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 was away, I don't know where, it was a daily state
I drew a map, but it expired
I'd find a car with open doors and take a ride
I took a nap, there was no driver
I'd find a thing that I could take that would do the trick
After a while, I got no higher
Ride in the unknown
Survive and never grow
Sliding alone
Why is never known
There is no getting away in a haunted house
When every window is a mirror
Can't recognize the people who I used to be
Alone at night in my private theater
But we all play a little bit with mythology
I don't know if it makes things clearer
Hiding from myself
Alone, no one to tell
Pay rent to have this shell
Pay rent to have this cell
In a blue moon, I
Could sing the blues to sleep
While they were out
I'd have a good week
Ride in the unknown
Survive and never grow
Sliding alone
Why is never known
I never knew
I never knew who I wanted to be
I never knew
I never knew who I wanted to be
The good and the bad news will still be there
But don't think about that now
Lift your anchor and set your sail
Now the lights are all turned out
Find your peace and find some sleep
I'll be your lookout
When it's my turn, you'll be that for me
And you'll quiet all my doubt
Ride in the unknown (The good and the bad news will still be there)
Survive and never grow (But don't think about that now)
Sliding alone (Lift your anchor and set your sail)
Why is never known (Now the lights are all turned out)
Ride in the unknown (Find your peace and find some sleep)
Survive and never grow (I'll be your lookout)
Sliding alone (When it's my turn, you'll be that for me)
Why is never known (And you'll quiet all my doubt)
Ride in the unknown (The good and the bad news will still be there)
Survive and never grow (But don't think about that now)
Sliding alone (Lift your anchor and set your sail)
Why is never known (Now the lights are all turned out)
I drew a map, but it expired
I'd find a car with open doors and take a ride
I took a nap, there was no driver
I'd find a thing that I could take that would do the trick
After a while, I got no higher
Ride in the unknown
Survive and never grow
Sliding alone
Why is never known
There is no getting away in a haunted house
When every window is a mirror
Can't recognize the people who I used to be
Alone at night in my private theater
But we all play a little bit with mythology
I don't know if it makes things clearer
Hiding from myself
Alone, no one to tell
Pay rent to have this shell
Pay rent to have this cell
In a blue moon, I
Could sing the blues to sleep
While they were out
I'd have a good week
Ride in the unknown
Survive and never grow
Sliding alone
Why is never known
I never knew
I never knew who I wanted to be
I never knew
I never knew who I wanted to be
The good and the bad news will still be there
But don't think about that now
Lift your anchor and set your sail
Now the lights are all turned out
Find your peace and find some sleep
I'll be your lookout
When it's my turn, you'll be that for me
And you'll quiet all my doubt
Ride in the unknown (The good and the bad news will still be there)
Survive and never grow (But don't think about that now)
Sliding alone (Lift your anchor and set your sail)
Why is never known (Now the lights are all turned out)
Ride in the unknown (Find your peace and find some sleep)
Survive and never grow (I'll be your lookout)
Sliding alone (When it's my turn, you'll be that for me)
Why is never known (And you'll quiet all my doubt)
Ride in the unknown (The good and the bad news will still be there)
Survive and never grow (But don't think about that now)
Sliding alone (Lift your anchor and set your sail)
Why is never known (Now the lights are all turned out)
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
Ride in the Unknown Lyrics as written by Louie Lino Douglas Gillard
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
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,
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.