To the eyes of this poor sinner

CHORUS


Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death

One Way Lyrics as written by Jeremy Cunningham Charles Kenton Heather

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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One Way song meanings
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6 Comments

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  • +3
    My Interpretation

    What a fantastic song! I think this pretty much dragged me through High School!

    The main message is pretty clear "There's only one way of life, and that's your own" which couldn't be truer. It's about growing up and breaking out, for example the 1st verse is about not wanting to end up like your parents "Well he never was in his lifetime/But these words stuck with me" nobody wants to end up trapped like their parents.

    Also the second verse covers adolescence "all my friends and all their jobs, all the bloody waste" that's being stuck in a dead end job whilst at high school/college/uni and how bloody pointless it all feels =P

    I particularly love the last verse, the "We choked on our dreams We wrestled with our fears/Running through the heartless concrete streets/Chasing our ideas" covers all that day dreaming you do as a teenager ;) Also, there’s the rise of politics ;p Every teen has that revolutionary streak in them ;) The "Circling A's on the under pass" is in relation to the Anarchism symbol but also the "all the problems of the world wont be solved my this guitar and they won’t stop coming either” I think (correct me if I’m wrong) relates to protest singers.

    And finally (I’ll shut up in second I promise!) the actually moving on “And the bright lights of my home town/Won't be getting any dimmer/Though their calling has receded now…and they don’t look so appealing”. Home’s still there, but you’ve got better things to do now ;)

    Over all, top notch song :D

    Lederinon August 29, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    for me it means: No one can tell you how to live. Live how you want to.

    temporary_sedativeon February 12, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    its my fave song. its just justification for total individuality really! in an absolutely fantastic way

    mimison January 16, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Dangerous stuff, got to love it.

    -a circled A is the symbol of anarchy in case there's anyone who doesn't already know.

    ShineYouDiamondon December 19, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is quite simply an amazing song. It's even more amazing live, you just have to jump up and down and sing along :-D.

    Everything said above me is 100% true and there isn't much more to add really.

    I love the lyric "but the noise we thought would never stop died a death as the punks grew up".

    ~Lexi~on May 15, 2007   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    I think this song is about choosing a life outside of society's norms -- while all his friends are growing up and wasting their lives in boring jobs ("all my friends and all their jobs And all the bloody waste"), he's having an emotional life (learning "to love and laugh") as an anarchist punk. I think the message is that there's more to life than society's prescribed path of school>marriage>work>death, but you have to find it yourself.

    Negrul1on September 22, 2012   Link

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