I was born in '67
The year of Sgt. Pepper
And Are You Experienced

Into a suburban heaven
Yeah, it should've been forever
It all seems to make so much sense

But after a while
You realize time flies

And the best thing that you can do
Is take whatever comes to you
'Cause time flies

She said "Luck is what you make it
You just reach out and take it
Now let's dance a while"

She said "nothing ever happens
If you don't make it happen
And if you can't laugh and smile"

But after a while
You realize time flies

And the best thing that you can do
Is take whatever comes to you
'Cause time flies

And laughing in the summer showers
That's still the way I see you now

How does time break down?
With no marker, things slow down
A conference of the strange
And your family is deranged

I could tell you what I'm thinking
While we sit here drinking
But I'm not sure where to start

You see there's something wrong here
I'm sorry if I'm not clear
Can you stop smoking your cigar

But after a while
You realize time flies

And the best thing that you can do
Is take whatever comes to you
'Cause time flies

And the coat you wore to Alton Towers
Is still the way I see you now


Lyrics submitted by tt86, edited by SuricataKat

Time Flies Lyrics as written by Steven John Wilson

Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing

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Time Flies song meanings
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    General Comment

    Steven Wilson seems to come back to the image of trains a lot in his music; in the song Trains, obviously, in Deadwing, and in the title of the song preceding Time Flies. In the video for Time Flies that plays when they do it live, I noticed that there are also several images of trains, and so my interpretation is that trains symbolize youth for Steven Wilson. The song Trains for example is but the second track on an album that is arguably telling someone's life story; the lyrics are quite nostalgic as well. The nostalgia in Time Flies is pretty evident, and The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train seems to serve as an intro for the song. The prominence of trains in the live background video of Time Flies also leads me to believe that the two are supposed to be connected.

    I think the "you" in "can you stop smoking your cigar" is the same "you" as "that's still the way I see you now." Time Flies is like a longing to return to childhood innocence and a child-like spirit or sense of wonder, and I think the cigar in this song serves as a symbol for adulthood. Things like alcohol, drugs, cigars etc. are all things that could symbolize loss or lack of innocence, and I think that's the case here. Presumably, the narrator is talking to a long lost love of his (perhaps the same person in Trains?), and he still has that vivid image of her as this ambitious, imaginitive, enthusiastic youth, and the cigar is just another one of those things that reminds him that that's not who she is anymore.

    After Time Flies is the perfect place for Degree Zero of Liberty, because this idea of nostalgia and a lament of the loss of one's innocence is so strong that we need those monstrous chords to hit us over the head again and bring us back to The Incident, so the transition from this very emotional subject to the rest of the album isn't so awkward. Yearning for the past, regretting one's mistakes (see "I Drive the Hearse"), and LIVING with one's mistakes (see "Kneel and Disconnect") seem to be the overarching themes of the work.

    mylifesuckson October 10, 2009   Link

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