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Once I thought I knew where I came from
Now fogging up a blur I can’t recall
How many times have I been here before
Could this be my birth town
Now as I am searching for a soul
Crossing country looking for a real job
Nothing seems to suit me no
Guess i’ll keep doing what I did before
Walking down the stairs
Anonymous detached
On the corner
I turn, I turn left
Looking out at the waves
I could stand here for ten more days
Crushing stones with my toes
That woman looking at me
Could she be my relative, oh
Would she be my best friend, oh
Wonder if she’s seen me here before
Walking down the stairs
Anonymous detached
On the corner
I turn, I turn left
Now fogging up a blur I can’t recall
How many times have I been here before
Could this be my birth town
Crossing country looking for a real job
Nothing seems to suit me no
Guess i’ll keep doing what I did before
Anonymous detached
On the corner
I turn, I turn left
I could stand here for ten more days
Crushing stones with my toes
That woman looking at me
Could she be my relative, oh
Would she be my best friend, oh
Wonder if she’s seen me here before
Anonymous detached
On the corner
I turn, I turn left
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One of my favorite songs on this album. Commenting just so it doesn't seem so unloved. The meaning seems pretty straightforward, though my understanding is tainted by my own perspective (a kid just about to graduate from college).
It sounds like it's about growing up, but not really knowing one's place in life. When you're young, it's easy to understand your place in the world - "once, I knew where I came from" - but as you age it becomes more difficult. Trying to figure out where to go and what to do as you age is a struggle: "searching for a soul" (who am I, now?); "crossing country looking for a real job" (the pressures of maturity); "guess I'll keep doing what I did before" (since "nothing seems to suit me," I'll just float around, directionless).
The chorus, in sound and lyric, is that floating. Bumming around where you live, passing the time, in the netherworld between youth and adulthood.
"Looking out at the waves / I could stand here for ten more days." Being at peace where you are, in this netherworld, and ignoring the pressure to grow up and "find a real job." The "woman looking at me" is, again, the uncertainty of knowing one's place in the world. Where have I come from, what has gotten me here? What lies in my future? Who do I have connections with, and who will I form connections with in the future?