The Crow And The Butterfly

Last night Shinedown was on Rockline, and someone called in and asked what this song meant, or what inspired it. Brent then went on to say that while they were in the process of writing the new album, he had a dream. He said his dream was very vague, but it was about a mother and her child, and the child passes away. The song is about the mother dealing with the death of her son and trying to move on.

this is by far my favorite song on their new album

This song is totally amazing.. it's about the loss of someone who's so special to you.. reminds me of my cousin.. I was waiting for him to finish his studies so we can hang out together like we used to do.. but, guess i was too late.. I'll always remember him

Brent mentioned this song yesterday in their LIVE CHAT!! that i was so lucky to be part of =) Here's the link: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/508090

I so totally Heart you Shinedown!!

crow chasing the butterfly= "death chasing life"

I saw Shinedown live at The Egg on monday, in which Brent further explained the origins of this dream. He said he had a dream one day of a mother in a large open field, swinging alone on a swingset. He eventually realized that this woman was a mother, who lost her son. He said that while everyone views the mother as the crow and child as the butterfly, he views it the other way around. He says he looks at it as the mother is the butterfly, trying to move on in life and start again... but is being stopped by her memory of her son, the butterfly.

Um, this song is about someone's daughter leaving for college. "I painted your room at midnight, So I'd know yesterday was over. I put all your books on the top shelf, Even the one with the four-leaf clover. Man I'm getting older." His daughter left, he changed her room into a different one to forget about her. The four-leaf clover book was her favorite book as a child. He's getting older because his daughter is and moved out.

And the second verse is about a song she used to sing as a child. Nothing about romance..

just my thoughts, so here it goes:

most of the comments i've read say that it refers to a mother losing a son, but i think that it could refer to anybody losing anybody, especially a parent/child or husband/wife, maybe even two really good friends. i think that the first verse refers to the person realizing that its truly over, that their loved one is truly gone. they are looking through their loved one's things and memories of happier times are coming back to them. "Man I'm getting older"- realizing there own mortality. "And I haven't slept in what seems like a century" no one gets much sleep when they're stressed out over loosing someone. "And now I can barely breathe" - the person starts crying maybe?

I think the chorus is simply about the wonderful memories that the person had with the person they lost. "Just like the crow chasing the butterfly"- this has always reminded me of a man pursuing a girl, the two falling in love. "Dandelions lost in the summer sky Cause when you and I were gettin' high as outer space"- the memories of complete joy, of that "high" feeling we get when we are really happy. the person never thought that their loved one would "slip away" becuase he/she was so happy, they'd never thought of loosing the person. "I guess I was just a little too late"- regretting not spending more time with the person.

i think that in the second verse, the person is being overwhelmed by grief after thinking about their loved one again.

i think the whole song is a story of a person going through their friend/loved one's stuff, being overwhelmed by memories, feeling the grief, and regretting not spending more time with the person.

I agree that this song seems to be about a guy losing a girl that he loved very dearly, but I think it was probably due to a drug overdose.

When you and I were getting high as outer space = doing some serious drugs

I never thought you'd slip away = they were having so much fun an overdose was the last thing on his mind

I guess I was just a little too late = He probably realized something was wrong at some point during the night but she was already in mortal danger and even though he called 911 and had her rushed to the hospital it was already too late to do anything

I deffinetly feel like it's about a mother and a child. Its almost like the mother lost the child, and then committed suicide because of it. I love the imagery of the clumsy flight path of the butterfly, that flys ever so slowly, while the much bigger, faster crow chases it. The butterfly symbolizing the childs life, and the crow, its death. However, with most things I dont believe that lyrics are written to have a secret meaning in them, its like thay are written just because, and we read into them after to find meaning.

i think that this song is about his mom which was probably a drug addict then she was trying to get sober and win his forgiveness hence the song name the crow and the butterfly she was a drug addict chasing her son's love