Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
When I was a child I heard voices,
Some would sing and some would scream,
You soon find you have few choices,
I learned the voices died with me.
When I was a child I'd sit for hours,
Staring into open flame,
Something in it had a power,
Could barely tear my eyes away.
All you have is your fire,
And the place you need to reach,
Don't you ever tame your demons,
But always keep them on a leash.
When I was sixteen my senses fooled me,
Thought gasoline was on my clothes,
I knew that something would always rule me,
I knew the scent was mine alone.
All you have is your fire,
And the place you need to reach,
Don't you ever tame your demons,
But always keep them on a leash.
When I was a man I thought it ended
When I knew love's perfect ache,
But my peace has always depended
On all the ashes in my wake.
Some would sing and some would scream,
You soon find you have few choices,
I learned the voices died with me.
When I was a child I'd sit for hours,
Staring into open flame,
Something in it had a power,
Could barely tear my eyes away.
All you have is your fire,
And the place you need to reach,
Don't you ever tame your demons,
But always keep them on a leash.
When I was sixteen my senses fooled me,
Thought gasoline was on my clothes,
I knew that something would always rule me,
I knew the scent was mine alone.
All you have is your fire,
And the place you need to reach,
Don't you ever tame your demons,
But always keep them on a leash.
When I was a man I thought it ended
When I knew love's perfect ache,
But my peace has always depended
On all the ashes in my wake.
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I think the song is talking to someone. When he says "Don't you ever tame your demons but keep 'em on a leash" I think he means that you shouldn't try to hold yourself to a standard that virtually impossible of doing everything perfect, but "keep 'em on a leash", meaning don't let them run free and cause you to do horrible stuff.
"You soon find you have few choices"- meaning that you soon in life realize that there's good and bad.
"I learned the voices died with me"- Your thoughts never can leave you.
"When I was a child, I'd sit for hours, Staring into open flame" - He'd debate with himself what path or life he wanted to take and who he wanted to be.
"Something in it had a power, Could barely tear my eyes away" - He always wanted to do what was right, and the sight of doing something "right" always lingered in his mind (cause his voice always stayed with him), causing him to always questions himself as to if he was doing things right.
"All you have is your fire, And the place you need to reach" - All he has is himself, his thoughts, and his dreams/goals.
"When I was 16, my senses fooled me, Thought gasoline was on my clothes" - He thought he was doing something terribly wrong.
"I knew that something would always rule me, I knew the scent was mine alone" - And through that depression overruled him, but deep down he knew it was all himself and "voices" making him unhappy.
"When I was a man I thought it ended, When I knew love's perfect ache" - When he was older he thought his depression was over, that he'd moved on and was doing things right. But he knew deep down he was still aching because he felt like he was doing something wrong, causing people not to like or love him as much and that he deserved it because of his actions.
"But my peace has always depended, On all the ashes in my wake" - Yet through all of this he knew that being happy depended on if he was doing everything right through others eyes
All in all I believe the song means, don't let your aspiration of being perfect or having everything perfect get the best of you, cause you'll never enjoy life, but don't care to little about aspiration or everyday things because then you're just not making the best of your life; you need a balance the way you look at things.
This is just my interpretation so please no hate!