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Waiting in the Weeds Lyrics

It's comin' on the end of august.
Another summer's promise almost gone.
And though I heard some wise man say that every dog will have his day.
He never mentioned that these dog days get so long.

I don't know when I realized the dream was over.
There was no particular hour, no given day.
You know, it didn't go down in flame.
There was no final scene, no frozen frame.
I just watched it slowly fade away.

And I've been waiting in the weeds -waiting for my time to come around again.
Hope is floating on the breeze, carrying my soul high up above the ground.
I've been keepin' to myself, knowing that the seasons are slowly changing you.
And though you're with somebody else - He'll never love you like I do.

I've been biding time with crows and sparrows while peacocks prance and strut upon the stage.
If finding love is just a dance - Proximity and chance - you will excuse me if I skip the masquerade.

And i've been waiting in the weeds - waiting for the dust to settle down along the backroads running through the fields, lying on the outskirts of this lonesome town.
And I imagine sunlight in your hair.
You're at the county fair - You're holding hands and laughing.
And now, the ferris wheel has stopped.
You're swinging at the top, suspended there with him.
And he's the darling of chic.
The flavor of the week is melting down your pretty summer dress.
Baby, what a mess you're making.

I've been stumbling through some dark places, but i'm following the plow.
I know I've fallen out of your good graces, but it's all right now.

And I've been waiting in the weeds - waiting for the summer rain to fall upon the wild birds scattering the seeds; answering the calling of the tide's eternal tune.
The phases of the moon, The chambers of the heart, The egg and dart.
A small grey spider spinning in the dark, in spite of all the time the web is torn apart.

And I've been waiting in the weeds,
Waiting for my time to come around again.
Hope is floating on the breeze,
Carrying my soul high up above the ground.
I've been keeping to myself,
Knowing that the seasons are slowly changing.
And though you're with somebody else,
He'll never love you like I do.
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8 Meanings

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Cover art for Waiting in the Weeds lyrics by Eagles

I heard this song for the first time randomly on Deep Tracks (XM) on my way home from work the day after my significant other of 13 years told me it was over....It's almost like Don and the boys were speaking directly to me, about me. It was an incredible moment and made me once again realize how very important music is to the soul......there's always a song out there. I think the lyrics speak for themselves....I really like the bidding time with crows and sparrows verse......Great Song.

Cover art for Waiting in the Weeds lyrics by Eagles

I too adore this song and think it's one of Henley's greatest works lyrically. I think it's a continuation (or possibly conclusion) of his theme of Lost Idealism and disillusionment. It ends hopefully, which hasn't always been the case.

I think this theme can be seen as early as Certain Kind of Fool, After the Thrill is Gone, The Last Resort, and The Sad Cafe.

Henley's solo work continues the theme with Dirty Laundry, Boys of Summer, End of the Innocence...

This song may be his finest work lyrically.

I don't know when I realized the dream was over. There was no particular hour, no given day. You know, it didn't go down in flame. There was no final scene, no frozen frame. I just watched it slowly fade away.

It's the brutal acknowledgement that our dreams that we let go of don't happen because of life changing events, they fade over time cognizantly.

"Some of the dreams came true, some just passed away, and some of them stayed behind inside the Sad Cafe"

But whereas in previous songs this theme was mourned, like a death to our own humanity. Here, he says that just because they faded once, doesn't mean its gone forever. There's a chance for that moment to come around again.

As the allusion turns to a woman he lost...

"I've been stumbling through some dark places, but i'm following the plow. I know I've fallen out of your good graces, but it's all right now."

And although the time has past, he's still hoping that his turn will come around again. Like the grey spider who keeps building the web after each time it's been torn down.

Hope is on the breeze.

Cover art for Waiting in the Weeds lyrics by Eagles

To me think it's about a second chance, and I can relate to that. Me and my girlfriend recently broke up, and I live in hope that we can make another go of it. We're right for each other, just not now and I think this song pretty much sums it up.

Cover art for Waiting in the Weeds lyrics by Eagles

I heard somewhere it was about, Don and the Eagles. ie Waiting in the Weeds before releasing another album.

"I've been biding time with the crows and sparrows, While peacocks prance and strut up on the stage. If finding love is just a dance, proximity and chance, You will excuse me if I skip the masquerade."

I think above, he is talking about all these so called artists who are purely manufactured record company puppets with no talent,and that they were/are purely waiting for the public to get sick of these talentless has beens, before the real Bands/ Artists are/ were back in flavour again.

Good use of pun,how he says he was "waiting with the crows and sparrows" when he is an Eagle!

great song,very relaxing. Seems it's about losing some one...but you still care for them.

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Cover art for Waiting in the Weeds lyrics by Eagles

I'm absolutely astounded by the lack of comments on this song. Clearly one of the best Mr Henley has ever written. To me it shows how everything can change in a split second, it doesn't have to be a big event, but it can change your life forever. "There was no final scene, no frozen frame. I just watched it slowly fade away."

I also see it as somebody who has been hurt in love, and simply cannot move on. It's hard when you're on the receivng end and even though the other person has moved on, you're stuck in the rut. And how you're probably never going to lvoe anybody like you've loved that person. How it hurts seeing them with anybody else other than you.

Don Henley has created a masterpiece with this. This and Jackson Browne's 'Sky Blue and Black' are two of the most haunting songs ever.

I find this song haunting and mesmerizing. I heard it first in a live concert and I could hardly wait to buy the CD. As a psychology major, I tend to interpret it differently from most of you. I see this man as depressed about his lost love and slowly spiraling downward into state of craziness. I can visualize him sitting in the weeds watching all the critters around him, watching for his lost love, perseverating about his misery. The music is what I refer to as "circular"...spiraling, creating a sense of being caught in a pattern from...

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@Kyliec88 See my post above. I view this song as an allegorical message from America to us. Haunting all the same. As far as Jackson Browne songs go, I much prefer The Naked Ride Home as one that is haunting.

Cover art for Waiting in the Weeds lyrics by Eagles

This songwriting is such a professional job. I love it when on the surface it seems that lyrics are boy-girl relationship stuff but the true meaning is so much more.

To me, the narrator singer is America personified, or more specifically, our country's constitution, and the song is directed towards us. Though this song is over a decade old now, the 'darling of the chic' is timeless. Present or past, it could represent a person for sure, but I think of it as an ideology, maybe religious, maybe not, that we in our twisted thinking try to fit, or rather stuff, into the the container that truly is the core of principles on which this nation was built. Will those principles ever have their time come around again? We'll see.

Cover art for Waiting in the Weeds lyrics by Eagles

What is 'the egg and dart' in reference to?

Cover art for Waiting in the Weeds lyrics by Eagles

Probably the best lyrics I've ever heard in my life

I've been biding time with the crows and sparrows, While peacocks prance and strut up on the stage. If finding love is just a dance, proximity and chance, You will excuse me if I skip the masquerade.

This song is about loss of soul and spirit and even hope I believe... Until you just suddenly seem to find it again

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