And here I dreamt I was a soldier
And I marched the streets of Birkenau
And I recall in spring
The perfume that the air would bring
To the indolent town
Where the barkers call the moon down
The carnival was ringing loudly now
And just to lay with you
There's nothing that I wouldn't do
Save lay my rifle down

And try one, and try two
I guess it always comes down to
Alright, it's okay
Guess it's better to turn this way
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey

And I am nothing of a builder
But here I dreamt I was an architect
And I built this balustrade
To keep you home, to keep you safe
From the outside world
But the angles and the corners
Even though my work is unparalleled
They never seemed to meet
This structure fell about our feet
And we were free to go

And try one, and try two
Guess it always comes down to
Alright, okay
Guess it's better to turn this way
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey

And here in Spain I am a Spaniard
I will be buried with my marionettes
Countess and courtesan
Have fallen 'neath my tender hand
When their husbands were not around
But you, my soiled teenage girlfriend
Oh, while you furrow like the lioness
And we are vagabonds
We travel without seat belts on
To live this close to death

And try one, and try two
I guess it always comes down to
Alright, it's okay
Guess it's better to turn this
But I won, so you lose
Guess it always comes down to
Alright, it's okay
Guess it's better to turn this way
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey


Lyrics submitted by sarahsavedlatin

Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect Lyrics as written by Colin Meloy

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

71 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    There's a lot of ways to look at the song.

    I see it being about relationships. The first verse is about a man who is in love but can't stop fighting. It's a common relationship problem, the man is jealous or can't stop himself from defending his girlfriend.

    In the second I see it as being a relationship where they try to put up too many rules and limits. He tries to keep his girlfriend/wife safe by keeping her away from everything, and seeing it never work, their love crumbles and they go their separate ways.

    The third is how he is currently. He stops dreaming. He's a womanizer, his relationships mean very little and he has a pregnant teenage girlfriend. The line "And we are vagabonds/we travel without seat belts on/we live this close to death" means, to me, that their relationship is on the edge.

    Then again, it's such a mysterious song which is what I really love about it. This is just how I like to look at it.

    Tarvoson July 20, 2010   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!