Beneath the Balcony Lyrics
And grace the game with a blindfold on
The cheaters came to play
And outside the soft-handed boys
Screaming cars and all their speed
Music, math, a hero begging change
His sword across his knees
For every sleepless night he spends
And for every well that he warned me of
But wound up falling in
And then for the kids beneath the balcony
Who disregard the rain
To make sure the king won't grant
The dead man one more day
What shines tonight
And temper your dream about the dying horse
With traffic, noise, and light
And somewhere the soft-handed boys
Bleeding hearts, and worker bees
Give to the holy mother begging change
Christ across her knees
For every loveless night she waits
And for every gun that she frowned upon
But still some fucker made
And then for the kid beneath the balcony
Behind the garbage can
Who waits for the king to come
And hold his sweating hand
this song is so amazing. the solos are amazing. sam beam's voice is so haunting. the whole EP is great. ....this is great music to listen to in the passenger seat of a car
@Arienette agreed, but that says nothing as to the song’s meaning… posts like this, on “songMEANINGS.com” are beginning to bug me. Much love, j/s …
@Arienette agreed, but that says nothing as to the song’s meaning… posts like this, on “songMEANINGS.com” are beginning to bug me. Much love, j/s …
'and oh how she prays to find a man to blame for every loveless night she waits and for every gun that she frowned upon but still some fucker made '
Guns ruin lives... (You know when sam beam swears, it's not just for kicks, thats what makes his swearing more powerful and his songs too.)
Sam rocks the banjo on this song and I love it.
The song starts off as striking me as a boy who thinks he is humble and pious but he's actually pretty bitter and isn't really that intimate with God.
I see the "sword across his knees" reference as a nod to the Bible calling itself the sword of God.
And I don't see the "...still some fucker made.." reference about guns ruining lives. At all. I maybe see it as another reference to misplaced anger.
@kyle171 right now, I agree and disagree a tad. I think you’re on the money with the overall theme, and there’s certainly something going on in here about mob mentality as it relates to religion and dogma. But I think the hostility towards “guns,” at least metaphorically as they represent war, enable misled youth (“boys”) to do so much damage when suffering from dogmatic belief, is genuine. Thus, I believe the old lady at the end is a counterpoint to the guy in the beginning—her form of “faith” or “piety” being genuine and not just dogmatic or about power (which...
@kyle171 right now, I agree and disagree a tad. I think you’re on the money with the overall theme, and there’s certainly something going on in here about mob mentality as it relates to religion and dogma. But I think the hostility towards “guns,” at least metaphorically as they represent war, enable misled youth (“boys”) to do so much damage when suffering from dogmatic belief, is genuine. Thus, I believe the old lady at the end is a counterpoint to the guy in the beginning—her form of “faith” or “piety” being genuine and not just dogmatic or about power (which we can assume the first guy both has and wants), and the anger or frustration expressed is because she and people like her, who would genuinely pray for peace, are not heard and are so powerless
could it be abuse?
And then for the kid beneath the balcony Behind the garbage can Who waits for the king to come And hold his sweating hand"
a boy literally hiding from an abusive person. waiting for the "king", could be god, jesus, etc. to hold his sweating hand, to help him, save him, make everything ok
@jdeppsfavfan1 in a manner of speaking. I think the “abuse” is a societal one, stemming from the lack of trustworthy leaders, and that the song is about dogmatic, power-seeking religious leaders and those so anxious to follow verses the powerless, whose spirituality is genuine and leads them to long for peace—like the old woman in the end—but to whom very few listen or are willing to be led by
@jdeppsfavfan1 in a manner of speaking. I think the “abuse” is a societal one, stemming from the lack of trustworthy leaders, and that the song is about dogmatic, power-seeking religious leaders and those so anxious to follow verses the powerless, whose spirituality is genuine and leads them to long for peace—like the old woman in the end—but to whom very few listen or are willing to be led by
The Balcony could represent Heaven or God. The term "soft-handed boys" may mean the people in reference haven't experienced hard labor. The first two verses are about the hero (who's begging for coins) and how people overlook his great deeds because of the distraction of the people who have so many possesions (soft-handed boys).
The holy mother is the one who is begging for change in the sense of the state of things. The kid behind the garbage can could be a drug addict (Junky, maybe?)
To me this song is about people's indifference to things that truly matter, how forgiveness is wearing thin and society is begging for change, yet we choose not to see.
I don't have this song on a CD but I love the lyrics and heard it once at my friends house. It's poetry, it really really is.
Sam Beam has a talent for bringing a thousand topics to the table in as few words as he possibly can.
I think think this one is about bullying. A boy is being abused or bullied, and when the song starts off, someone, the "hero begging change" is trying to stop what's happening, and the bullies are "making sure the king won't grant the dead man on more day," meaning the hero may have been hurt or killed. I think the mother in the end is mourning the loss of the hero, and the boy waiting for a sweaty hand is the boy who lost his hero, and may possibly be waiting for more help.
this song is about many things....unjustice for instance he talks about a king which is christ and the holy mother(virigin mary) and the hero he talks about represents all those men that fought for good causes but were still consumed by the enmity of the world and this same hero prays to find the guilty men responsible for the world being fucked up he also prays for the kids who are beneath the balcony(poor kids) that for the unjustice made to them the king will make justice in the end of days.... then the song gets more like blaming men....it is the fault of men that the holy mother waits for every loveless night(since virgin mary never experienced love(sex) because she gave birth to christ....... and hope for the kids beneath the balcony that the king will come(christ).....(if men had not sinned christ never had to be born....it says that the world is fucked up but hope is offered by the coming of christ........that is how I see it..
i'd just like to point out the crime and punishment reference, with the dream of the dying horse. so my guess is that it has something to do with guilt. all of these people are guilty, but they're looking for someone to blame, before they get what's coming to them (the king). so they're basically hiding from their guilt beneath the balcony.
Ok I just noticed this song is sooo fucking religious... a hero begging change His sword across his knees
(a hero begging change His sword across his knees)
I think this part refer to peter, christ's disciple which is like a hero in organized christianity also the first pope... he once cut the ear off a soldier that went to arrest christ and is one of the disciples that prays for change in many of his letters that are found in the bible, also he begs for changed but before te arrest of christ he was put by christ to stay awake and not sleep the entire time christ prayed, but he and other 3 disciples fell asleep, and he denied christ 3 times while he was being judged by te jewish council...hence (And for every well that he warned me of But wound up falling in) A bit hypocritical...
(Let's go out and dance, darling, our last of days And grace the game with a blindfold on The cheaters came to play And outside the soft-handed boys Screaming cars and all their speed Music, math) this part is about living the last days as best as you can...christians hold that we truly are living the last of days...with blindfolds on to purposely ignore all the fucked up shit that's going on in the world