Hard Candy

This song brings up many memories of many different events in my life. I especially like the 'evenings on Long Island' imagery--its reminiscent of those 'golden moments' in life i will remember forever, regardless of my relationship [or lack thereof] with that person now...

its probably his first love, because of that sense of regret associated with never fully gaining the "closeless" you'd have liked due to inexperience- all the slang term "hard candy" meaning young girl

Hard Candy is a metaphor to a past girlfriend in this song and represents both his nostalgia (something he longs for in the past) and also something that's sweet but is bad for him.

The main character spends the song looking back on the memories he had with his girlfriend, which makes him feel good in the moment but overall prevents him from moving on.

Example from the chorus:

"And when you sleep you find your mother in the night But she stays just out of sight so there isn't any sweetness in the dreaming"

Meaning: He finds comfort in his dreams (the type he would get from his mother), but then again since they are just dreams, the comfort and sweetness are just an illusion

"And when you wake the morning covers you with light and it makes you feel alright but it's just the same hard candy you're remembering again"

Meaning: His dreams about his love make him feel good when he wakes up, but then reality hits him and it ends up making him feel worse – it's sweet but bad for you, just like hard candy.

One of my all-time favorite songs, the nostalgic melody matches the lyrics perfectly.

what a good song...thinking about an old girlfriend you can't have, and you compare everything to her. I like the idea of hard candy- it seems all beautiful and great from the outside, but getting closer to the source reveals that there's more to it than meets the eye....

The Hard Candy that they sing about is a metaphor of sort. In the song, our "hero" recalls a memory that shares the same saccharine quality that candy does. The memory is packaged and stored in his mind. Occasionally he would unwrap it, pop it into his mouth and relive the sublimation once upon a time. The memory is of an encounter with something/someone who seemed ordinary but can "Time expands and then contracts" The song is filled with regrets and longingness. The candy temporarily relieves these emotions. All that he does is suck on the nectar until it dissolves. If he tries to bite on it, the piece breaks and dissolves even faster. There is no substance in memory but images. When he's done with one piece, he can have another one. But it's the exact same sensations all over again. Nothing more. Apparently this is not the outcome he wanted. Somewhere down the line he did or failed to do something. He watched as she walked away from him without stopping. He probably even smiled as she did. "You send your lover off to China Then you wait for her to call" He secretly hoped that she would look back. Now he longs for her and yearns for that sweetness in his life, more specifically: her. "You put your girl up on a pedestal Then you wait for her to fall" The pedestal he places her on alludes to divine worship. It's something perfect and almost unattainable. But there would be no need for a pedestal if that something perfect is within the grasp of his arms. The craving comes to him in his sleep. Along with the craving comes the regret. It's like having a nightmare and searching for a source of comfort in your mother. "But she fades just out of sight" There is no comfort in regret. When he wakes up, reality hits him. "And when you wake the morning showers you with light And it makes you feel alright" Life isn't so bad really. But later on... "it's just the same hard candy You're remembering again"

I saw Counting Crows at Jones Beach (in Wantaugh, NY, on Long Island) and Adam mentioned having been on a date the night before and seeing Neil Young there at Jones Beach so when this album / song came out and he sings

And in the evenings on Long Island When the colors start to fade She wears a silly yellow hat That someone gave her when she stayed

I wonder if that is a reference to the girl he went on the date with.

Another great song. It's about remembering old relationships.

also....hard candy is like a memory cos u can suck on it when u want, if u bite it it breaks just as if u concentrate too hard on a memory it breaks.

also....hard candy is like a memory cos u can suck on it when u want, if u bite it it breaks just as if u concentrate too hard on a memory it breaks.

I got my licence and this album on the same summer day, and this song will always remind me of freedom and past memories.