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This Temporary Life Lyrics
The morning sun's about to break
I'm looking in as you create someone
You lift your head and brush your teeth
And make your bed as if you won't sleep again
You fix your hair and tie your shoes
And tuck your shirt and now you feel new
The glass is full, the glass is broke
And every day dissolves and there's no hope
Of ever leaving this temporary life
Of ever leaving this temporary life
You may ask yourself, "Is there anyone so alone?"
But there's no beep before the dial-tone
When you pick it up to see who called
If there is, it's probably your mom
But, oh, the rising sun brings little cheer
To this city with the stolen name
And you're wondering whose bright idea
It was to pack your things and leave your friends
And move down here
I'm looking in as you create someone
You lift your head and brush your teeth
And make your bed as if you won't sleep again
You fix your hair and tie your shoes
And tuck your shirt and now you feel new
And every day dissolves and there's no hope
Of ever leaving this temporary life
Of ever leaving this temporary life
But there's no beep before the dial-tone
When you pick it up to see who called
If there is, it's probably your mom
To this city with the stolen name
And you're wondering whose bright idea
It was to pack your things and leave your friends
And move down here
Song Info
Submitted by
tay-parker On Sep 27, 2004
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I agree with such_details...This song just reminds me of leaving all your friends and family behind thinking that you're going to find something bigger and better at college or whatever it might be. But after a while, you realize you're alone.
Wow, this is sooo me.
Wow, this is sooo me.
this song makes me cry every time. its one that everyone can relate to, and i wish they put it on an actual death cab cd so more people could hear it.
i went to college early, thinking it would be good to get a head start on life, and every day i regret it. this song describes how it felt exactly. i was stuck in this unfamiliar place all alone, and the only thing i looked forward to each day was a call from my mom. and i had to watch my friends having fun and spending the best 2 years of their lives without me.
hahah ok so the moral of this story is nothing is worth giving up the time you have where you can just have fun in high school and be with your friends. yeah im 2 years ahead of every one, so what? i get to retire 2 years before them and get a headstart on rotting away sitting in my house. awesome.
This song gets to me every time... This is actually one of my favorite songs my death cab, even though it isn't from one of their original albums. This is a completely accurate description of how I imagine it would feel permanently leaving home for the first time. No matter who you are, complete lonliness and isolation does not feel good. We all need some sort of human relationship- another person we can share our thoughts, opinions, and emotions with. This song is about lonliness in its greatest form. Also, I think this song suggests that it is human nature to be selfish in that once we are out of sight, even our own friends eventually stop thinking about us- they don't completely forget we existed, but as soon as we're gone, we are no longer one of their priorities. They may call us up once a year around the holidays to wish us a safe one, but the sad truth is that most likely the other 364 days of the year, they are not thinking about us. Selfishness. They have their own lives to worry about. Eventually, they'll stop calling alltogether- even around the holidays. This song lures out many emotions that I have buried in me.
Completely agree.
Completely agree.
"you may ask yourself 'is there anyone so alone?'"
thats the best line ever. i can totally relate.
my love for ben gibbard will never be done justice with mere words. i just saw death cab in concert on the 20th and they did this song and i was possibly the only person there singing along. it seems to be about the monotony of suburban life. future soundtrack for america is awesome btw.
Maybe you were the only person singing along because it's annoying when people sing the lyrics out at concerts.
I think it's about the loneliness and monotony of life (not neccessarily suburban since the band lives in urban Seattle), but also how perfect and un-flawed we try to be for other people ("you create someone"), even if we're just by ourselves.
to me, this song is an accurate description of college, or any other time that a person decides to make a big transition and leave home and their friends. and when you're stuck in a place where you know absotutely no one, the only person that ever calls is your mom. the more you go on, the more you hate yourself for leaving because you didn't realize how much you'd miss your life back home. college is a transitional period in most people's lives, when you're supposed to grow up but you don't have to be totally responsible yet so to me, it is an example of temporary life. and since you have no relationships with anyone, you have the opportunity to recreate your identity, or form a new one, which is what the first verse seems to imply. of course, this all makes sense to me because i just moved away from home two months ago and this song speaks to me. it is the exact description of how i feel about college.
what album is this song on
It's on the Future Soundtrack for America which is a compliation CD (and a good one, at that)...
It's on the Future Soundtrack for America which is a compliation CD (and a good one, at that)...