Time
Is never time at all
You can never ever leave
Without leaving a piece of you

And our lives are forever changed
We will never be the same
The more you change, the less you feel

Believe
Believe in me
Believe, Believe!

That life can change
That you're not stuck in vain

We're not the same, we're different
Tonight, Tonight

Tonight
So bright
Tonight, Tonight

And you know you're never sure
But you're sure you could be right
If you held yourself up to the light

And the embers never fade
In the city by the lake
The place where you were born

Believe
Believe in me
Believe, Believe!

In the resolute urgency of now
And if you believe there's not a chance
Tonight, Tonight

Tonight
So bright
Tonight, Tonight

We'll crucify the insincere
Tonight, Tonight
We'll make things right
We'll feel it all
Tonight, Tonight
We'll find a way to offer up the night
Tonight
The indescribable moments of your life
Tonight
The impossible is possible
Tonight, Tonight

Believe in me as I believe in you
Tonight
Tonight, Tonight
Tonight, Tonight

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Tonight, Tonight song meanings

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209 Comments

+18
General CommentI think this song is encouragement to be true to yourself and to believe in yourself. It says you should live in the moment and not the past. It's not so much about any one night in my opinion, but I art is in the eye of the beholder.
wiseoneon April 17, 2002 Link
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+10
General CommentI'd suggest taking a look at the song as a piece of a bigger whole. It's a prelude to the Mellon Collie album as a collective work. The passing of time is a key theme throughout MCIS, and I think "Tonight, Tonight" is the explaination of that. It's sort of the band's way (well... Billy's way) of saying "This is where we are, this is what we feel, and this is what tonight is about". They "crucify the insincere" through Zero, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, An Ode, etc.. In other songs, Corgan "make[s] things right" with personal messages about his childhood and relationships. And finally, he "finds a way to offer up the night" in the twilight of the album, the closing tracks of the second disc. The "indescribable moments" are simple the feelings conveyed by the music.

Ain't that a nice interpertation? :)
Statuson April 26, 2003 Link
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+8
General Commentawesome song. the night that i found out that my now ex was already with another guy, i drove up to my church around 10pm and i was listening to this song. i couldn't help but cry. the orchestral parts of the song are phenomenal and i totally love it. i just wish that she would have believed in me as i believed in her..thanks.

b
zipped6648on September 16, 2002 Link
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@zipped6648

thanks for sharing zipped

For years I thought the last line said "Believe in me as I'm leaving you, tonight"

It made it very sad to me, and kind of confirms your sense of it

I hope you got over it okay

belmurruon November 22, 2011

yes it is a great song and all but there is real meaning and incredible history behind this song. The film playing in the background is one of the first films, by George M`elies from Paris. It is called A trip to the moon. He took cinema to what they considered a new level of sophistication. George Melies was the first film maker to realize he could put dreams on film, rather than reality. However when WWI came the soldiers had seen, well, horrible reality, and the film maker could not change with their taste so he gave up on himself and stopped making films even though they had been of the utmost inspiration and progress. This song is about pushing through and persevering, to believe in yourself and bring all your new ideas into this hectic world...." though you know your never sure, but your sure you could be right, if you held yourself up to the light... believe in me as i believe in you....tonight.....the impossible is possible tonight..."
AshleyNbrownon March 02, 2012

@zipped6648 bro, same situation :( stay strong bro
oostin1130on March 12, 2015

@zipped6648 just realized i replied to a post from thirteen years ago, wow.
oostin1130on March 12, 2015

@zipped6648 i know this was 17 years ago, but wanna go key her car? i’m down.
CTRLF8on August 07, 2019
+4
My InterpretationMaybe I get this sense because of personal reasons, but this was me and my gf's song. We listened to it all the time. A few months ago she told me she didn't love me and felt like we didn't have a connection. I found out from her friends she hadn't been in love with me for a while and that she'd pretended cause she didn't have the guts to tell me. I think the song is about something like that. When someone you love so much takes a piece of you and you're never the same, and you and her are suddenly different. You just want her to believe in you as you believe in her tonight, but maybe it's more general because any broken relationship takes a piece of you. Tonight.
Niradiopumpkinson May 08, 2016 Link
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@Niradiopumpkins

@Niradiopumpkins idk if you’ll see this but you’re story is very similar to my brothers. Him and his gf loved this band. He then got very sick and they broke up. You also right very similarly to my brother. Kind of eerie to me.
ted1127459on September 22, 2022

@Niradiopumpkins idk if you’ll see this but you’re story is very similar to my brothers. Him and his gf loved this band. He then got very sick and they broke up. You also right very similarly to my brother. Kind of eerie to me.
ted1127459on September 22, 2022
+2
General Commentremindes me of having the greatest night in your life
ragetallicaon February 13, 2002 Link
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Totally.
SeanJohnon November 04, 2009

Yes, this is a great song and all but there is real history behind it.. About a man named George Melies from Paris. He was the creator of one of the first films called, A Trip to the Moon, this film is the film that plays in the music video. Melies was a pioneer of cinema, the first man to realize you could put your dreams into film, as many have said, he took cinema to what they considered in 1902, a new level of sophistication. However after WWI had came the taste of the people had change, but he had not changed with it, no one was interested in his films of dreams anymore. He no longer believed in himself, so him and his wife sold the films and tried to forget. But this man changed the world of cinema, and look how cinema has changed our lives today, how much our lives revolve around it; yet the man lost his belief in himself, something no one ever should......"And you know you're never sure
But you're sure you could be right
If you held yourself up to the light"......

"Tonight
The impossible is possible
Tonight
Believe in me as I believe in you
Tonight".............. Amazing what makes it so far into the future isn't it...
AshleyNbrownon March 02, 2012

Hugo much?
HatsOff2TheBullon March 09, 2012
+2
General Commenthmf, well I just say the video is brilliant, the song is brilliant, Billy is brilliant.
imthecootieon May 11, 2002 Link
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+2
General Commentthis song is AMAZING i think it's saying that u shouldn't be afraid to give in to love and that u should trust ur partner's love completely and love him back and all that good stuff. this video is so freaking cool too! i want to meet billy!
Ethilienon May 16, 2002 Link
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@Ethilien
+2
General CommentGreat Song...period
TheSwej16on May 22, 2002 Link
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+2
General Comment"city by the lake"= chicago, i'm pretty sure. i lovelovelove this song and this band. love.
anomaly1006on August 23, 2009 Link
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+1
General Commentthis song is AMAZING i think it's saying that u shouldn't be afraid to give in to love and that u should trust ur partner's love completely and love him back and all that good stuff. this video is so freaking cool too! i want to meet billy!
Ethilienon May 16, 2002 Link
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Tonight, Tonight

The Smashing Pumpkins

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