This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Flying
And I know I'm not coming down
You're trying
But you know you must soon go down
All my colors turn to clouds
All my colors turn to clouds
Zimbo
What d'you say
When your heart's in pieces?
How d'you play
Those cards in sequence?
That box you gave me burned nicely
That box you gave me burned nicely
Zimbo
Flying down
Flying down
All my colors turn to clouds
Hey, I've flown away
Hey, I'm blown away
And I know I'm not coming down
You're trying
But you know you must soon go down
All my colors turn to clouds
All my colors turn to clouds
Zimbo
What d'you say
When your heart's in pieces?
How d'you play
Those cards in sequence?
That box you gave me burned nicely
That box you gave me burned nicely
Zimbo
Flying down
Flying down
All my colors turn to clouds
Hey, I've flown away
Hey, I'm blown away
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
From book Turquoise Days, The weird world of E&TB (by Chris Adams). In an interview for MTV Online in 1995: MTV: What does 'Zimbo' mean? IAN: It's an anagram of 'mozib', an old African word MTV: What does 'mozib' mean? IAN: 'Zimbo'.
Again the same book. "Zimbo is about the loss of someone and the fact that people hold on to things that have already gone" - Ian McCulloch, 1981
The song is about letting go of dreams, of the depressed mood that swamps you when you realise what you really want slips away from your reach. "All my colours turn to clouds" and "that box you gave me burnt nicely" clearly indicates that, as does the whole feeling of the song. The 'zimbo' was done by coincidence in fact: they wanted some word to fill the gap between the other parts of the song, and at some moment Ian just said 'Jimbo Jimbo' refering to a Doors record playing, they thought that actually looked quite good to fill that space but did change it to 'zimbo zimbo' as it somehow fitted better they thought.
I don't really understand the meaning of this, and trying to hard will not come out good.
Excellent song, the Zimbo Zimbo Zimbo is cool and the "The box you gave me Burned nicely" part is really amazing, Ian sings it painfully and beautifully.
Echo and the Bunnymen are simply AWESOME!
I think this song is about one who is dying, and who regrets the comfort of his lover by his death bed. zimbo could mean a war cry, or it could be african for death, as if he has fough a battle but lost in himself.
This is one of the greatest songs ever written and it means very much to me... However, I must admit I don't really understand what it is about.. Like most of you, I think about depression and death, but I cannot explain it.
I have to admit that i heard the Nouvelle Vague (and Ian McCulloch) version before the E&TBM version.
Ian sang on the Nouvelle Vague version so i assume he approves.
I am convinced this is about cremation.
I just wondered what "The box you gave me, burned nicely" was all about.
My first thoughts were a box of gifts from an ex-lover that the lead character burns to try to scorch her out of his life.*
Then i thought maybe the box is a coffin and he is referring to being cremated.
This also fits with "all my colours turn to clouds"
And ...
Hey, I've flown away (his spirit) Hey, I'm blown away (the ashes after being scattered)
I always took it to be about the spirit of someone being cremated: I know I'm not coming down - his smoke/spirit drifts up from the body All my colours turn to clouds - his body turns to smoke What d'you say when your heart's in pieces? - a question to the bereaved That box you gave me burned nicely - box=coffin Hey, I've flown away, Hey, I'm blown away - his smoke/spirit drifts away on the wind
So (for once!) McCulloch is being straight when he says it's about loss and holding on.
Great song.
First, I believe that statement by Ian about ’zimbo’ being an African word backwards etc is just cheeky nonsense talk. I interpreted the lyrics to be about the suicide and cremation of someone beloved by the singer, and his anger, frustration and helplessness about it. I must admit I misheard the words as “turn to brown” but either way they do express an unbearable bleakness, as does the dirge-like melody and the slow pace, as well as the plaintive, despairing quality of the singer’s voice.