Cardiff Afterlife

Manic Street Preachers

If the love between us has faded away
Left in the rain, scratching at the stains
The paralyzed future
The past sideways scrawl
I must give up on this
It makes no sense at all
Makes no sense at all

In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff afterlife
We sense the breaking of our lives
In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff afterlife

And yet I kept my silence
Your memory is still mine
No I will not share them
Acquaintance through denial

For I witnessed splendour
And evil that no-one saw
And I felt kindness
And vanity for sure
And vanity for sure

In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff afterlife
We sensed the breaking of our lives
In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff afterlife

In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff afterlife
We sensed the making of our lives
In the Cardiff afterlife
In the Cardiff


Lyrics submitted by matt675, edited by michel houellebecq

Cardiff Afterlife Lyrics as written by Jones Bradfield

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Cardiff Afterlife song meanings
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5 Comments

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  • 0
    General CommentThis song is more or less a direct attempt to find some closure on Richey's still-unresolved disappearance. "It makes no sense at all", indeed.

    (Cardiff is where Richey was living before his disappearance, and the location of the bridge where he left his car)
    Cherub Rockon February 08, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment(Not strictly true - the bridge where he left his car is actually a fair distance from Cardiff)

    But I would agree.

    'We sensed the breaking of our lives'
    ^Brilliant line.
    lady_midnighton May 06, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment'The past sideways crawl' = This line is really poignant to me because it reminds me directly of Richey's line in Die in the Summertime: 'I have crawled so far sideways / I recognize dim traces of creation'. I wonder if they're both homaging a famous line of some poet or someone or just both shared a similar metaphorical image... Like peas in a pod, Nicky & Richey. :)
    taviangoon June 22, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General CommentYes... Richey's disappearance. 'It makes no sense at all' but Nicky will still never forget him.
    manic4manicson December 28, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General CommentThere was (and still is) a magazine in Cardiff called Cardiff Life, I wonder if this inspired the song title.
    michel houellebecqon March 18, 2023   Link

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