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Come Down In Time Lyrics

In the quiet silent seconds
I turned off the light switch
And I came down to meet you
in the half light the moon left
While a cluster of night jars
sang some songs out of tune
A mantle of bright light
shone down from a room

Come down in time I still hear her say
So clear in my ear like it was today
Come down in time was the message she gave
Come down in time and I'll meet you half way

Well I don't know if I should
have heard her as yet
But a true love like hers
is a hard love to get
And I've walked most all the way
and I ain't heard her call
And I'm getting to thinking
if she's coming at all

Come down in time I still hear her say
So clear in my ear like it was today
Come down in time was the message she gave
Come down in time and I'll meet you half way

There are women and women
and some hold you tight
While some leave you counting
the stars in the night
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Cover art for Come Down In Time lyrics by Elton John

Hey, anyone hear Sting's version on the Tribute Album for Bernie and Elton? Great song, great lyrics. AND I can relate to the last part since I have been left counting the stars in the night one time too many. Damn.

Peace

Cover art for Come Down In Time lyrics by Elton John

I think it's about how a memories are more distinct if they're emotionally loaded - and they can be at once positive and negative. It could also be about promises coming true or not coming true - she said come down in time and I'll meet you half way but now he's left counting stars in the night without her.

The music tracks with the emotion, from the crushing sorrow of the verse to the empty promise in the chorus to the face-punch of the final line of the chorus.

Like a few songs on Tumbleweed Connection, it grows and grows on you until you think it's so awesome you're not sure why it wasn't a bigger hit- but it's just too gorgeous to hit people with the immediacy of a pop/radio hit.

Cover art for Come Down In Time lyrics by Elton John

way under rated. wonderful, wonderful song.

Cover art for Come Down In Time lyrics by Elton John

"And I'm getting to thinking, If she's coming at all."

One of the saddest lines in song.

Cover art for Come Down In Time lyrics by Elton John

This song haunts me . Only Elton and Bernie could make art like this happen . I listen to it over and over trying to figure out why it's so soulful and beautiful . Tumbleweed version , live in Tokyo and Stings version as well .
I looked up Nightjar , it's a small nocturnal bird. : ) "And I'm gettin to thinkin' if she's comin' at all"

Kent

Cover art for Come Down In Time lyrics by Elton John

a lucid dream, perhaps, about a person you are deeply attracted to in real life and would like to be engaged with them romantically in real or a lucid dream about someone you do not even know, but attracted to in the dream. The reason I think it is about a dream is because Night Jars birds are nocturnal. Also cutting out then night lights could be symbolizing going to sleep. 'Come down in time' is the person you see in the dream telling you to hurry before you wake up and miss her. Sadly, the person never got really talk to the person again..because they woke up. Playing with translation here, but trying to decipher anything a brilliant writer like Bernie Taupin put down on paper is difficult. I just know that this is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. The whole Album, Tumbleweed Connection' is perfection. Not many writers have accomplished with Bernie and Elton have. Thanks to them both.

Translation

@auraj I wrote this early in the morning and read back over it. I need to put it in more simpler terms. Hehe

Seems like a lucid dream about someone you know or just met in the dream. You are strongly attracted to the person in the dream. The reason I think it is about a dream is because Night Jars are nocturnal and cutting the off the night lights symbolize going to sleep. "Come down in time "means hurry up to see me, before you wake up.Well, you woke up and may not see the person from the...

Cover art for Come Down In Time lyrics by Elton John

I don't know of another song that halts mid-sentence like this. It is trying to capture the indecision of the person in this situation. He thinks he's found true love, but he is not with her. He remembers there was a spark, she wanted him once, and he is stuck waiting, just as the listener is hanging, waiting for the song's line to complete when the singer pauses. He's hurting for sure. The birds are out of tune, and the oboe ends its phrase on a sour note, an accidental. It's an interesting dynamic isn't it? Bernie Taupin could write knowingly about relationships with women, and Elton would sing them, though I imagine he was tapping into his memories of the men he had been with to give his singing of it emotion. Listen closely to the orchestration in the original, it is masterful.

Song Meaning
Cover art for Come Down In Time lyrics by Elton John

One of this song's subtle beauties is the unique arrangement that emphasizes conjunctions in the lyrics by pausing for them and setting them apart, adding an elusive feeling..."there are women women AND some hold you tight WHILE some leave you counting THE stars in the night". The whole song is remarkable in that way, with the unique cadence emphases. Bernie wrote the lyrics, of course, but Elton turns in a remarkably restrained and beautiful performance here - easily one of the best things he's ever done.

Cover art for Come Down In Time lyrics by Elton John

Why hasn't anybody commented on this song? Its fantastic!!

Cover art for Come Down In Time lyrics by Elton John

Yes, indeed it's been far too long a wait, but I agree it's an impossibly delicate song from Elton and Bernie. One of the few times they came together to achieve perfection.