Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Load the car and write the note
Grab your bag and grab your coat
Tell the ones that need to know
We are headed north
One foot in and one foot back
But it don't pay to live like that
So I cut the ties and I jumped the tracks
For never to return
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in?
My hands they shake, my head it spins
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
When at first I learned to speak
I used all my words to fight
With him and her and you and me
Ah, but it's just a waste of time
Yeah, it's such a waste of time
That woman she's got eyes that shine
Like a pair of stolen polished dimes
She asked to dance, I said it's fine
I'll see you in the morning time
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in?
My hands they shake, my head it spins
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Three words that became hard to say
I and love and you
What you were then I am today
Look at the things I do
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in?
My hands they shake, my head it spins
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in?
Oh, my hands they shake, my head it spins (spins)
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Dumbed down and numbed by time and age
Your dreams that catch the world the cage
The highway sets the traveler's stage
All exits look the same
Three words that became hard to say
I and love and you
I and love and you
I and love and you
Grab your bag and grab your coat
Tell the ones that need to know
We are headed north
One foot in and one foot back
But it don't pay to live like that
So I cut the ties and I jumped the tracks
For never to return
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in?
My hands they shake, my head it spins
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
When at first I learned to speak
I used all my words to fight
With him and her and you and me
Ah, but it's just a waste of time
Yeah, it's such a waste of time
That woman she's got eyes that shine
Like a pair of stolen polished dimes
She asked to dance, I said it's fine
I'll see you in the morning time
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in?
My hands they shake, my head it spins
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Three words that became hard to say
I and love and you
What you were then I am today
Look at the things I do
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in?
My hands they shake, my head it spins
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in?
Oh, my hands they shake, my head it spins (spins)
Ah Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in
Dumbed down and numbed by time and age
Your dreams that catch the world the cage
The highway sets the traveler's stage
All exits look the same
Three words that became hard to say
I and love and you
I and love and you
I and love and you
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More Featured Meanings
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
No Surprises
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Magical
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How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
I have to say I don't think "relationship" when I hear this song. To me this is the quintessential "small town band heading out to make it big" song. It's a song about ambition.
Load the car and write the note Grab your bag and grab your coat Tell the ones that need to know We are headed north
One foot in and one foot back But it don't pay to live like that So I cut the ties and I jumped the tracks For never to return
This is leaving, for good. Breaking ties with home and the past to go wholeheartedly into the future.
When at first I learned to speak I used all my words to fight With him and her and you and me Oh but it's just a waste of time Yeah, it's such a waste of time
The singer summarizes the life and relationships he's known in his youth, when his words were only instruments of useless frustration and anger - unlike now, when he can string them together to ensure his success (with his music).
That woman shes got eyes that shine Like a pair of stolen polished dimes She asked to dance, I said it's fine I'll see you (Brooklyn) in the morning time
This woman that he's encountered somewhere along the way, she may keep him for a time, but she's not enough to deter him from his ultimate goal (of reaching Brooklyn and achieving his dream).
Three words that became hard to say: I and love and you What you were then I am today Look at the things I do
Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in Are you aware the shape I'm in? My hands, they shake, my head, it spins Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in (x2)
I believe the singer is addressing Brooklyn directly here. He's saying "look at me (Brooklyn), I'm young and brash and ambitious, just like you were in your early days".
Dumbed down and numbed my time and age Your dreams, the catch, this world, the cage The highway sets the travelers' stage All exits look the same
This, to me, is a statement - he has to move now, before he gets too old to remember what his dreams were or where he were trying to go and why it was important (this is my favorite stanza in the whole song).
It's because of this overriding hunger that he finds it harder and harder to really to care about much else in his life:
Three words that became hard to say: I and love and you I and love and you I and love and you
i like it... its not about a relationship but the band<br /> <br /> the cities eyes shine... could be simply city lights and the dance is nightlife. considering the band has confirmed it was about the city and how it was thier first big city.
Getting closer. This is not about a relationship with a woman. The woman is probably his mother. He is breaking away from his small town world. He sees he is beginning to act like his family. He does not like it. And once you leave this world it is difficult to come back. Brooklyn is a metaphor for the big time, New York. He hinted at that in an interview. This is why the picture on the album is of an older woman. Very retrospective. Most of the album is. Mostly not about past romantic relationships (they are both married) but coming to terms with their aspirations. Several songs echo the breaking away from family but not trashing the family. He still values the connection (MURDER IN THE CITY) but needs to break away from the negative thoughts that hold him back.