I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Some people live in a house on a hill
And they wish they were someplace else
There's nobody there when the evening is still
Secrets with no one to tell
And some I have known
Have a ship where they sleep
With sounds of rocks on the coast
They sail over oceans five fathoms deep
They can't find what they want the most
And even now
When I'm alone
I've always known
With you
I am home
And some live in towns
Cardboard shack on concrete
All blustered, and bustling life
They search for the color
You can never quite see
Â??Cause it's all white on white
And even now
When I'm alone
I've always known
With you
I am home
And even now
When I'm alone
I've always known
With you
I am home
For me it's a glimpse
And a smile on your face
A touch of your hands
An honest embrace
For where I lay, it's you I keep
This changing world
And fall asleep
With you all I know is
I'm coming home
Coming home
And they wish they were someplace else
There's nobody there when the evening is still
Secrets with no one to tell
And some I have known
Have a ship where they sleep
With sounds of rocks on the coast
They sail over oceans five fathoms deep
They can't find what they want the most
And even now
When I'm alone
I've always known
With you
I am home
And some live in towns
Cardboard shack on concrete
All blustered, and bustling life
They search for the color
You can never quite see
Â??Cause it's all white on white
And even now
When I'm alone
I've always known
With you
I am home
And even now
When I'm alone
I've always known
With you
I am home
For me it's a glimpse
And a smile on your face
A touch of your hands
An honest embrace
For where I lay, it's you I keep
This changing world
And fall asleep
With you all I know is
I'm coming home
Coming home
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
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced 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.
It's pretty simple. "Home" means something different to everyone. Some people are always searching for a home. Some have it, but are unhappy and isolated. And for some, it serves as just a shelter without that feeling of love, comfort, belonging, etc. And finally, Vanessa describes what "home" means to her, which is a place with this certain somebody. It's a sad, but beautiful song.
It is interesting that you bring up the 'five fathoms deep'. I think she means it both literally and metaphorically in that the person is looking for relationships and people but they are sailing over shallow waters/people (hence 5 fathoms deep.) It could also possibly mean that the person who is searching is shallow themselves.
I used to listen to Vanessa Carlton's songs a lot. This one brought the most feelings for me. Especially now when being stuck in a world where people are just trying to find a meaning and find a place for themselves, I would have to say my 'Home' is not of this busy and scattered world.
I think this song is deeper than talking about houses....
The song starts by giving an example of what some people are like. A place to live is used as a metaphor for someone to trust and confide in.
There are three main groups she addresses that don't have a good "home". "Some people live in a house on a hill..." suggests that there are people who do not have anyone to talk to because they seclude themselves up on a hill (isolate themselves from relationships) and they spend their life dreaming about what they will never have. Others ("have a ship where they sleep...") also don't have anyone, but they try really hard to find one ("sail over oceans five oceans deep/they can't find what they want the most"). Finally, "some live in towns..." describes someone who lives in a cardboard box, i.e. a homeless person. They obviously don't have anyone.
Then the song shifts to where she describes what she has; she does have a home, or a person to trust. The chorus reiterates this "With you/I am home". The final two stanzas are used to describe her relationship a little better. The "glance/and a smile on your face" lights up her day; touching hands or embracing also brings her home. Whenever she is with this person, she is home and happy.
It's very simple. Home is people, not a house. Home is love, not a building. Home is trust, not strong walls or beautiful furniture.
Rinse it away.. That was extremely simple, but you hit the meaning of it, (To me) dead on. Home isn't just a place. It's a feeling too. You can be at your house and still feel awkward. You can be with your love sleeping in a box, and you can feel more at home than you ever had in a house. that's what this song means to me
Some lyrics corrections:
"For me it's a glance" and
"I fall asleep"
I think "Home" is about the sense in all of us that no matter what happens to us, we can always, at the end of the day, go home and see those that care about us the most.
completely agree with chip19, in fact took the words right out of my mouth.
the instrumental is so beautiful, Vanessa doesn't get the recognition and credit she so rightly deserves.
beautiful :]