Pull the hair back from your eyes,
Let the people see your pretty face
Try not to say anything weird

Save your questions without answers,
'Til your old enough to know
That things ain't as they appeared

Before you go out in the sun
Cover your skin and don't get burned
Beware the cancer,
It might kill you when you're old

Be first in line, raise your hand
Remember everything you hear
And playing in the rain is worth catching cold

[Chorus]
Sooner or later we'll be lookin' back on everything
And we'll laugh about it like we knew what all was happening and
Someday you might listen to what people have to say
Now you learn the hard way

We only want what's best for you
That's why we tell you what to do
And nevermind if nothing makes sense

'Cause It all works out in the end
You're just like us without a friend
But you can build a privacy fence (yeah)

[Chorus]

Some things you have to learn
Them all on your own
You can't rely on anybody else
Or the point of view of a source unknown
If it feels good, and sounds nice, then it's your choice
Don't doubt yourself, don't even think twice

Pull the hair back from your eyes,
Let the people see your pretty face
You know they like it when you smile
(Find a reason to smile)

Try not to focus on yourself
Share that love with someone else
Don't let the bitters bring you down (down)
Don't let anything bring you down

[Chorus]


Lyrics submitted by Aut, edited by maddjake

Sooner or Later Lyrics as written by Justin Hayward John Charles Lodge

Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing, Songtrust Ave, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Sooner Or Later song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

16 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    This has always been one of my favorite songs by tolcher. It; so easy to relate to it. Basically, I feel this song is about going ahead and trying things on your own, regardless of what others might say and then learning from your own mistakes. Also, as Michael's said, it's about knowing that no matter what happens, everything will turn out all right in the end.

    Wallflower101on November 19, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    yea i really like this song because i love life as we know it its my favorite tv show but what sucks is it comes on the same time as the OC so i gotta flip between them lol

    DerekS152on January 14, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I just got home from a Michael Tolcher and Gavin DeGraw show..it was great. This song and Mission Responsible are my favorite songs by Tolcher. I hadn't even heard of him but he's cool

    laurenblahon June 22, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song will always be my favorite of tolchers..i think its such a great song..and about learning things for yourself..i mostly found out about michael by going to see Gavin too although i semi knew who he was before..and anyways i have loved him ever since..

    Aligator2210on September 11, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    yeah I found this form life as we know it as well(amaazing show, althoug I DESPISE kelly osbourne). To me its like...a guy and a girl, who are good friends, and hes trying to help her be more confident with herself.The first verse reminds me of something a friend used to say to me-it's pretty much the same thing. He said, "pull your hair back and let them see your eyes, oh and don't say anything wierd"...Im a little odd twitches lol. so aye, that song reminds me of him.

    suicidal_elmoon September 23, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song was in SCRUBS!!! now i love it! but this song is extremely good....EXTREMELY WELL WRITTEN!!! You dont have to wrap your head around it so much but basically the lil verses are things ure parents would tell you...

    and everyonce in awhile he wil contradict what they tell you or throw in a contradictory remark...."playing in the rain is worth catching a cold" this is not something your parents would say but everyone would have to agree that as bad as it is for your health playing in the rain IS worth catching a cold...

    "before you go out in the sun, cover your skin and dont get burned, beware the cancer, it might kill you when your old"

    This is something your parents tell you when your young, teaching you the importance of staying healthy even tho putting sunscreen on is a pain...it protects you...

    "We only want whats best for you Thats why we tell you what to do And nevermind if nothing makes sense Cause it all works out in the end"

    This is what first gave me this idea because as a teenager I can relate to this verse. Even though half the time you dont get to do what you want to do as a teenager I can understand that parents do have good intentions, or atleast believe it will all work out in the end because they have been through this all before.

    the_howeeon January 04, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I obviously like the song as well, but one line in particular sticks out: "If it feels good, & sounds nice, then its your choice" Obviously a take on "if it feels good, do it." In contrast it seems to indicate that even if "it feels good and sounds nice" it's still 'your choice' and it leaves the possibility open that it might be the wrong one. That extra detail of accountability rather than blind naturalism, that there are not always sure-things, has a lot of wisdom in it.

    Tribunalon March 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i love this song. the lines "if it feels good and it sounds nice. then its your choice, dont doubt yourself dont even think twice" really helped me while i was making one of the biggest choices of my life. when everyone was telling me it was wrong. but it turned out to be the right choice.

    and. one of my FAVORITE lines outta ANY songs is "playing in the rain is worth catching cold" SO true.

    krisincoloron September 23, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    inspiring! sums up the kind of things we miss on when we're in such a hurry to 'just grow up'.

    seamoraineon January 11, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song so much. My friend told me that she always thinks about me and my other friend :]

    LilMissSunshineXoXoon March 09, 2008   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!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
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 "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.