Everyone knows that cancer
Takes bites of every family
And it eats some families whole

Dance around the issue
Take issue with the answers provided
The past few years radiate with treatment
But to every day she'll put her cap on and greet them
She's got demons but you'll never meet them
Yeah we hope one day that she can finally beat them all

She laughs for us
She laughs so we don't worry
She smiles through the pain
And keeps the details blurry

My intentions are not to expose
The depths of her trouble aren't mine to disclose
But like evening rain on the petal of a rose
It drips down to the earth and then begins to compose

And if there's one thing that remains
So crystal clear to us
It's that the wandering hands of the gods
Are so goddamn mysterious

Like there could be a justification
For the lives it takes and the lives that it's shaken

This isn't a eulogy
Or a requiem
Just some words I've sketched out
'Cause I haven't said them
This isn't about her father or brother
Just a few simple words so she knows that I love her
And tragedy will never disaffect her
I hope she knows how much I respect her

My intentions are not to expose, in verse or in prose
The depths of her troubles aren't mine to disclose
But like evening rain on the petal of a rose
It drips down to the earth and begins to compose

A song worth singing
A wound that keeps on stinging
And that one sinking feeling
It's always worth clinging onto
And a stone at a glass house
That's always worth slinging

She laughs for us
She laughs so we don't worry
She smiles through the pain
And keeps the details blurry

My intentions are not to expose
The depths of her trouble aren't mine to disclose
But like evening rain on the petal of a rose
It drips down to the earth and begins to compose

Saints walk the earth
They don't patrol the skies
They're the people right behind you
Riding tandem through the night
It's the comfort that's discovered
Between two sets of eyes
It's the hand that stills the other
That shakes like candlelight
Like candlelight


Lyrics submitted by Skillface, edited by ka-tet

Tandem Lyrics as written by Rody Walker Lucas Hoskin

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Tandem song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    This is a song for someone very dear to me who is currently fighting cancer. I didn't want to expose any of the details in depth because truthfully, it's nobody's fucking business. But I did want to write her a song to let her know that, even though I don't say many things, I'm still thinking about her.- Rody Walker

    Bfgoodwinon March 26, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The last 45 seconds of this song literally give me chills every time.

    The song is most likely about someone Rody knows. It's definitely about cancer and it's affect on people though.

    Skillfaceon February 21, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction

    "Yeah we hope her (?) and she can finally beat them all" should be "Yeah we hope one day that she can finally beat them all."

    synthesizernerdon February 21, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It should be "Between two sets of eyes" Not "Through"

    Snabeson February 22, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Now that I've got the lyrics book, I've edited the lyrics so they should be exact.

    Skillfaceon March 22, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning

    "Saints walk the earth They don't patrol the skies They're the people right behind you Riding tandem through the night It's the comfort that's discovered Between two sets of eyes It's the hand that stills the other That shakes like candlelight Like candlelight"

    I believe that what this paragraph is saying is that Saints aren't the ones in heaven but the people who are close to you, the ones who are actually there for you: "They're the people right behind you. Riding "tandem" through the night. "It's the comfort that's discovered between two sets of eyes. It's the hand that stills the other." is pretty self explanatory, you find comfort on the one close to you, the one who's right there with you, holding you. "That shakes like candlelight" - I believe this is a metaphor to emotion.

    Just my two cents.

    Pwncakezon March 28, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "And if there's one thing that remains So crystal clear to us It's that the wandering hands of the gods Are so goddamn mysterious

    Like there could be a justification For the lives it takes and the lives that it's taken"

    this line hits home for me, when someone close to me died people just kept telling her family god works in mysterious ways. and i always felt like i don't care how omnipotent the god you believe in thinks he is taking someone who was so good and so important to so many people is unacceptable

    ka-teton September 20, 2013   Link

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