In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I once held her in my arms
She said she would always stay
But I was cruel
I treated her like a fool
I threw it all away
Once I had mountains in the palm of my hand
And rivers that ran through every day
I must have been mad
I never knew what I had
Until I threw it all away
Love is all there is, it makes the world go 'round
Love and only love, it can't be denied
No matter what you think about it
You just won't be able to do without it
Take a tip from one who's tried
So if you find someone that gives you all of her love
Take it to your heart, don't let it stray
For one thing that's certain
You will surely be a-hurtin'
If you throw it all away
If you throw it all away
She said she would always stay
But I was cruel
I treated her like a fool
I threw it all away
Once I had mountains in the palm of my hand
And rivers that ran through every day
I must have been mad
I never knew what I had
Until I threw it all away
Love is all there is, it makes the world go 'round
Love and only love, it can't be denied
No matter what you think about it
You just won't be able to do without it
Take a tip from one who's tried
So if you find someone that gives you all of her love
Take it to your heart, don't let it stray
For one thing that's certain
You will surely be a-hurtin'
If you throw it all away
If you throw it all away
Lyrics submitted by planetearth
I Threw It All Away Lyrics as written by Dylan Bob Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
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This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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underrated. a very sad tune. love his voice in this one, also.
The perfect lost-love song. Every word is perfectly chosen. It's simple, direct, and incredibly heart-felt, especially the way he sings those lines at the end of each verse "I musta been mad, I never knew what I had". It breaks my heart every time I play it.
And the lines about mountains refer to breasts and the rivers that ran through every day, well you can use your imagination. The filthy old dog.
In some live versions he sings, "One thing's for sure, they're ain't no cure" as the last lines, which I prefer.
Genius Bob.
I love this song. Its so sad man...the song is about a guy who has lost his love and now he realizes that he had everything and he just threw it all away. I remember when I was first dating my girlfried, I was so unbelievably nervouse about our first date that I was pretty much thinkin about standing her up but...i listened to this song and thought, that could be me...I dont know but maybe that girl is everything and Im just gonna throw the chance away....well I found inspiration through this song and now we've been together for a year and a half and she is definatly my everything...thanks Bob!
One of the most important songs for me... in my case reminds me of a girl you don
t take seriously while shes around, but you relise you LUV her when she`s just gone. oh no. so hard to tellyeah it is totally under-rated. i love the beatles stuff, but dylan rips them. i mean this songs so much better lyrically than, i dunno 'This boy'.
I love this song. Its so sad man...the song is about a guy who has lost his love and now he realizes that he had everything and he just threw it all away. I remember when I was first dating my girlfried, I was so unbelievably nervouse about our first date that I was pretty much thinkin about standing her up but...i listened to this song and thought, that could be me...I dont know but maybe that girl is everything and Im just gonna throw the chance away....well I found inspiration through this song and now we've been together for a year and a half and she is definatly my everything...thanks Bob!
another of dylans heroin songs...he was in love with a girl but his addiction was a big problem, "i threw it all away"...he mean that he threw his life away, because he was shooting heroin every day