Broken Bones

i think this is just about teenage friendship and how as you near adulthood, you begin to fear venturing into the "real world".. you long to stay with the same people, because "this world is burning". you and your friends realize that in your lifetime beyond what you have so accumulated so far, you will all love, lie and cry.. but that as time goes by, it will fix your "broken bones" and "snap around your fingers", as a memory of all those you once loved as a teen. but even as "the tide is rising", you long to fit in as much as you can while it lasts.

i think this song perfectly describes the last year of highschool, for most kids.. a lot of the time, you will never see your most of your friends again in your lifetime so it gives you an urge to develop a lasting connection with anyone possible.. anyways, this is an awesome song.. i agree with dustfinger, probably the best on the new album

my favorite song on the new cd, you have to listen to it the whole way through though because it doesn't pick up until about a minute or so in

"This is a story 'bout the three of us, Down by the water and the tide is rising. This world is burning and I'm terrified I need a little more time with you"

such a nice refrain

this song completely breaks my heart... pretty obviously he's afraid with how the world is going, and that he just needs more time with the two loves of his life.. best song on the album in my opinion

At the Aqualung concert in Boston, Matt Hales said this song was put a the end of the Memory Man CD because it sort of summed it up. His lyrics about singing evitable songs of different types means that this CD has some songs that he needed to sing. As of how to interpret "story about the 3 of us" I think it could mean two things. The first is that it is referring to the song writing team (him, his brother Ben, and his wife Kim). The other option that I think is plausible is that it is about his family (him, Kim, and their young son). Either way it makes sense that he wants more time with them.

this song is great. a love the sound of his voice. he sings it with great sincerity.

Written by Matt Hales about missing his son and wife, he originally was going to finish with 10 songs but added this one later, refers to how during his tours he sees so little of them both. He told me himself at manchester university in april 2007

Agreed with above ^^ I read that in an interview. Matt said that the whole of Memory Man is pretty much about, and dedicated to, his wife and son. Sweet, no?

This song reminds me a lot of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go. I listened to it while I was reading the book and was just struck by how well it fits with Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth. If you imagine the boat being on a shore instead of marshes, it's perfect...

I have to say, this is one of those songs where the chorus just blows away the rest of anything else said. I don't know what he means by the metaphor of broken bones, but "I just need a little more time with you" is unbelievably true. Such a great ending to a fine album.

I can start to feel him when he says, "inevitable love song, inevitable lie song, inevitable cry song.", but it's only a set-up for when pleads three times over how much he wants the girl he's always desired.

It's a beautiful composition of three instruments: piano, voice, and static.