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"
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Oh, there's a river that winds on forever
I'm gonna see where it leads
Oh, there's a mountain that no man has mounted
I'm gonna stand on the peak
Out there's a land that time don't command
Wanna be the first to arrive
No time for ponderin' why I'm-a wanderin'
Not while we're both still alive
To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
There's a world that was meant for our eyes to see
To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
Well if you won't, I must say my goodbyes to thee
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Oh, there's an island where all things are silent
I'm gonna whistle a tune
Oh, there's a desert thats size can't be measured
I'm gonna count all the dunes
Out there's a world that calls for me, girl
Headin' out into the unknown
Wayfarin' strangers and all kinds of danger
Please don't say I'm goin' alone
To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
There's a world that was meant for our eyes to see
To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
Well If you won't, I must say my goodbyes to thee
I was a-ready to die for you, baby
Doesn't mean I'm ready to stay
What good is livin' a life you've been given
If all you do is stand in one place?
I'm on a river that winds on forever
Follow 'til I get where I'm goin'
Maybe I'm headin' to die but I'm still gonna try
I guess I'm goin' alone
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Oh, there's a river that winds on forever
I'm gonna see where it leads
Oh, there's a mountain that no man has mounted
I'm gonna stand on the peak
Out there's a land that time don't command
Wanna be the first to arrive
No time for ponderin' why I'm-a wanderin'
Not while we're both still alive
To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
There's a world that was meant for our eyes to see
To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
Well if you won't, I must say my goodbyes to thee
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Oh, there's an island where all things are silent
I'm gonna whistle a tune
Oh, there's a desert thats size can't be measured
I'm gonna count all the dunes
Out there's a world that calls for me, girl
Headin' out into the unknown
Wayfarin' strangers and all kinds of danger
Please don't say I'm goin' alone
To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
There's a world that was meant for our eyes to see
To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
Well If you won't, I must say my goodbyes to thee
I was a-ready to die for you, baby
Doesn't mean I'm ready to stay
What good is livin' a life you've been given
If all you do is stand in one place?
I'm on a river that winds on forever
Follow 'til I get where I'm goin'
Maybe I'm headin' to die but I'm still gonna try
I guess I'm goin' alone
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Lyrics submitted by kellymac23, edited by Macuahuitl, djmastermind, Cirdain
Ends of the Earth Lyrics as written by Ben Schneider
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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I believe it is about being young and in love and excited about exploring the world and wanting desperately to do it with that person. You ask them if they would follow you to the ends of the earth, but deep down you know the answer will be no. They are stuck living in the "life [they] were given", not ready to face the unknown and embark on this adventurous journey with you, leaving you to try it alone.
Heartbreaking and inspirational at the same time. There are always going to be sacrifices in life, and choosing between a potentially challenging and scary new life or a safe, possibly boring one with someone you love would be a tough choice for most people.
I love the metaphor of traveling the wide earth to discover the small world inside your soul. The protagonist obviously doesn't want to do it alone, but in the end, he ultimately does. This song is so upbeat, it's easy to miss this metaphor.
I just wanted to make a quick comment on this lyric: "If you will, have a say my goodbyes to me". Beautiful. Multiple goodbyes for an ever-growing self.
Happy listening,
Eric
I think this song is in response to the feelings and sentiments from one of his earlier songs called "In the Wind." They feature some of the exact same melodies. In "In the Wind" he is mourning the loss of someone dear to him. He says:
"I would wait for a thousand years I would sit right here by the lake, my dear You just let me know that you're coming home And I'll wait for you"
and
"Death is a wall but it can't be the end You are my protector and my best friend Well they say that you're gone and that I should move on I wonder: how do they know, baby? How do they know? Well, they don't."
In this song he's saying that he's on a river that winds on forever. I think he means life.
"I was a-ready to die for you, baby Doesn't mean I'm ready to stay What good is livin' a life you've been given If all you do is stand in one place"
is the section that makes me feel like this is a response to the other song because of the messaging and the fact that the melodies from "In the Wind" right after this. I think throughout the song he's inviting her to come with him as he experiences all that they couldn't. I think he's saying he's finally trying to move on but, sadly, he's ultimately alone.
"Maybe I'm headin' to die but I'm still gonna try I guess I'm goin' alone"
End of Community :(
As an INTP, the lyrics speak to my lifelong journey for answers to every question posed or not even considered. It can be exhausting as well as exhilarating at the same time.
@data110772 OMG, INTP here. As I have this song on repeat for an hour I was thinking the same thing. I'm 68 and can tell you the "search" never ends, when it does I die. So brother, keep growing and exploring.
To the ends of the earth would you follow me?\nI wish I had. Kevin said his goodbyes to me on May 15, 2015. I miss you more every day. This song is his song.