This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
I never knew so many bad times
Could follow me so mercilessly
It's almost surreal
All the pain that I feel
The future ain't what it used to be
It doesn't matter what they're thinking
It doesn't matter what they're thinking of me
It's always so cold
I'm to young to be old
The future ain't what it used to be
Were there ever any stars in the sky
Did the sun ever shine so bright?
Do you have any dreams I could borrow
Just to get me through the lonely night?
Is there anything left to hold on to
When the rivers wash it all away?
Is there anyone left to hold on to
Is there anything left I can say?
[Chorus:]
Say a prayer for the falling angels
Stem the tide of the rising waters
Toll a bell for the broken hearted
Burn a torch for your sons and daughters
The endless night has got a hold of me
Dark days are pulling me forward
And all the tears are washing over me
I'm crying, lost forever
In a future that ain't what it used to be
No more no more no more
It's like a storm that's never ending
It's like a shadow on the land and the sea
There's nothing so sad as
A tomorrow gone bad
The future ain't what it used to be
Some days I feel so numb and empty
And those would be the good days for me
Nothing gets to me now
Unless I'm thinking of how
The future ain't what it used to be
Is there anything left to hold on to
When the rivers wash it all away?
Is there anyone left to hold on to
Is there anything left I can say?
[Chorus]
The future just ain't what it used to be
It's never gonna be like it was
The future just ain't what it used to be
I wish it wouldn't come but it does
I wish it wouldn't come but it always does
Could follow me so mercilessly
It's almost surreal
All the pain that I feel
The future ain't what it used to be
It doesn't matter what they're thinking
It doesn't matter what they're thinking of me
It's always so cold
I'm to young to be old
The future ain't what it used to be
Were there ever any stars in the sky
Did the sun ever shine so bright?
Do you have any dreams I could borrow
Just to get me through the lonely night?
Is there anything left to hold on to
When the rivers wash it all away?
Is there anyone left to hold on to
Is there anything left I can say?
[Chorus:]
Say a prayer for the falling angels
Stem the tide of the rising waters
Toll a bell for the broken hearted
Burn a torch for your sons and daughters
The endless night has got a hold of me
Dark days are pulling me forward
And all the tears are washing over me
I'm crying, lost forever
In a future that ain't what it used to be
No more no more no more
It's like a storm that's never ending
It's like a shadow on the land and the sea
There's nothing so sad as
A tomorrow gone bad
The future ain't what it used to be
Some days I feel so numb and empty
And those would be the good days for me
Nothing gets to me now
Unless I'm thinking of how
The future ain't what it used to be
Is there anything left to hold on to
When the rivers wash it all away?
Is there anyone left to hold on to
Is there anything left I can say?
[Chorus]
The future just ain't what it used to be
It's never gonna be like it was
The future just ain't what it used to be
I wish it wouldn't come but it does
I wish it wouldn't come but it always does
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Vocally, lyrically and the tune of this song...superb!