This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
It must be getting early
Clocks are running late
Paint by numbers morning sky
Looks so phony
Dawn is breaking everywhere
Light a candle, curse the glare
Draw the curtains, I don't care
'Cause it's alright
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive
I see you got your list out
Say your piece and get out
Yes, I get the gist of it
But it's alright
Sorry that you feel that way
The only thing there is to say
Every silver lining's got a
Touch of grey
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive
It's a lesson to me
The Ables and the Bakers and the C's
The ABC's
We all must face
And try to keep a little grace
It's a lesson to me
The Deltas and the East and the Freeze
The ABC's
We all think of
And try to keep a little love
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright
Cows are giving kerosene
The kid can't read at seventeen
The words he knows are all obscene
But it's alright
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive
The shoe is on the hand, it fits
There's really nothing much to it
Whistle through your teeth and spit
'Cause it's alright
Oh, well, a touch of grey
Kind of suits you anyway
That was all I had to say, and
It's alright
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive
We will get by
We will get by
We will get by
We will survive
We will get by
We will get by
We will get by
Clocks are running late
Paint by numbers morning sky
Looks so phony
Dawn is breaking everywhere
Light a candle, curse the glare
Draw the curtains, I don't care
'Cause it's alright
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive
I see you got your list out
Say your piece and get out
Yes, I get the gist of it
But it's alright
Sorry that you feel that way
The only thing there is to say
Every silver lining's got a
Touch of grey
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive
It's a lesson to me
The Ables and the Bakers and the C's
The ABC's
We all must face
And try to keep a little grace
It's a lesson to me
The Deltas and the East and the Freeze
The ABC's
We all think of
And try to keep a little love
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright
Cows are giving kerosene
The kid can't read at seventeen
The words he knows are all obscene
But it's alright
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive
The shoe is on the hand, it fits
There's really nothing much to it
Whistle through your teeth and spit
'Cause it's alright
Oh, well, a touch of grey
Kind of suits you anyway
That was all I had to say, and
It's alright
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive
We will get by
We will get by
We will get by
We will survive
We will get by
We will get by
We will get by
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Touch of Grey Lyrics as written by Robert C. Christie Hunter Jerome J. Garcia
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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"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."
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