Take me out tonight
Where there's music and there's people
And they're young and alive
Driving in your car
I never, never want to go home
Because I haven't got one
Anymore
Take me out tonight
Because I want to see people
And I want to see life
Driving in your car
Oh, please don't drop me home
Because it's not my home, it's their home
And I'm welcome no more
And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure, the privilege is mine
Take me out tonight
Take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
And in the darkened underpass
I thought, "Oh God, my chance has come at last"
But then a strange fear gripped me
And I just couldn't ask
Take me out tonight
Oh, take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
Driving in your car
I never, never want to go home
Because I haven't got one, la-di-dum
Oh, I haven't got one
Oh, oh
And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure, the privilege is mine
Oh, there is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
Where there's music and there's people
And they're young and alive
Driving in your car
I never, never want to go home
Because I haven't got one
Anymore
Take me out tonight
Because I want to see people
And I want to see life
Driving in your car
Oh, please don't drop me home
Because it's not my home, it's their home
And I'm welcome no more
And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure, the privilege is mine
Take me out tonight
Take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
And in the darkened underpass
I thought, "Oh God, my chance has come at last"
But then a strange fear gripped me
And I just couldn't ask
Take me out tonight
Oh, take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
Driving in your car
I never, never want to go home
Because I haven't got one, la-di-dum
Oh, I haven't got one
Oh, oh
And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure, the privilege is mine
Oh, there is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery, edited by Mellow_Harsher, manfromspider
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out Lyrics as written by Johnny Marr Steven Morrissey
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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I described that pretty badly and rambled a lot, but that's my interpretation. I absolutely adore this song. It definitely makes my all time top ten favourites.
"When you’re a teenager and in your early twenties it seems desperately eternal and excruciatingly painful. Whereas as you grow older you realise that most things are excruciatingly painful and that is the human condition. Most of us continue to survive because we’re convinced that somewhere along the line, with grit and determination and perseverance, we will end up in some magical union with somebody. It’s a fallacy, of course, but it’s a form of religion. You have to believe. There is a light that never goes out and it’s called hope."
from "I've always felt like an exile" by Andrew Billen in The Times (30th May 2006)
Anyway,
These lines are unbelievable:
"and in the darkened underpass
I thought Oh God, my chance has come at last
but then a strange fear gripped me
and I just couldn't ask"
This is understatement on such a grand scale that it would stand up to any poetry ever written (in my opinion). A strange fear gripped me and I just couldn't ask. The literal meaning is almost inconsequential, but the sorrow, anguish and regret so clear behind these words make the hair on my arms stand up whenever I hear this song. And I hear it pretty often. Sublime.
Irvine Welsh's "Trainspotting" has a chapter with the same title as this song, and I think sums up its meaning perfectly. If you are a Smiths fan please read it.
TO me, the light that never goes out is something between hope, excitement and the thrill of what just might happen, and that ANYthing could happen. The feeling that is so sadly extinguished in many by adult years, and replaced by cynicism and the idea that "If you expect nothing then you will never be disappointed". The song is a celebration of chasing unlikely dreams of any form, the butterflies in your stomach, the anticipation of the unknown, of life being lived to its fullest, without the mind ever capturing how that might be, the thrill of opening your mind and heart to the most extreme emotions you can imagine without the fear of what harm may come of it. The exuberance and fearlessness of youth.
The Smiths were truly unique. Sometimes I go a few months without listening to a Smiths song, then I hear one on the radio and fall in love with them all over again, spending days listening to nothing else.
And I still dream of meeting someone who merits the words and emotions expressed in Morrissey's lyrics. I am not going to speculate on who his muse was, but to me this person has assumed transcendental properties of purity and beauty. While I could think of an old flame fondly or bitterly listening to many musicians, the Smiths speak of something so much higher that I could never apply them to any person I have ever met.
Waffle over. Big Love
"Take me out tonight. Where there's music and there's people. And they're young and alive"
-My friends took me out the night the accident happened and we went TPing and acted like high schoolers even though we were 24-25. I was so thankful for that momentary break from being so unbearably sad and depressed.
"Driving in your car, I never never want to go home, Because I haven't got one, Anymore"
-My boyfriend drove most of the night and we never went to my parents house at all. We stayed at my uncles because I truly felt that I didn't have a home anymore, it wouldn't be the same now that it was empty. I never wanted the night to end because going home meant having to lie there and process what happened that day.
"Take me out tonight, Because I want to see people and I Want to see life"
-Again, just another plea to keep my mind off of everything. I didn't want to be faced with the reality of death, I wanted my friends and family to keep me occupied.
"Driving in your car. Oh, please don't drop me home . Because it's not my home, it's their home, and I'm welcome no more"
-Again, I just really didn't want to be alone. I didn't want to go to my house and though it wasn't like I wasn't welcome, but the thought of going through their personal things just seemed like such a privacy violation and it made me uncomfortable.
"And if a double-decker bus. Crashes into us .To die by your side, Is such a heavenly way to die. And if a ten-ton truck Kills the both of us To die by your side
Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine"
-This has kind of a double meaning to me. One being that I envisioned my family saying something similar about the plane crash. That they were fortunate to die together and quickly and without pain. I am glad they were able to be together, but at the same time, I almost wished I could've been there with them. "The privelege is mine"
-The second meaning was kind of how I felt about my boyfriend and I. I didn't want to die, or him to die, but if we were going to, I wanted to be with him when it happened. I don't know, perhaps it was really morbid thinking on my part given the circumstances or what.
"Take me out tonight. Take me anywhere, I don't care I don't care, I don't care"
-This really just pushed the feeling that I had of not knowing where I wanted to be, I couldn't be happy anywhere, I just wanted my mind off of anything and I wanted to keep running away from the situation at the time.
"And in the darkened underpass. I thought oh God, my chance has come at last
(but then a strange fear gripped me and I Just couldn't ask)"
-I think this hints to the brief notion that I kind of was suicidal, or had at least wished I was with them when they died so we could have all died together, but then I was snapped out of that notion, not necessarily by fear, but with a realization that I couldn't leave everyone else I loved.
"Take me out tonight Oh, take me anywhere, I don't care I don't care, I don't care"
-Still pushing that point.
"Driving in your car I never never want to go home Because I haven't got one, da...
Oh, I haven't got one"
-Still reiterating that I didn't feel like I had a home if they weren't going to be there. The "la da da" part really felt fitting because I felt so matter-of-fact about the situation. Like, I recalled telling a gas station cashier that my family died like it was no big deal. I was a bit numb at that point.
"Oh, there is a light and it never goes out
There is a light and it never goes out...(repeat)"
-This totally just seems like it was talking about their memories. Like they were the lights and their lives and memories would never be forgotten. They may have passed but we were all going to do our best to remember them and we always will.
" I never never want to go home, because I haven't got one, anymore "
and asks his friend to pick him up and drive him somewhere, he doesn't care. He just wants to be with his friend who he has feelings for, but can't bring himself to tell him for fear of being rejected by him too. He could happily die in this fleeting moment, with the person he wants to be with, as he feels his future is bleak and is hopeless.
and maybe Violent Femmes' debut album too.