| Counting Crows – Shallow Days Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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Here is what I think. Mary Jane is something of a small town name, so basically she convinced her small time BF to move to the city to make it big. In summary, she ends up leaving him for a rich guy in the city, hence him having to deal with her shallowness. Powerful song actually as it sort of revolves around their last meeting for her to tell him she never wants to see him again. Mary Jane says, it's all right She's just around the corner from the main light Any day now, it's all right She's standing on the precipice of big time Here she is just convincing him everything will be okay and to take the risk, good things are going to happen in the city! And I know I'm a little uptight I got to go before the sun shines We're just a couple small people squeezing out a life We need a little good time So, this guy is working long hours and is feeling stressed. He doesn't think things are working out, and he basically has to get up and go to work early, and he's trying to convince her they are "small town folks" and had more fun living the life they had I the small town and they should go back. It's not far from here Mary comes and goes Drifting through the scenery Of shallow days below Now that's everybody knows He notices her slipping away, perhaps foreshadowing the "scenery" being the rich guy, and her being drawn to it. You follow trains out of town And they vanish somewhere under the horizon Yeah well, I saw Mary Jane drag her shadow Down the tracks, stare off in the distance Existential moment for the singer here as he reflects that you know where journey's start but you can't always know the end. In other words, he basically threw the dice and followed her to the city. While he keeps looking back, she is constantly looking forward. It's not far from here Mary waves 'Hello' Smiling though she's sinking In the shallow days below Here he knows he lost her, and he thinks she's just being fake now and he is so hurt but she doesn't care. He doesn't know what to do. Oh no, I can't find a way out of here Out on the road again I'm much, much too concerned about Mary Jane Here she finalizes that she is moving out, so, he has to either find another place or more likely, go back to the small town. He tries to convince her she is making a big mistake but she won't budge. I'm all alone again and I like what she said but not what it means She leaves me drowning Through the shallow days down below So, here we can piece together that she found a rich guy, moved out, and when he says, "like what she said, but not what it means" I think she told him she IS indeed being really shallow (he agreed) BUT that meant that she is not only breaking up with him, but cutting him off completely because he is bad for her image. You know I heard a band Playing waltzes in a grange hall The sun is sinking lower People staring, Mary Jane humming softly to herself And nobody really knows her Now he is pissed. He thinks she is being some debutant staying up all night being someone she is not and he has to get to bed to get up and work again. He thinks she doesn't fit in and she is awkward with this new crowd. Any day now it's all right She tells herself that this will be the last time Then Mary Jane pulls her hair back and wonders What she'll do with all her free time She is also pissed at him as we peer into MJ thoughts and she really wants her ex gone. She never wants to think about him again, and dreams about her new rich life where she doesn't have to just scrape by any more. Not too far from here Mary turns to go Smiling while the waltz begins Dancing down the road Here, I think she throws him a small bone and her (high class) waltz, turns into a (dance) that he is familiar with - which just rips his heart out. He knows she is not coming back now. I think she is metaphorically telling him she happy and to leave her alone. Hey, hey, hey, hey, Mr. Freedom What are we supposed to think? 'Cause I'm a very tiny person and it worries me This is where the song picks up as he panics now and feel shitty about himself. He's somewhere he doesn't want to be, alone, and realizes she has been the leader in the relationship and he isn't even sure what to do. I'm all alone again and I like what she says but not what it means She leaves me drowning In the shallow days way down below Here it's sinking in, he's thinking about all the problems he has now because of her (drowning) and he is blaming her shallowness for it all. "I'm sorry", she said "I know it's not the kind of thing you want" I'm falling, falling down "I'm sorry", she said "I know I'm not the kind of girl you want" We're falling, falling, falling, falling down Here we find out what she actually said. More sadness because I think she is sort of blaming him, because he didn't like it in the city. She's like, "You don't want to be here, you don't belong here." Then she goes on to say, "I'm not the girl you want, I'm shallow and greedy." The theme of the whole song. The relationship they had for so long that was stable, is falling down now. And not going to be built back up again. |
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