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In The Diner Lyrics
At five past midnight
under a flickering "OPEN" sign
that went out just as soon as i walked
through the door
in the diner, in late july
i found the meaning of life
and what every patron and waiter
was waiting for
i sat alone in a back booth
stumbled over some half truth
'bout how i was expecting someone
and i'd be needing the extra room
the waitress was listless
working over-time and double shifts
and staring longingly at
the door
the tragic parody of adult life
was playing in front of me that night
like a dream where you wanna run
but your legs have all but died
and i coulda sat with some old friends near the front
the uninvited guest in the
town we're from
and discuss the lies we've lived
with the strangers we've become
or i coulda sat on a barstool and
had a drink
to forget the things i had to
do that week
all the hearts i'd have to break
and all the homes i'd need to take
or i coulda called over the waitress who
came undone
confessed that i'm not waiting
for anyone
and if you like i think you oughta sit with me
when you're done
but the door had just finished
swinging shut
and the manager was spitting and
cursing her luck
the waitress
was already
gone
under a flickering "OPEN" sign
that went out just as soon as i walked
through the door
i found the meaning of life
and what every patron and waiter
was waiting for
stumbled over some half truth
'bout how i was expecting someone
and i'd be needing the extra room
working over-time and double shifts
and staring longingly at
the door
was playing in front of me that night
like a dream where you wanna run
but your legs have all but died
the uninvited guest in the
town we're from
with the strangers we've become
had a drink
to forget the things i had to
do that week
all the hearts i'd have to break
and all the homes i'd need to take
came undone
confessed that i'm not waiting
for anyone
and if you like i think you oughta sit with me
when you're done
swinging shut
and the manager was spitting and
cursing her luck
was already
gone
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love this song...somehow i doubt anyone is gonna read this since no one but me seems to have heard ...fire!
(which is seriously a horrible shame as he's so impossibly talented...unfortunately i can only find like, 6 songs by him and i've already listened to them each like 674839210 times each. well okay, that might a SLIGHT exaggeration.)
anyway, as i said i'd count this as one of my most favourite songs (is that even grammatically correct?) i don't even know if i can articulate what it is about it i adore.
I love the part "like a dream where you wanna run but your legs have all but died". i don't know if it's just me, but i always find that at the times you need to get the hell out and leave, you can't bring yourself to. But i don't know if that's what he meant by it.
I also love the end of the song...how it almost sounds so reluctant; " the waitress was already gone" like the moment you realize you just made a terrible mistake. also, when he's finished the last line, he takes a breath, like he's gonna say something more, but can't bring himself to or something...awesome.
anyway, this song always seems to me like a confession, (or something), like a true life story of how a guy has some great epiphany, realizes what he must do, then seconds later realizes it's all too late. (only in the song it doesn't sound like a stupid hollywood movie pitch or a cheesy reality show plot.) it sounds completely honest and true, like music should.
anyway if anyone knows anything about ...fire! please tell me! I can't find anything about him. His sound reminds me of bright eyes kinda, and think i remember reading somewhere that he's sixteen and from California, but i realllllllllly can't remember where...anyway he seriously deserves more people to hear his music.
okay that's about it. i'll stop gushing now. but like i said, it's not like anyone's gonna read this.
Ionly seem to listen to this song at particular points in my life and, after four years of struggling college years, I think I get it.
I've always aimed to be more social since I got here; I think I've gotten there, but I'm now wishing I was more than just social.
However, while chasing that goal and wanting it to be real -- that I would go up to anyone, say anything, do anything, and just have tons of fun -- which sometimes does happen, I begin to think those wishes are beyond stupid.
In essence, I find the man in this song walking into a bar and ordering a beer. He looks around and thinks of everything that could be -- he can go around and talk to everyone. Everyone, in this case, though, represents a portion of his life ... he can do the same thing, as usual. Potentially a one night stand, potentially make new friends to be stupid with... ... but it strikes him that he'd rather settle down a bit. He sees a nice waitress he'd love to meet and maybe even get to know.
But just as he would love to, she walks away.
The manager, who is sort of always your ambitions, is screaming in rage; how can I just let her go? This guy, though, just sits there and sort of expected it; no matter what would happen, he'd never meet her.
At least, that's how I see this song. I'm sure it's hard to follow, but when you come from a place in your life where you literally have no friends and are barely starting to make some at 24, it does.
Well, I read you posting but cannot find this artist's work. At least not in itunes anyway.