Then I woke, seven whole days gone
The sunrise is perfect
Taking aim, changing colors while it burns
It made my stomach turn
It made me quite unsure
A lesser diamond, on a road with no horizon
Then it comes... I'm stardust

When a day hasn't been torture let me know
I'll find a way up, celebrate, then wake up
On the ground
I may define disturbed
A mental village burned
Connect to silence, say a prayer, let go of the rope
Then let it come

Now i'm done and I know
Because it hurts in all ways
In other words I am a passenger
A dream that's over

I'll let your wild ocean
Hold my light while you're quite broken... it's alright
I'll let your emotion roll my eyes
If not I apologize

Now I'm done
For once in my life I hurt
A slow train has overturned
And I am a passenger
A dream that's over

I'll let your wild ocean
Hold my light while you're quite broken... it's alright
I'll let your emotion roll my eyes
If not I apologize
But i'm stardust...
Oooh-hooo, i'm stardust...


Lyrics submitted by KiBa283

Passenger song meanings
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    General Comment

    I can't believe the lyrics for this song weren't even listed here yet, so I took the liberty of adding a few days ago. It's undoubtedly one of the most beautiful songs i've ever heard, and is lyrical poetry at its' finest, accompanied by a hauntingly memorable melody.

    From my point of view, the song takes on two sides. One part of the song describes the mental battle he's fighting just to keep his head screwed on tight, while the other battle he's fighting has to do with leaving behind someone he cared and still cares about. It describes the excruciating "longing" to be with someone who is out of reach, and this song captures the essence of that pain and struggle beautifully.

    "Then I woke, seven whole days gone The sunrise is perfect Taking aim, changing colors while it burns"

    He wakes up to this realization where time just blindly seems to be passing him by. He sees the literal world around him and takes the time to notice the simple beauty of it all, but then notices the other side of the sunrise, mentioning how it changes colors (as life so often does), as well as burns.

    "It made my stomach turn It made me quite unsure A lesser diamond, on a road with no horizon Then it comes... I'm stardust"

    Despite the obvious beauty of the sunset, his feelings head in a downward spiral as he questions its' beauty after realizing how the sun "changes colors and burns". Instead of seeing the sun as a star, or the sunset as this "picture-perfect" object of beauty, he calls it a 'lesser diamond with no horizon' after noticing its' flaws. As these thoughts are floating in his head, he describes himself as being 'stardust', or in other words, describes himself slipping away from the changed world around him into a hopelessly optimistic, romantic and dreamlike state of mind.

    "When a day hasn't been torture let me know I'll find a way up, celebrate, then wake up On the ground"

    He further elaborates on the feelings he's being put through - pretty self explanatory. He mentions how he sometimes might be able to find a way up - something that provides short-lived happiness or a positive reaction - but after 'celebrating' or rejoicing whatever positive effect it had on him, he wakes up to the harsh reality once again, being left back 'on the ground', which could be taken as hitting rock-bottom for him.

    "I may define disturbed A mental village burned"

    He's simply describing what he is, and openly admitting to how messed up change has left him. "I may define disturbed" - pretty self explanatory. "A mental village burned" - I think he's referring to the memories of his past as a village, specifically because villages are more homely than cities. When you think of a village, you think of people knowing each other and being close knit - as opposed to a city where people tend to live their own lives and do their own thing. Thus, his "mental village" being burned signifies an unfortunate end to the life which he had been living.

    "Connect to silence, say a prayer, let go of the rope Then let it come"

    I think that after realizing all of the pain he's had to unfortunately face, that he's trying to find a way to just accept it and become numb to that pain. He connects to silence - perhaps the type of mental silence that keeps his mind from thinking about the past all the time. He says a prayer, and lets go of the rope as he lets the pain of the present life and reality just overcome him, because he knows that if he hangs on to the rope - being his past life, that his present one will also be shattered.

    "Now i'm done and I know Because it hurts in all ways In other words I am a passenger A dream that's over"

    Strongest stanza in the song. All being said, he comes to the realization that this change is just overwhelming beyond belief, and he wonders if he'll ever get his life back on track. Him describing himself as a passenger, in my opinion, portrays him no longer being in control of his own life. Fate has taken over what choices were made, and he can do nothing but wonder in amazement at how he got the point of self-depression he's at right now. The pain of realizing that he's now a passenger in life, just being taken along for the ride, leads him to the conclusion that his dream, or his life, feels as if it's all a wasted effort; or in other words, over.

    "I'll let your wild ocean Hold my light while you're quite broken... it's alright"

    This is where I believe that this whole song has to do with someone else, possibly a significant other or someone who is beyond his reach, whom he loved very much. Images of him singing this in his head to his loved one appear in my mind, as tears roll down her eyes. "I'll let your wild ocean hold my light" - he's telling her how she will always be a part of him, and how his light will never fade out, no matter where he is, because she'll always be in his memories. "While you're quite broken, it's alright" - he tries to console her, despite the fact that both of them are heartbroken at realizing where each of them stand at this point in time. Though he's breaking up on the inside, he tries to be strong for her and tell her that while she's "quite broken", that it's alright, or that everything will be alright.

    "I'll let your emotion roll my eyes If not I apologize"

    A continuation of the past 2 sentences, he's telling her that the strong emotion (love) that she has built up for him will keep him alive in this world/situation that has him nearly defeated. Connecting this line with the past sentence, where he says "it's alright" or "it will be alright" in the future, he adopts an extremely confident view that he will return to her and make things alright once again, because he knows "she's quite broken". Immediately, with "if not I apologize", he questions his own ability to live up to his promise, and apologizes in advance in case he doesn't see her again. Though it hurts to realize the truth, I think he apologizes right now instead of possibly later because the possibility of not living up to his promise definitely exists, and he wants to make her aware of that. Why does he do this? Perhaps to tell her "I will always be there for you, but if not, I apologize. Though my apology is meaningless at this point in time, believe me that I will do everything in my power to get back to you, but if I don't, don't waste your life on me. I'm the one that's ruined, and I want nothing more than for you to be happy in life. So go, live your own life and leave me behind if I fail - but i'll always be with you."

    "Now I'm done For once in my life I hurt A slow train has overturned And I am a passenger A dream that's over"

    Similar to one of the above paragraphs, but mentions how "for once in his life he hurts". In other words, nothing more in life has hurt him as much as what he's going through right now. When he talks about a slow train being overturned - perhaps the fact that the train is slow to begin with, but despite that, has gone on to overturn signifies him reaching a point where his emotions tip over and get the best of him. He's been slowed down like the train to nearly a standstill because of realizing this immense change, and he gets overturned when he realizes that, like I mentioned above, he's no longer in control of his life; but is rather a passenger whose dream is now over because he no longer feels in control of his life.

    "I'll let your wild ocean Hold my light while you're quite broken... it's alright I'll let your emotion roll my eyes If not I apologize But i'm stardust... Oooh-hooo, i'm stardust..."

    Same as the previous explanation, except he closes the song by saying he's stardust. At first I thought he was referring to him zoning out somewhere like outer space and being sucked into some sort of black hole, dissolving into stardust and away from his realizations. I then checked dictionary.com's definition of stardust, which described it as being dreamlike, romantic or unrealistically optimistic. It about sums up his point of view on the whole situation, where he's been thrust into a scenario that's not in his hands. He's trying to make the best of it and look at the good side of things, a.k.a. the sunrise that's perfect, but happiness for him is short-lived when all he can think about what he had and what he hopes to have.

    Longer than I initially planned, but that's my $.02.

    KiBa283on May 08, 2005   Link

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