23 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Lived in Bars Lyrics
We've lived in bars
And danced on tables
Hotels trains and ships that sail
We swim with sharks
And fly with aeroplanes in the air
Send in the trumpets
The marching wheelchairs
Open the blankets and give them some air
Swords and arches bones and cement
The light and the dark of the innocent of men
We know your house so very well
And we will wake you once we've walked up
All your stairs
There's nothing like living in a bottle
And nothing like ending it all for the world
We're so glad you will come back
Every living lion will lay in your lap
The kid has a homecoming the champion the horse
Who's gonna play drums guitar or organ with chorus
As far as we've walked from both ends of sand
Never have we caught a glimpse of this man
We know your house so very well
And we will bust down your door if you're not there
We've lived in bars
And danced on tables
Hotels trains and ships that sail
We swim with sharks
And fly with aeroplanes out of here
Out of here
And danced on tables
Hotels trains and ships that sail
We swim with sharks
And fly with aeroplanes in the air
The marching wheelchairs
Open the blankets and give them some air
Swords and arches bones and cement
The light and the dark of the innocent of men
And we will wake you once we've walked up
All your stairs
And nothing like ending it all for the world
We're so glad you will come back
Every living lion will lay in your lap
The kid has a homecoming the champion the horse
Who's gonna play drums guitar or organ with chorus
As far as we've walked from both ends of sand
Never have we caught a glimpse of this man
And we will bust down your door if you're not there
And danced on tables
Hotels trains and ships that sail
We swim with sharks
And fly with aeroplanes out of here
Out of here
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
I thought about the poets, the musicians, the entertainers who make us company during the day, during our lives, our ups and downs, who "know our house so very well". We listen to them in bars, hotels, trains, all over but we don't really know them.
It is about her comming home, to a bar where she knows everyone.
We're so glad you will come back Every living lion will lay in your lap
She is known and loved there. And the house she knows so well is the bar like mcdaniel said.
It belongs to no man but to all that fel at home there.
We swim with sharks And fly with aeroplanes in the air
The place where you feel the strongest or nicest emotions.
Because she had problems with alcohol it means she was in this places for a long time and this song represent the good part of all she has been through.
My opinion.
the lyrics are pretty surreal, but the music is powerful. i think it's about hitting bottom, ending it all for the world (or trying to), for lots of reasons. but then there's a glimpse of hope....
im assuming its her over coming alcoholism
but ofcourse thats just me
Absolutely about her overcoming alcoholism. What does the back vocal say in the last stanza, when Cat Power sings "out of here"?
Pretty amazing stuff. To answer nbrii's previous question, I think it's just the back vocal singing "sha-bop, sha-bop, sha-bop" perfect as the band kicks into a beat that sounds like a high school dance from about 40 years ago
favorite cat power song.
alright. this is an amazing song regardless if the lyrics make sense or not. NOT EVERY CAT POWER SONG IS ABOUT HER OVERCOMING ALCOHOLISM. jesus, can anyone come up with anything original?
maybe they don't need to come up with something original because that is what it is. a song interpretation does not need to be original... a song means what it means, you can't change the meaning and shouldn't be trying to. there may be a few cat power songs about her overcoming alcoholism but i don't think people intend to make that what her entire existance is all about.
I would say that this song is about "alcoholism" or partying too much, but not necessarily about overcoming it.