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Please Just Take These Photos From My Hands Lyrics
The yellowed page of the books and books I'd forgotten that I had
These paperbacks they know their age they smell of weight and time that's resting warm
The opened box beside the endless box parade that haunts my house
Is fit to split with photographs that tell the wanderlust of years smashed on to years
When all this actual life played out
Where the hell on Earth was I?
I rack my brains but it won't come
Through water damaged bloodshot eyes
The fleeting triumphs, brazen lies
All seem to mingle into one
I read your name under words in your elegant hand you probably don't mean now
I fold the letter and think of a million and one things that I could have done different
When all this actual life played out
Where the hell on Earth was I?
I rack my brains but it won't come
Through water damaged bloodshot eyes
The fleeting triumphs, brazen lies
All seem to mingle into one
One gigantic fairy tale
Of friends I haven't seen in years
Drinking 'til the daylight hurts
You seem friendly who are you?
That's a lot of wine that we got through
We've made playtime look like work.
Please just take these photos from my hands
These paperbacks they know their age they smell of weight and time that's resting warm
The opened box beside the endless box parade that haunts my house
Is fit to split with photographs that tell the wanderlust of years smashed on to years
Where the hell on Earth was I?
I rack my brains but it won't come
The fleeting triumphs, brazen lies
All seem to mingle into one
I fold the letter and think of a million and one things that I could have done different
Where the hell on Earth was I?
I rack my brains but it won't come
The fleeting triumphs, brazen lies
All seem to mingle into one
Of friends I haven't seen in years
Drinking 'til the daylight hurts
That's a lot of wine that we got through
We've made playtime look like work.
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This song is pretty amazing. I especially love the constant refrain at the end.
From what I can gather, it seems like the song is about someone stumbling upon photos/letters he hadn't seen in years, and feeling huge waves of nostalgia over them, remembering the good times with friends, chances he should have taken (with a special someone?) and dwelling over them. Pretty self-explanatory, I would say!
"Through water damaged bloodshot eyes" What an amazing lyricist Gary really is :)
Exactly what 60 said.
Is it just me or is GL actually one of the best lyricists ever to walk this planet? I don't think I have ever read ANYTHING clumsy, cliched, convoluted or careless that he's written :/
God bless you. I don't think SP sold out. Gary just started writing more positive lyrics.
God bless you. I don't think SP sold out. Gary just started writing more positive lyrics.
Thank you these are the 1st lyrics that include the last part of the chorus and i didnt have a clue what it said haha great song love it love it love it
When all this actual life played out Where the hell on Earth was I?
Kinda hits close to home for me. Sometimes when I look at old photographs or read old letters I tend to think " where was I really when all of this was happening...Where was my head? What was I doing? Why wasn't I here doing this? Stopping this from happening, Stopping him/her/them from leaving. Why didn't I tell them I loved them."
Snow Patrol has some awesome songs with awesome lyrics. I personally think this song is about remembering times gone by and the people that you spent these times with (looking through photographs, reading letters) and just wondering why things changed and where were you when everything was changing. Like looking back at yourself and seeing that your head wasn't really with it at the time.
Don't know if this makes sense or not,, Feels like I have just been rambling but oh well.
This song made me cry when I first heard it. For some reason, a reason that I know most people on here won't understand, this song made me think of my ordeal with cancer my senior year of HS last year. I don't know why.
But now this song is very close to my heart. It's so amazing.
"I read your name under words in your elegant hand you probably don't mean now I fold the letter and think of a million and one things that I could have done different..."
Purest poetry.
That line made so much sense a couple of months ago, when I stumbled across a love letter from my ex. We were fighting so much then - post-break-up - that this song just helped.
I don't know why.
"I read your name under words in your elegant hand you probably don't mean now"
Reminds me of a letter my mom wrote to my dad... It said "I love you", found it a few weeks ago...
They're in the middle of a divorce now.
Wow is this all the comments?!!! This song is stunningly beautiful on so many levels!! I think this is about someone who's came across old love letters/letters from friends or family and remincing of times past. The tone can be intepreted differently to different people..... nevertheless its beautiful! It makes me think of friends who are no longer friends and one of my ex boyfriends.... we had plans for the future, we seen good times ahead... but his jealousy etc ruined a good relationship in the end. This song is quite inspirational. When you're down in the dumps and feel you can't fall any deeper remember that to get this low and in this state of mind it must have took something brilliant and something you cherished at some point, be glad that it was a part of your life because you might not see it now, but looking back you might not have changed it at all.... because its made you the person you are today, strong :)
I am stunned by the lack of comments too! It, along with the album as a whole, is stunningly beautiful as you put perfectly. It helps to listen to it when you are feeling down; as I can say in it's almost cold, bleak beauty it reminds you that life is worth living just to experience it.
I am stunned by the lack of comments too! It, along with the album as a whole, is stunningly beautiful as you put perfectly. It helps to listen to it when you are feeling down; as I can say in it's almost cold, bleak beauty it reminds you that life is worth living just to experience it.
The singer is probably cleaning up his attic or basement. When he gets to the photographs, he just feels lost. He can't remember what's going on in some of them, and when he does, it all just like a blur. That's what I get from the chorus anyway. He gets to a letter written by someone he must have cared about, but the relationship didn't really work. Whether it's a spouse, or someone else isn't made clear. In the last verse, the singer is totally drunk, and someone has probably found him looking at the photos. End.