If you could soldier on
Headstrong into the storm
I'll be here waiting on the other side
Don't look back
The road is long
The first days of the war are gone
Take back your former throne and turn the tide

'Cause if you never leave home, never let go
You'll never make it to the great unknown till you
Keep your eyes open, my love
So tell me you're strong, tell me you see
I need to hear it, can you promise me to
Keep your eyes open, my love

Just past the circumstance
The first light, a second chance
No child could ever dance the way you do, oh
Tear down the prison walls
Don't start the curtain call
Your chains will never fall until you do

'Cause if you never leave home, never let go
You'll never make it to the great unknown till you
Keep your eyes open, my love
So show me your fire, show me your heart
You know I'll never let you fall apart if you
Keep your eyes open, my love

Open up
Open up
Open up your eyes
The weight is unbroken
Open up
Open up
Open up your eyes
Keep your eyes open

Don't let the night become the day
Don't take the darkness to the grave
I know pain is just a place
The will has been broken
Don't let the fear become the hate
Don't take the sadness to the grave
I know the fight is on the way
When the sides have been chosen

'Cause if you never leave home, never let go
You'll never make it to the great unknown
Open up your eyes
Keep your eyes open
So tell me you're strong, tell me you see
I need to hear it, can you promise me to
Keep your eyes open, my love
So show me your fire, show me your heart
You know I'll never let you fall apart if you
Keep your eyes open, my love

Keep your eyes (Keep your eyes open)


Lyrics submitted by starsie

Keep Your Eyes Open Lyrics as written by William Rinehart Nathaniel Rinehart

Lyrics © Bluewater Music Corp., Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Keep Your Eyes Open song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

5 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    Well I'll start a thread then!

    I absolutely love their new album, but I will not waste further space about my feelings like so many posts do on here. I don't think the message of this song is too difficult to interpret; keep your eyes open because if you give in to whatever adversity you're facing, you may miss the beauty in front of you. Or perhaps part of the beauty is experiencing adversity. I know nobody takes pleasure in experiencing pain and suffering, but sometimes God can make the most miserable things beautiful.

    This is what I think when I read this verse:

    "Just past the circumstance The first light... a second chance No child could ever dance the way you do Oh, tear down the prison walls Don't start the curtain call Your chains will never fall until you do"

    In the story of Joseph from the Old Testament, Joseph was beaten, lied on, sold into slavery and betrayed by his own brothers, and imprisoned for not giving into seduction. When I'm struggling I try to remember how God used Joseph. In the end, he was made into a better man, forgiving his brothers and showing them love. Maybe we're not blessed with direct communication with God through many of our dreams, but when we look back in our lives and try to figure out where we are, how we got there, I cannot help but think someone has been dragging me on a rope, keeping my eyes open, telling me I'm strong, and never letting me fall apart. Perhaps Joseph may never have became Pharaoh had he not been enslaved, had he not fallen (hah literally--didn't he get thrown into a water hole?). But he persisted and kept faith. I think my favorite verse of the whole song is "Your chains will never fall until you do".

    It's much easier to always look at the past to see how we've grown from adverse conditions. I think this song, however, is set in the present from reading the verse, "[t]he weight is unbroken" (and many others). But that verse in particular confuses me a bit. Now I understand the gist:

    "Don't let the night become the day Don't take the darkness to the grave I know pain is just a place The will has been broken..."

    However, what do you think about them specifically? Maybe "[d]on't let the night become the day", pleads with us to not let tomorrow come aimlessly. Don't let a second go by if you have an unaddressed hatred in your heart. Do the verses, "I know pain is just a place [t]he will has been broken", form one sentence? Surely we can still experience pain with a strong and unbroken will. Maybe it's two separate thoughts. Pain is just a place that we're in, a stage in our life. We have an eternity in heaven to look forward to, in the promise and gift from Christ. Maybe the songwriter is just describing the present state in the following verses, "[t]he will has been broken" and "[t]he weight is unbroken".

    jygoehringon September 30, 2011   Link

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

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Blue
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.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.