This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Its January 1970, do you remember me
You put me on a boat across the sea, in the name of victory
But much to my surprised when I arrived, there was no welcoming committee
Instead there was a man for me to kill, and now I see how this is all too real
Then I saw him standing with a bayonet
And as I ran towards him he hardly broke a sweat
When I took his life he fell to his knees
And as his eyes began to fade he whispered softly
Godspeed this letter, away from here
I've sealed it with my tears, and stamped it with my fists
And godspeed this letter, away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you
I'm in his pocket that I saw the picture of his children and his family
And I began to realize this person I despised, in actuality
Was not much different from myself
We probably could have taught each other many things
And now I know its much too late although I couldn't hesitate
I checked his gun, and his chamber was empty
Then I saw him standing with a bayonet
And as I ran towards him he hardly broke a sweat
When I took his life he fell to his knees
And as his eyes began to fade he whispered softly
Godspeed this letter, away from here
I've sealed it with my tears, and stamped it with my fists
And godspeed this letter, away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you
We know not what we've done
And
We know not what we've done
Godspeed this letter, away from here
I've sealed it with my tears, and stamped it with my fists
And godspeed this letter, away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you
You put me on a boat across the sea, in the name of victory
But much to my surprised when I arrived, there was no welcoming committee
Instead there was a man for me to kill, and now I see how this is all too real
Then I saw him standing with a bayonet
And as I ran towards him he hardly broke a sweat
When I took his life he fell to his knees
And as his eyes began to fade he whispered softly
Godspeed this letter, away from here
I've sealed it with my tears, and stamped it with my fists
And godspeed this letter, away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you
I'm in his pocket that I saw the picture of his children and his family
And I began to realize this person I despised, in actuality
Was not much different from myself
We probably could have taught each other many things
And now I know its much too late although I couldn't hesitate
I checked his gun, and his chamber was empty
Then I saw him standing with a bayonet
And as I ran towards him he hardly broke a sweat
When I took his life he fell to his knees
And as his eyes began to fade he whispered softly
Godspeed this letter, away from here
I've sealed it with my tears, and stamped it with my fists
And godspeed this letter, away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you
We know not what we've done
And
We know not what we've done
Godspeed this letter, away from here
I've sealed it with my tears, and stamped it with my fists
And godspeed this letter, away from you
My work down here is through
I'm on my way to better days
And so are you
Lyrics submitted by AndrewOATH
Godspeed Lyrics as written by Ronnie Winter
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
This song could also have a deeper meaning (Obviously). Some bring up the fact that he was not in the war, thus how could he tell a tale about it...
But what if Ronnie is telling a story about "what could have been."
When we meet people, we judge them immediately, whether it be subconsciously or not. "And I began to realize this person I despised In actuality, was not much different from myself We probably could have taught each other many things"
I feel this way about many of the people I interact with. If you approach someone with an open mind, there wouldn't be so much hatred between one another.
"And now I know it's much too late Although I couldn't hesitate I checked his gun And his chamber was empty"
Usually it's too late for us to go back and change what we have done. Ok, so nobody died as a result of our actions, but this is an exaggerated example of "killing" a friendship or an opportunity that may have been.
--But that's just my interpretation of the song... You may have another. And that's the beauty of all lyrics.