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"
I buckle in my seat belt, and plug my headset in a chair
And to the music, I watch flight attendants move
They are pointing out the exits, but it looks more like a prayer
Or an ancient dance their bloodline reaches through
These planes are good for sifting through the warriors from the men
I get time to sit and watch them for a while
You can see everywhere they're going, and everywhere they've been
And how they look out at the clouds each time they smile
And I think, maybe he's in town for someone's birthday
Or maybe he makes trouble everywhere
But as much as he resists the conversation between the rivers and the freeways
He knows it's always there
As the northwest passage sits somewhere below me as I sleep
I dream of captains and explorers eating boots
When I ask if I can join them and they offer one to me
I wake up as my home comes into view
So I reach down for my notebook to see what impressions could be spun
But it's just buildings and a million swimming pools
So I leaf back through the pages to see where I am from
Or for some crumbling map of what it's leading to
And I find that the hero in the song that I am writing
Doesn't know he's just an image of myself
But as much as he resists the conversation between the rivers and the freeways
He's somehow always asking them for help
I want to make out all of the signs I've been ignoring
How the trees reach for the sky or in the length of someone's hair
'Cause when you don't know where you are going
Any road will take you there
So maybe I'm in town for someone's birthday
Or maybe I make trouble everywhere
But as much I resist the conversation between the rivers and the freeways
I know it's always there
I know it's always there
I know it's always there
And to the music, I watch flight attendants move
They are pointing out the exits, but it looks more like a prayer
Or an ancient dance their bloodline reaches through
These planes are good for sifting through the warriors from the men
I get time to sit and watch them for a while
You can see everywhere they're going, and everywhere they've been
And how they look out at the clouds each time they smile
And I think, maybe he's in town for someone's birthday
Or maybe he makes trouble everywhere
But as much as he resists the conversation between the rivers and the freeways
He knows it's always there
As the northwest passage sits somewhere below me as I sleep
I dream of captains and explorers eating boots
When I ask if I can join them and they offer one to me
I wake up as my home comes into view
So I reach down for my notebook to see what impressions could be spun
But it's just buildings and a million swimming pools
So I leaf back through the pages to see where I am from
Or for some crumbling map of what it's leading to
And I find that the hero in the song that I am writing
Doesn't know he's just an image of myself
But as much as he resists the conversation between the rivers and the freeways
He's somehow always asking them for help
I want to make out all of the signs I've been ignoring
How the trees reach for the sky or in the length of someone's hair
'Cause when you don't know where you are going
Any road will take you there
So maybe I'm in town for someone's birthday
Or maybe I make trouble everywhere
But as much I resist the conversation between the rivers and the freeways
I know it's always there
I know it's always there
I know it's always there
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More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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.
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/
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
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.
I love this song. It think that Dawes writes some really amazing pieces. The verse that got me was:
I want to make out all the signs I've been ignoring How the trees reach for the sky or in the length of someone's hair 'Cause when you don't know where you are going Any road will take you there
Namely it was that last line. I thought it was brilliant. To me it means freedom. It meant something good. In the song it means confusion, discomfort. I think if you don't worry so much about where you are going you can go where ever you want. But that's me. The wonderful thing about art is that it can mean different things to different people. What sucks it realizing that nothing is original. Thanks Google.
This line was basically lifted from Louis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. "I don’t much care where--" said Alice. "Then it doesn’t matter which way you go," said the Cat. "--so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation. "Oh, you’re sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
And if that wasn't bad enough, George Harrison wrote the line: "If you don't know where you're going, any road'll take you there" as part of the song, "Any Road".
Now I don't know if Dawes stole the idea or came up with it on their own or some combination of the two. My point, and I do want to make one, is it doesn't matter. That is a good line and it bares repeating. That line is worthy of an entire song being written around it. And it think it was.