Counting Crows – A Murder Of One

General CommentIf I had to describe this song in one word it would be "desperation." There is such desperation in Adam's lyrics: he's desperate to save his friend from this unhealthy relationship. Throught the song, he's pleading with her to leave this guy, to do something better with her life - to stop wasting it. I feel like the desperation builds throughout the song until finally at the end he can say only one word, repeated over and over again: Change.

Personally, I take away a more general meaning from the song: that being to just make the most out of life. We've got too little time to waste, we need to make the most of it, and not fall victim to people or situations that will prevent us from Living, with a capital L.

And I absolutely LOVE the double meaning of the title. Brilliant.

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  @svenden

General CommentTake me back to september 1994 the first time I heard this song... my life changed forever that month, the album title grabbed me. August and everything after, I met her in the spring 1994, blonde hair and blue eyes cutest little thing I ever saw, I was married and so was she, both of us unhappy her in a controlling abusive relationship, me captivated by her. By memorial day we were together everyday, intimate and spending every minute we had falling deeper in love and making plans for a future together. We spent our summer days together, nights home with the others miserable and wanting to be together. By August she came to me and told me she was pregnant a little scared but happy, I was also scared but wanted her more than anything else... September she left me and went back to her husband, told me there was a small chance it could be his and she wanted to stay with him,
Blue morning blue morning
Wrapped in strands of fist and bone
Curiosity Kitten doesn't have to mean you're on your own
You can look outside your window
He doesn't have to know
We can talk awhile baby..... All I wanted was a chance to talk to her

All your life is such a shame shame shame
All your love is just a dream dream dream
Are you happy when you're sleeping?
Does he keep you safe and warm?
Does he tell you when you're sorry?
Does he tell you when you're wrong?

I've been watching you for hours
It's been years since we were born
We were perfect when we started
I've been wondering where we've gone
All your life is such a shame, shame, shame
All your love is just a dream, dream, dream
Well, I dreamt I saw you walking up a hillside in the snow
Casting shadows on the winter sky as you stood there counting crows

One for sorrow.... All the sorrow now in my life
Two for joy..... All the joy we had together
Three for girls and four for boys...... Our baby together
Five for silver
Six for gold and
Seven for a secret never to be told...... A secret we could never tell
There's a bird that nests inside you
Sleeping underneath your skin
When you open up your wings to speak
I wish you'd let me in
All your life is such a shame, shame, shame
All your love is just a dream, dream, dream
Open up your eyes
You can see the flames of your wasted life
You should be ashamed
You don't want to waste your life
I walk along these hillsides
In the summer 'neath the sunshine
I am feathered by the moonlight falling down on me
Change, change, change

Well thats what the song means to me, not sure if its close to the original intention Adam meant but 17 years have passed and the song still haunts me today I've never seen her again and still think about her and the child

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  @steveinmuskegon
  0

  @steveinmuskegon I'm really sorry for you... That sounds terrible living through every day knowing that you will probably never get to know what happened.

  Flag HaydenR92on April 04, 2015  

General CommentThis song is about (or at least i think it is =S) A woman who is stuck in a relationship.. which isn't really genuine but more of a last resort? cause suddenly her life is gone and so she's ended up with this man that she doesnt REALLY love. Anyway the singer has noticed this... "all your love is just a dream dream dream".. see? lol. She's waiting for her true love, even though she's married... "curiosity kitten doesnt have to mean you're on your own." And the singer's saying this is alright? er i think. meh
Gotta love counting crows =)

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  @-VelocityGirl-

General CommentThe relationship depicted in this song doesn't have to be abusive, just negative in any context.

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  @viahavta

General Commentits a song that gets you thinking. What Do you want in your life, what do your friends want in life.

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  @McShine

General Commenttheyearlings is right, a group of crows is called a murder, so the song title has a double meaning, the obvious one being that the girl he is singing to is being murdered in the metaphorical sense by this other guy. And then there's a reference to the name of the band. The only thing that I don't understand is that in England the 'One for sorrow, two for joy' saying refers to magpies, not crows. But I'm not complaining. I think it's amazing the way he can write such an incredibly uplifting song about a subject like this. I love Counting Crows so much.

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  @falling_from_grace
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  I realise it's 11 years since this was posted lol -- but I just can't believe this hasn't been commented on. In the UK we say that rhyme when we count magpies, in America the same rhyme is used when counting crows. Oh hey, what - Counting Crows? That sounds like a band! :D doh... yeah, I'm English, major realisation hit me when I bought this album and heard the line "as you stood there counting crows"...

  Flag Charlisparkleson November 21, 2014  

General Commenti cant believe no one else has commented on this song. i will. its damn good. its about looking at someone who you really care about who is trapped in an abusive relationship.

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  @rainanne

General Commenti think she just got out of an abusive relationship, and still cares about the guy. but the singer in the song wants her to be with *him* instead of the abusive guy, and he's trying to convince her that the guy was not right for her. but at the same time he doesn't want to pressure her... just let her know that he's there for her and will be there for her as soon as she's able to realize her mistake.

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  @rainbow6583

General CommentI'm not a fan, but my girlfriend is. Anyway, we were watching a Simpsons episode where Homer befriends a bunch of crows. So Marge says something about how she wants the flock out of her bedroom, and Homer corrects her, saying a group of crows is called a "murder". So suddenly, she made the realisation (my girlfriend, that is, not Marge) that this might be a more subtle meaning of what the title of this song is alluding to. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else, so I thought I'd post this. That joke where Homer is hanging out at Moe's with all the crows surrounding him, and then Moe goes, "all right, Homer, this ain't a crow bar, THIS is a crowbar..." and then he whips out a painting with a bunch of crows sitting on tiny barstools... man, that's classic...

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  @theyearlings

General Comment"all your life is such a shame, all your love is just a dream, open up your eyes, you can see the flames or your wasted life, you should be ashamed. you don't want to waste your life, change"
for some reason, when everything's going wrong and it seems like i've managed to disappoint everyone i know, these lines run through my mind constantly and, even though they're not exactly happy, they're comforting....god, i love this band...

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  @StarClaire