Wake Up

Most of Arcade Fire's songs give me a sense of... tragic innocence. And this one is no different

"Somethin' filled up my heart with nothin', someone told me not to cry.

But now that I'm older, my heart's colder, and I can see that it's a lie."

All his life, people have told him that he needs to be tough and not show his feelings, but now he sees that it's okay to show that emotion

"Children wake up, hold your mistake up, before they turn the summer into dust.

If the children don't grow up, our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up. We're just a million little god's causin rain storms turnin' every good thing to rust.

I guess we'll just have to adjust."

But with growing up, there's also the responsibility for the mistakes we make. If the children just grow up without knowing what they're doing, it's going to end up destroying them and everything they work towards, just like a god randomly throwing thunderbolts down to earth.

"With my lighnin' bolts a glowin' I can see where I am goin' to be when the reaper he reaches and touches my hand.

With my lighnin' bolts a glowin' I can see where I am goin’ With my lighnin' bolts a glowin' I can see where I am go-goin’

You better look out below!"

But if they do take responsibility for the mistakes we make, and learn from them, we'll be able to see where our life is headed. We're still going to make mistakes, but they'll just give us more of the experience we need.