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Eyeless in Holloway Lyrics
There's a man at hand
There's a way between
With the sinking sand
And a crooked dream
Collared off at the molten age of nine
Summoned up for walking down the line
They lost eyes in old city streets
Where the funeral pyres burnt the last of the meek
Filled his boots
And he tipped his cap
And a root-de-toot
With the boss and that
Told a girl of the summer by the sea
Said to her, "Would you like to go with me?"
When there's time.
And the conker drops
And the signals changes
From a-hard to soft
In with changes, always out with time
Nothing left but walking down the line
They lost eyes in old city streets
Where the funeral pyres burnt the last of the meek
Drag your looseness through the den
And come out less with sporting when
Mould to fit and you'd be feeling now
She is when and he is always how
Then a sweetness and it's sweeter scented
And the fury's swimming till the fury's vented
And lost in form might be to lost in time
What join the dots might be to walk the line
They lost eyes in old city streets
Where the funeral pyres burnt the last of the meek
They lost eyes in old city streets
Where the funeral pyres burnt the last of the meek
They lost eyes in old city streets
Where the funeral pyres burnt the last of the meek
There's a way between
With the sinking sand
And a crooked dream
Collared off at the molten age of nine
Summoned up for walking down the line
Where the funeral pyres burnt the last of the meek
And he tipped his cap
And a root-de-toot
With the boss and that
Told a girl of the summer by the sea
Said to her, "Would you like to go with me?"
When there's time.
And the conker drops
And the signals changes
From a-hard to soft
In with changes, always out with time
Nothing left but walking down the line
Where the funeral pyres burnt the last of the meek
And come out less with sporting when
Mould to fit and you'd be feeling now
She is when and he is always how
And the fury's swimming till the fury's vented
And lost in form might be to lost in time
What join the dots might be to walk the line
Where the funeral pyres burnt the last of the meek
They lost eyes in old city streets
Where the funeral pyres burnt the last of the meek
They lost eyes in old city streets
Where the funeral pyres burnt the last of the meek
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The above lyrics are very close. Good job! Here are the correct ones, as transcribed from Johnny's handwritten notes in the vinyl booklet.
There's a man at hand There's a way between With the sinking sand And a crooked dream Collared off at the molten age of nine Summoned up for walking down the line
They lost eyes in old city streets Where the funeral pyres burned the last of the meek
Filled his boots And he tipped his cap And a root-de-toot With the boss and that Told a girl of the summer by the sea Said to her, "Would you like to go with me?" "When there's time." And the conker drops And the signals changes From a-hard to soft In with changes, always out with time Nothing left but walking down the line
They lost eyes in old city streets Where the funeral pyres burned the last of the meek
Drag your looseness through the den And come out less with sporting when Mould to fit and you'd be feeling now She is when and he is always how
Then a sweetness and it's sweeter scented And the fury's swimming till the fury's vented And lost in form might be to lost in time What join the dots might be to walk the line
They lost eyes in old city streets Where the funeral pyres burned the last of the meek They lost eyes in old city streets Where the funeral pyres burned the last of the meek They lost eyes in old city streets Where the funeral pyres burned the last of the meek
Oh, and actually, the chorus should be "burnt" not "burned." Curse you, variant British spelling!
Oh, and actually, the chorus should be "burnt" not "burned." Curse you, variant British spelling!
Thanks so much for the corrections! I love this song and am so happy I can finally (albeit off-key) sing along. Thanks again!!
Thanks so much for the corrections! I love this song and am so happy I can finally (albeit off-key) sing along. Thanks again!!
I wish I knew what this song was about... or at least had a stronger inkling... but I love the line "she is when and he is always how." It gives me the chills.
Maybe it's about someone whose future has been decided for him at a young age, and he's trying to eschew from it. "Collared off at the modern age of nine, summoned up for walking down the line." The line is the expectations, but if the line is what's between the crooked dream and sinking sand, then it would make sense that it's the best way. But maybe that's the whole point... trying to find his own way, not one that's been laid out for him.
The second verse... "filled his boots"... lived up to expectations... or rather chose for himself and performed adequately (since he filled his own boots rather than someone elses)...the whole verse seems whimsical and happy... like the man enjoyed himself...
The third verse... "nothing left but walking down the line" ... sad but "what join the dots might be to walk the line" seems victorious... not staying on any straight and clear path, but trying different things...
And it's also about a relationship,too.
Hmm... I'm really at a loss... sorry for these fragmentary and sometimes contradictory thoughts. I'm trying to hash out the meaning. And not making much progress. I've been waiting for a few months hoping someone would put something up here... but since no one has, I decided I might as well...
Does anyone know if there's any historical significance to the chorus and Holloway?
hmm... maybe it's about his dad. According to the other songs, his grandfather died when his father was around nine... And when a boy's dad dies, everything changes and he has to fill and do without roles other kids do not.
hmm... maybe it's about his dad. According to the other songs, his grandfather died when his father was around nine... And when a boy's dad dies, everything changes and he has to fill and do without roles other kids do not.
i think it was said in an interview that he wrote it when he was traveling around the world and saw all of these people who had never left their home and lived there their whole lives so i think that you were on the right path with how their lives are sort of already planned out for them
i think it was said in an interview that he wrote it when he was traveling around the world and saw all of these people who had never left their home and lived there their whole lives so i think that you were on the right path with how their lives are sort of already planned out for them
To me, it sounds like this song may be celebrating the simple working people who "walk the line." It seems as if the narrator's future was decided for him, and he lived right up to it, got a job and wife and spent the rest of his life in a totally unexciting but peaceful manner. It suggests that although this sort of life may not be seen as glamorous there are many people who find their own happiness this way. Of course, I could be totally wrong! The lyrics to this song are a bit opaque to me, as is common with Johnny Flynn. I'm definitely at a total loss with the chorus! It is very creepy for a song that's otherwise fairly upbeat. As NooneofConsequence suggested, it seems to refer to a historical event maybe...?
"Wind is turned And a conker drops And the signals changes And the hard to soft In with changes, always out with time Nothing left but walking down the line"
Maybe that means that you should live your life as you like before it's to late, before there's "nothing left but walking the line".