I Woke Up In A Car

As one commenter stated, Andrew said the songs are about his real life and being on tour. To summarize, the lyrics are about him missing his loved one while on tour. They are about him feeling conflicted between two things he wants but only being able to have one or the other. The chorus offers a juxtaposition of the most he has been alone, and the most he has felt at home. A likely result of being on tour literally away from home and his love but also wanting to be on tour doing what he loves. Ultimately confessing his love and returning home.

“I woke up in New York City From my sleep behind the wheel Caught a train to Poughkeepsie And time stood still”

The opening lines describe obviously that he his is in New York, and “sleep behind the wheel” I interpret as having connotations of traveling or being on the road. The previous commenter stating that Andrew actually played a show in Poughkeepsie helps to interpret the line “and time stood still”. It’s a figure of speech describing a moment that feels so intense or significant that the normal passage of time seems to stop or slow down, creating a feeling of being suspended in the present. I imagine that for any musician to go on tour is significant, one of those feelings that everything they have worked for and dreamed of doing is coming to fruition.

She wrote me a letter from San Diego To qualify her luck These flights connect through Arizona But I think I'll stay Stuck Said “Here I am” Here I am whoa

Then follows the lyrics about her letter, the obvious lines “she wrote me a letter from San Diego”. This gives us an understanding that there is great distance between them. “ to qualify her luck” this means that she is writing to tell him about the quality of her luck, is it good luck or is it bad luck? I interpret it as bad luck. In the letter she mentions flights that connect through Arizona, this means that she has looked into how she could travel to be with him. This implies that she desires to be there with him and has significant feelings for him because why else would she be writing letters and looking at flights. And the line “but I think I’ll stay stuck”, this is still part of her letter, she is saying that she thinks she won’t be able to take the flights to see him, for whatever reason she is stuck. In this context the word ‘think’ could imply that she is uncertain or that she believes she will be stuck. And stuck has connotations of being powerless, usually if you are stuck you are unable to help yourself and there are forces or circumstances beyond your control. said “here i am”. I think it’s kind of a resignation to her misfortune, that she is stuck in San Diego. Think of it in a sad way like here I am in San Diego and I can’t be with you whoa.

Well I woke up in a car I traced away the fog So I could see the Mississippi on her knees I've never been so lost I've never felt so much at home Please write my folks and throw away my keys I woke up in a car

What does it mean to trace. In order to trace you must have a subject to follow. This means that he is deliberately tracing away the fog from something, and he tells us exactly what and why, to see the Mississippi on her knees. He is not indiscriminately wiping away all of the fog, instead targeting the layer of fog that conceals the Mississippi, revealing only the Mississippi while leaving everything else obscured by the fog. “on her knees” In the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (MRAV) from Illinois to Louisiana, baldcypress knees (T. distichum) are found in mixed swamps. They have a distinct root system with a feature of what looks like a knee also called a knoll. And these trees and shallow parts of the Mississippi are found in Illinois, which fits with his mention of passing through Rockford. I imagine the Mississippi on her knees would mean the water level is high, because the knees you usually grow above the water level and in shallow areas. For the Mississippi to be ‘on her knees’ the water level would be above the knees(on them), submerging them completely which would remove a unique visual feature. It’s probably flood season, which would explain the foggy condensation from sleeping in a car. I think that he traces the fog away to see only the Mississippi and nothing else, this could create the illusion of an ocean view. on the illinois side of the Mississippi there are parts where the river is so wide you can’t see the opposite bank. “I’ve never been so lost, never felt so much at home”. This could be a double entendre. Meaning that he is thinking about San Diego, the girl, and he feels so lost because he is conflicted about what he wants, her but also touring his music. He has never felt so much at home because he created the illusion of the view of an ocean and felt like he was home again, could also mean that he feels so at home while he’s on tour playing shows and doing what he has wanted to do. He tells her to write his folks and throw away his keys to emphasize that how much he likes being on tour. Time stood still for him remember.

I met a girl who kept tattoos For homes that she had loved If I were her I'd paint my body 'Til all my skin was gone

Tattoos are something more permanent, this alludes to the significance of a lasting love. He mentions that if he was her he would paint his body. Paint is temporary and fleeting, and can be washed away easily. I think it’s a realization that he loves the homes he has had on tour which were likely many different places, but that it is was just a moment and not something permanent and long lasting like a tattoo. And tattoo is something that you have to endure and go through an experience to get. Putting paint on your body is easy and just on the surface. It’s not deep, it’s not embedded in your skin.

She wrote me a letter As we passed through Rockford She said she won't forget Maybe I do maybe I don't But I know I haven't yet But here I am

Then the lyrics describe the letter she wrote as he passed through Rockford. It’s obvious some amount of time has passed because the letter says she won’t forgot, but she also suggests that time and distance are still at play and that she is uncertain, “maybe I do(forget), maybe I don’t(forget), but I know I haven’t yet, but she reminds that she is where she is which is not with him. Again a kind of resignation, I haven’t forgotten yet and I still remain apart from you, but I’m also still here waiting for you.

Maybe I could live forever If not ever I had known That you'd be waiting there whenever I am all alone But here I am

He ultimately confesses his deep love for her saying that the idea of living forever might have been appealing until he realized that knowing someone is always there for him gives life meaning—even though life isn’t eternal. It’s a way of saying that real connection makes every moment valuable, even if life is temporary.

i love the "mississippi on her knees" line. i dont know what it means thought, im guessing that its a refrence to the river and "on her knees" seems like some kind of voneralibility thing, but i cant put it together...can anyone help me out?

i go to school in poughkeepsie and i can't believe i missed SoCo by a few weeks, this upsets me tremendously, i'll see em this year at warped, but it just won't be the same as at a place like the chance

I think the Mississippi line is literal. They could have stopped by the Mississippi River and went in. I imagine you would get pretty dirty in the mississippi. She probably still had clothes on, and it was probably in the summer so she would've had shorts... and so he saw that her knees were still dirty.

Yeah.. that's all I've got

track 3 off of the new album (leaving through the window). quite good.

I was talking to Andrew after the May 17 show at club Krome in NJ...and he said this song is about their tour from the year before. When the song says "caught a train to Poughkeepsie"...that was the show after the club Krome show.

One of my fav SOCO Songs...I like the part, when Andrew sings: she wrote me a letter as we passed through rockford she said she won't forget maybe i do maybe i don't but i know i haven't yet

i live in poughkeepsie, i was at that SC show, they played with the getaway, i talked to andrew during the show about the SC thongs, he was quite happy about them lol, he's a cool guy

My favorite song on the new CD, it's quite good.

stella song soco should be heard by everyone