Broadway's dark tonight
A little bit weaker than you used to be
Broadway's dark tonight
See the young man sittin' in the old man's bar
Waitin' for his turn to die

The cowboy kills the rock star
And Friday night's gone too far
The dim light hides the years
On all the faded girls

Forgotten but not gone
You drink it off your mind
You talk about the world like it's someplace that you've been

You see, you'd love to run home, but you know you ain't got one
Cuz you're livin' in a world that you're best forgotten, around here

Broadway's dark tonight
A little bit weaker than you used to be
Broadway's dark tonight
See the young man sittin' in the old man's bar
Waitin' for his turn to die

You choke down all your anger
Forget your only son
You pray to statues when you sober up for fun
Your anger don't impress me
The world slapped in your face
It always rains like hell on the loser's day parade

You see, you'd love to run home, but you know you ain't got one
Cuz you're livin' in a world that you're best forgotten
When you're thinkin' you're a joke and nobody's gonna listen
To the one small point I know they've been missing around here

Broadway's dark tonight
A little bit weaker than you used to be
Broadway's dark tonight
See the young man sittin' in the old man's bar
Waitin' for his turn to die

You see, you'd love to run home, but you know you ain't got one
Cuz you're livin' in a world that you're best forgotten
When you're thinkin' you're a joke and nobody's gonna listen
To the one small point I know they've been missing around here
Round here, yeah

Broadway's dark tonight
A little bit weaker than you used to be
Broadway's dark tonight
See the young man sittin' in the old man's bar
Waitin' for his turn to die


Lyrics submitted by jstalilwyrd

Broadway Lyrics as written by John Rzeznik

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Broadway song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

51 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +3
    General Comment
    this song is about the neighborhood in buffalo where john grew up. it was very blue collar and heavily polish. john is telling about how all the dads would go to the bars and drink their problems away, never aspiring to do anything or go anywhere- just drink (you talk about the world like its someplace that you've been). they did it because it's what their fathers had done, and they did it because it's what ther fathers had done, and so on. and now john watches as the next generation starts to fall into the cycle as well (see the young man sitting in the old man's bar, waiting for his turn to die).
    kuhio804on July 09, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    This could really be the elegy of Buffalo, NY. The line, "It always rains like Hell on the Loser's Day Parade" typifies the sentiment there that they can never come out on top. I myself am a big Buffalo sports fan, and the failings in those venues (football and hockey) typify the course of the city as a dying giant. Of course the city is turning around as this is being written, but this song was written in the midst of industrial exodus and urban demise. A city motto during my childhood was "Buffalo Talking Proud," but there wasn't much to be proud about in the 90's and early 2000's. So a young guy had no future in that setting. So he goes down to Broadway because he doesn't fit into the young crowd, instead he hangs out at the dives. To me, the whole song revolves around one line: "You think you're a joke, and nobody's gonna listen to the one small point I know they've been missing 'round here." What's the one small point? To me, it's that Buffalo is a city filled with good, honest, hard working people. Everyone wants to thumb their nose at the city for a number of reasons: climate, location, the perceived "loser" status, it's 2nd billing to NYC, taxes. But if the powers that be would LISTEN and follow their hearts, they could see that it's a city of great promise.
    Guitarearlon May 26, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I can't believe no one has commented! This is such a deep song... I'd love for someone to tell me what they think it means. :)
    lemonkittyon June 04, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I think it is about a town and the people in it.
    bee_happyon June 09, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    i reallllly like this song...i always thought it was about someone's father. the guy's a drunk, and kind of a waste of life, and as much as the son resents his dad's life and his lack of attention, (You see you'd love to run home But you know you ain't got one And you're livin' in a world That you're best forgotten around here) he does sort of miss him.
    happyfrappyon June 10, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    This is one of the Goo Goo Dolls best songs, I think. "happyfrappy" says it best I think. Way to go! Thanks. b
    zipped6648on June 11, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    wow... i can't believe these are the only comments. this is such a wonderful song! i always thought it was about a person watching a loved one (i suppose it could be a father... yeah, more than likely it is) waste their life while that person gets sick of sitting back and quietly watching. i could be wrong, but that's my interpretation. someone else comment on what they think
    stonetemplechickon June 12, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    word, this song is great, really catchy, one of those songs that get stuck in your head.
    Cheer Up Emo Kidon June 13, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Likewise, this is one of my favorite songs and I was surprised that not many people commented on it. The music vid of this song is really cool.
    Ajl777on June 17, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I love this song,don't really know what it means,however its great.I love the GGDs.They rock.I entered tha contest at Wet Seal.
    buffyfreak13on June 17, 2002   Link

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

Album art
Zombie
Cranberries, The
"Zombie" is about the ethno-political conflict in Ireland. This is obvious if you know anything of the singer (Dolores O'Riordan)'s Irish heritage and understood the "1916" Easter Rising reference. "Another head hangs lowly Child is slowly taken And the violence caused such silence Who are we mistaken - Another mother's breaking Heart is taking over" Laments the Warrington bomb attacks in which two children were fatally injured on March 23rd, 1993. Twelve year old Tim Parry was taken off life support with permission from his mother after five days in the hospital, virtually braindead. "But you see it's not me It's not my family" References how people who are not directly involved with the violence feel about it. They are "zombies" without sympathy who refuse to take action while others suffer.
Album art
Sunglasses at Night
Corey Hart
In the 1980s, sunglasses were a common fashion for people who wanted to adopt a "tough guy" persona (note all the cop shows from that era -- Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, etc. -- where the lead characters wore shades). So I think this song is about a guy who wears shades as a way of hiding his insecurity after learning that his girlfriend is cheating on him. He's trying to pretend that he's a "tough guy" to hide the fact that his girlfriend's affair is disturbing him.
Album art
X French T-Shirt
Shudder to Think
This song is timeless, and nearly 20 years after its creation, still possesses the mystique it did the first time i heard it ~1994. To me, at first blush, all those years ago, it had some kind of homo-erotic allure. The line "so that the others may do" tells of something which must be done for others to follow suit. It felt like like some kind of roxy-glam-pop invitation to sexual liberation. Upon further introspection I think the song may not have an intrinsic meaning, but simply represents a sort of "holding open the door" for people who otherwise might be affronted by this song/band's unusual style. I know, as a sort of armchair rock-historian, that there have been few bands so daring and so true to the sound that wanted to emerge from within, whether the creator wanted it or not. This band handled it with elegance and grace seldom, if ever, seen.
Album art
Blank Space
Taylor Swift
This song is Swift's response to the negative reputation the media has given her. "I can make the bad guys good for a weekend" - the bad guys are the paparazzi to Swift, but are good to the "player" since association with Swift immediately gives publicity. Any publicity is good publicity and Swift knows this. "You can tell me when it's over" - the tabloids rumor relationships are over before the couple announces it officially. With this song Swift is portraying the way she is portrayed by the media. It is a sarcastic jab at how she views herself and how her "ex-lovers" only wanted to be with her to increase their fame. I applaud the brilliance in writing about how you always write about relationships. It is expected so Swift is giving the media what they want and profiting off the attention.
Album art
Me and Johnny
Matt Paxton
Moyet later described how her song "Goodbye 70's" had been inspired by her disillusionment with how the late-1970s punk scene had turned out, saying, "'Goodbye 70's' is about punk and not caring how you were dressed, and then I discovered that so many of my friends that I'd thought it all really meant something to just saw it as another trend... That's what 'Goodbye 70's' was all about, about how sour the whole thing became."