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Asphalt Meadows Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Your kiss was a lonely prayer
When you slipped it into my mouth
I closed my eyes and held it in
And then I exhaled it out
The glow of the downtown lights
Casting shadows across your face
As if all the buildings knew
I could only know half of you
And I was a snake under your flowers
I just wanted to disappear
Into the understory of your beauty
Never to reappear
But there's a name writ on your cast
Above the bruised and broken bones
It tells everybody that you meet
To whom the damage is owed
[Chorus]
We rode a wave of white noise
Beneath the city sleeping
I saw the train doors closing
I felt your sorrow deepen
Here in the asphalt meadows
There's only one thing that grows
Finding the life through the concrete
Getting trampled under our feet
[Verse 2]
You said all your bridges and roads
They all lead to an airport
Planes drifting off into the sky
Always depart, but never seem to arrive
And there in the early hour
Lying naked in your unmade bed
I was thinking of how to tell you
What my ticket read
[Bridge]
Your kiss was a lonely prayer
A single candle, slowly burning down
But the light, your light was beautiful
Within its here and now
[Chorus]
We rode a wave of white noise
Beneath the city sleeping
I saw the train doors closing
I felt your sorrow deepen
Here in the asphalt meadows
There's only one thing that grows
Finding the life through the concrete
Getting trampled under our feet
We rode a wave of white noise
Beneath the city sleeping
I saw the train doors closing
I felt your sorrow deepen
Here in the asphalt meadows
There's only one thing that grows
Finding the life through the concrete
Getting trampled under our feet
Getting trampled under our feet
Getting trampled under our feet
Getting trampled under our feet
Your kiss was a lonely prayer
When you slipped it into my mouth
I closed my eyes and held it in
And then I exhaled it out
The glow of the downtown lights
Casting shadows across your face
As if all the buildings knew
I could only know half of you
And I was a snake under your flowers
I just wanted to disappear
Into the understory of your beauty
Never to reappear
But there's a name writ on your cast
Above the bruised and broken bones
It tells everybody that you meet
To whom the damage is owed
We rode a wave of white noise
Beneath the city sleeping
I saw the train doors closing
I felt your sorrow deepen
Here in the asphalt meadows
There's only one thing that grows
Finding the life through the concrete
Getting trampled under our feet
You said all your bridges and roads
They all lead to an airport
Planes drifting off into the sky
Always depart, but never seem to arrive
And there in the early hour
Lying naked in your unmade bed
I was thinking of how to tell you
What my ticket read
Your kiss was a lonely prayer
A single candle, slowly burning down
But the light, your light was beautiful
Within its here and now
We rode a wave of white noise
Beneath the city sleeping
I saw the train doors closing
I felt your sorrow deepen
Here in the asphalt meadows
There's only one thing that grows
Finding the life through the concrete
Getting trampled under our feet
We rode a wave of white noise
Beneath the city sleeping
I saw the train doors closing
I felt your sorrow deepen
Here in the asphalt meadows
There's only one thing that grows
Finding the life through the concrete
Getting trampled under our feet
Getting trampled under our feet
Getting trampled under our feet
Getting trampled under our feet
Song Info
Submitted by
mellow_harsher On Sep 16, 2022
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The lyrics of this song are beautiful poetry describing Ben's relationship with a girl where he is more of a passive onlooker to his own relationship. Though they are together, he feels so far from her. You can tell by the wonderfully unique and creative syntax, "Your kiss was a lonely prayer When you slipped it into my mouth." Rather than using an active verb, he is receiving her kiss. A lonely prayer: she is more into the relationship than him. I love the connection between the city lights only illuminating half of her face, representing that he would only ever know half of her. They will never become close. One of my favorite lines is "snake under your flowers". What a way to describe that feeling! Additionally, the metaphor of the planes taking off is brilliant. Noone ever gets close to this girl, everyone is always leaving. And while she thinks she has Ben, he is working on how to tell her "what his ticket read" (departure).
The chorus is also great, showing that they are just a "wave of white noise" beneath the city buildings - unimportant in the scheme of the whole city. The oxymoron "asphalt meadows"- and !!the album title!! describes the city as this cold manmade habitat where "life under the concrete" gets "trampled underneath our feet". This really paints the picture of millions of mindless white-noise-esque footsteps crushing out natural life. A lovely hint of overpopulation/environmental theme giving some more darkness/impersonalness/coldness to the setting of the song. He's not important, she's not important, this relationship doesn't matter, they will never know each other, he's leaving. Soul-crushing lyrics set to a gorgeous music backdrop. 10/10 best song on the album.
@musix48 this was an amazing analysis and completely aligns with my thoughts! this type of writing hits deep
@musix48 this was an amazing analysis and completely aligns with my thoughts! this type of writing hits deep
@musix48 this was an amazing analysis and completely aligns with my thoughts! this type of writing hits deep
@musix48 this was an amazing analysis and completely aligns with my thoughts! this type of writing hits deep
@musix48 Impeccable analysis, truly. Personally, I had a quite similar take, and was curious if the description of “only one thing that grows,” which clearly refers to weeds and their hardiness could be referring to the narrator himself. Weeds are typically viewed with a sort of hatred and disgust because of their lack of function. Possibly the narrator is referring to himself when he mentions these weeds in that he views himself with disgust and self hatred for his inability to love this girl. His ability to survive in this dark, cold environment he describes has slowly morphed him into...
@musix48 Impeccable analysis, truly. Personally, I had a quite similar take, and was curious if the description of “only one thing that grows,” which clearly refers to weeds and their hardiness could be referring to the narrator himself. Weeds are typically viewed with a sort of hatred and disgust because of their lack of function. Possibly the narrator is referring to himself when he mentions these weeds in that he views himself with disgust and self hatred for his inability to love this girl. His ability to survive in this dark, cold environment he describes has slowly morphed him into something to be hated, a weed. Absolutely my favorite song on the album as well, and since you clearly have deep insight into it, wondering what your thoughts are on this?