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”
All of the lights (all of the lights)
(Lights, lights) All of the lights
Turn up the lights in here, baby
Extra bright, I want y'all to see this
Turn up the lights in here, baby
You know what I need, want you to see everything
Want you to see all of the lights
Fast cars, shooting stars
All of the lights, all of the lights
Until it's Vegas everywhere we are (all of the lights)
If you want it, you can get it for the rest of your life
If you want it, you can get it for the rest of your life
Somethin' wrong, I hold my head
MJ gone, our nigga dead
I slapped my girl, she called the feds
I did that time and spent that bread
I'm heading home, I'm almost there
I'm on my way, headed up the stairs
To my surprise, a nigga replacing me
I had to take him to that ghetto university
(All of the lights) Lights
Cop lights, flashlights, spotlights
Strobe lights, street lights
(All of the lights, all of the lights)
Fast life, drug life, thug life
Rock life every night (all of the lights)
Turn up the lights in here, baby
Extra bright, I want y'all to see this
Turn up the lights in here, baby
You know what I need, want you to see everything
Want you to see all of the lights
Restraining order, can't see my daughter
Her mother, brother, grandmother hate me in that order
Public visitation, we met at Borders
Told her she take me back, I'll be more supportive
I made mistakes, I bumped my head
Them courts sucked me dry, I spent that bread
She need her daddy, baby, please
Can't let her grow up in that ghetto university
(All of the lights) Lights
Cop lights, flashlights, spotlights
Strobe lights, street lights
(All of the lights, all of the lights)
Fast life, drug life, thug life
Rock life every night (all of the lights)
Turn up the lights in here, baby
Extra bright, I want y'all to see this
Turn up the lights in here, baby
You know what I need, want you to see everything
Want you to see all of the lights
I'm gettin' mine, baby
Gotta let these niggas know, yeah
Gettin' right, babe
You should go and get your own
I'm gettin' mine, baby
Gotta let these niggas know, yeah
Gettin' right, babe
You should go and get your own
Unemployment line, credit card declined
Did I not mention I was about to lose my mind? (My mind, my mind, my mind)
And also was about to do that line (line, line, line)
'Kay, okay, you know we going all the way this time (time)
We going all the way this time
We going all the way this time
We going all the way this time
We going all the way this time
Turn up the lights in here, baby
Extra bright, I want y'all to see this
Turn up the lights in here, baby
You know what I need, want you to see everything
Want you to see all of the lights
Whoa, whoa, oh
(I tried to tell you, but all I could say was, oh)
Whoa, whoa, oh
(I tried to tell you, but all I could say was, oh)
Whoa, whoa, oh
(I tried to tell you, but all I could say was, oh)
Whoa, whoa, oh
(I tried to tell you, but all I could say)
(Lights, lights) All of the lights
Turn up the lights in here, baby
Extra bright, I want y'all to see this
Turn up the lights in here, baby
You know what I need, want you to see everything
Want you to see all of the lights
Fast cars, shooting stars
All of the lights, all of the lights
Until it's Vegas everywhere we are (all of the lights)
If you want it, you can get it for the rest of your life
If you want it, you can get it for the rest of your life
Somethin' wrong, I hold my head
MJ gone, our nigga dead
I slapped my girl, she called the feds
I did that time and spent that bread
I'm heading home, I'm almost there
I'm on my way, headed up the stairs
To my surprise, a nigga replacing me
I had to take him to that ghetto university
(All of the lights) Lights
Cop lights, flashlights, spotlights
Strobe lights, street lights
(All of the lights, all of the lights)
Fast life, drug life, thug life
Rock life every night (all of the lights)
Turn up the lights in here, baby
Extra bright, I want y'all to see this
Turn up the lights in here, baby
You know what I need, want you to see everything
Want you to see all of the lights
Restraining order, can't see my daughter
Her mother, brother, grandmother hate me in that order
Public visitation, we met at Borders
Told her she take me back, I'll be more supportive
I made mistakes, I bumped my head
Them courts sucked me dry, I spent that bread
She need her daddy, baby, please
Can't let her grow up in that ghetto university
(All of the lights) Lights
Cop lights, flashlights, spotlights
Strobe lights, street lights
(All of the lights, all of the lights)
Fast life, drug life, thug life
Rock life every night (all of the lights)
Turn up the lights in here, baby
Extra bright, I want y'all to see this
Turn up the lights in here, baby
You know what I need, want you to see everything
Want you to see all of the lights
I'm gettin' mine, baby
Gotta let these niggas know, yeah
Gettin' right, babe
You should go and get your own
I'm gettin' mine, baby
Gotta let these niggas know, yeah
Gettin' right, babe
You should go and get your own
Unemployment line, credit card declined
Did I not mention I was about to lose my mind? (My mind, my mind, my mind)
And also was about to do that line (line, line, line)
'Kay, okay, you know we going all the way this time (time)
We going all the way this time
We going all the way this time
We going all the way this time
We going all the way this time
Turn up the lights in here, baby
Extra bright, I want y'all to see this
Turn up the lights in here, baby
You know what I need, want you to see everything
Want you to see all of the lights
Whoa, whoa, oh
(I tried to tell you, but all I could say was, oh)
Whoa, whoa, oh
(I tried to tell you, but all I could say was, oh)
Whoa, whoa, oh
(I tried to tell you, but all I could say was, oh)
Whoa, whoa, oh
(I tried to tell you, but all I could say)
Lyrics submitted by strykerchick
All Of The Lights Lyrics as written by Stacy Ferguson Jeff Bhasker
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, O/B/O DistroKid, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Repetition is important in interpretation in my opinion. Whenever a writer repeats things, it's usually intended to be an emphasis or comparison. I find two interesting repetitions here. First, Kanye has had previous songs with the word "lights" in the title. "Flashing Lights" on Graduation, "Street Lights" in 808s & Heartbreak. In Street Lights, the lyrics are "Seems like street lights glowing/Happened to be just like moments passing in front of me". In this way, I think that lights, for Kanye, are metaphorical for an illumination of a specific moment, the way that a camera flash illuminates and captures a specific image. Accepting this, we can say that All of the Lights is the culmination of this idea, with specific examples of lights being explored before, in this song, Kanye speaks about all of them at once.
There's also a repetition in the lyrics of this song, a reference to "that ghetto university" is used twice. In the first verse, Kanye talks about a man who slaps his girlfriend, and ends up doing some jail time as a result. When he returns, there is another man in his bed with his girlfriend, and he assaults the man, saying, "I had to take him to that ghetto university". In the next verse, this man sees all the consequences of his actions. He is separated from his daughter, a woman he loved, and is unable to support either of them. He now says he "can't let [his daughter] grow up in that ghetto university". The salient point is that now he is afraid that his daughter will learn the lessons he learned from growing up in the environment he did, that caused him to make the mistakes he made. Looking back upon his regrets, he is desperate to ensure his daughter is not nurtured by the environment that encouraged the behaviours he chose.
I think this is the universal moment at the heart of this song. A man makes mistakes, regrets them, and then seeks to ensure the next generation doesn't make the mistakes he made. Truly, this is the struggle at the heart of the human condition, told through an urban lens.