In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
When I stand, my back to the sea
A big white cloud, looking right down on me
Sound of sun, missing my eyes
Everything's clear, everything's bright
Big white cloud, big white cloud
Big white cloud on me
Big white cloud, big white cloud
Big white cloud on me.
Time to kill on the hill
Looking at bees, licking the trees
Looking for signs ....................
Oh how I love you,
Yes how I love you
Oh how I love you so.
Oh how I love you,
Yes how I love you
Oh how I love you so.
After all is said and done
Everything, is just like it began
Days that came, years again
Came in here once again
Oh how I love you,
Yes how I love you
Oh how I love you so.
Oh how I love you,
Yes how I love you
Oh how I love you so.
A big white cloud, looking right down on me
Sound of sun, missing my eyes
Everything's clear, everything's bright
Big white cloud, big white cloud
Big white cloud on me
Big white cloud, big white cloud
Big white cloud on me.
Time to kill on the hill
Looking at bees, licking the trees
Looking for signs ....................
Oh how I love you,
Yes how I love you
Oh how I love you so.
Oh how I love you,
Yes how I love you
Oh how I love you so.
After all is said and done
Everything, is just like it began
Days that came, years again
Came in here once again
Oh how I love you,
Yes how I love you
Oh how I love you so.
Oh how I love you,
Yes how I love you
Oh how I love you so.
Lyrics submitted by Santo Arma Re-dux, edited by sgs
Big White Cloud Lyrics as written by John Davies Cale
Lyrics © GARNANT MUSIC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
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.
Love how they used it in the movie Smokin' Aces (2007) during Piven's drug out
It's "Oh I love IT" not "YOU."
And yeah this song made Smokin' Aces really really cool.
It's "Oh I love it" not "Oh how I love you."
And yeah this song made Smokin' Aces really really cool.
i misinterpreted this song when i first heard it (on smokin aces, 'course). i thought it was a song of depression, instead i think he's a God fearing man, going through a season in his life.. he's got a cloud blocking his direct light, but he's still aware of the light surrounding him. "time to kill on the hill" is him saying he knows it's time for sacrifice.
finally i made an account here :)
first i gotta say: true @bkat004!
i think this song might be about some kind of drug, as john cale is in no way a religious man.
my favourite lines are "Time to kill on the hill Looking at bees, licking the trees Looking for signs .."
first i thought it meant "time to kill [somebody/something]", but it just came to my mind: he has some time to kill on the hill, and looks at the bees, well, and maybe he did lick the trees :) sounds like a nice drug, doesn't it?
if i happen to come across it in the john cale autobiography i'll post it.
My thoughts on this song..
His back to the sea.. Turning his back on the featureless. Sound of the sun... possible LSD reference as LSD directly rearranges your senses. Clear and Bright.. things are getting clear, different/higher understanding
time to Kill on the hill He's high on a hill with nothing in particular to do but enjoy himself.
Looking at bees licking the trees... other LSD users,people he's high with around him.
Everything is just like it began...coming down
Days that came years again ... he misses his free time has responsibilities
When he revisits aka gets high again he feels and remembers it like the first time.
Anyway..I feel like this song is about an LSD trip or times he spent tripping. It's a nice song lyrically but when coupled with the music there is a muted feeling to it in my opinion. That makes me feel like there is/was something lost when he took on his responsibilities that he wishes he could have back.