Sky is clear tonight
Sky is clear tomorrow
A star is out
I reach for one to sparkle in my hand
A star is out
I will not touch you, I am just a man

Sky is clear tonight
Sky is clear tomorrow

And every night I shut my eyes
So I don't have to see the light
Shining so bright
I'll dream about a cloudy sky, a cloudy sky

"Man was born to love
Though often he has sought
Like Icarus, to fly too high.
And far too lonely than he ought
To kiss the sum of east and west
And hold the world at his behest
To hold the terrible power
To whom only gods are blessed
But me, I am just a man"

And every night I shut my eyes
So I don't have to see the light
Shining so bright
I'll dream about a cloudy sky, a cloudy sky

And every night I shut my eyes
But now I've got them open wide
You've fallen into my hands
And now you're burning me
You're burning me


Lyrics submitted by jt, edited by horaciobe

Just a Man Lyrics as written by Michael Allen Patton Bill Gould

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Just A Man song meanings
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27 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment

    I know FNM lyrics never get this philosophical, but this is the evident unintentional meaning I find in it:

    A Nietschzian/Dostoevskyian/Chestertonian view of humanity. Basically, all men are ordinary, with aspirations to be beyond the ordinary. Not everyone has the will to pursue the extraordinary, but some do. The consequence of being extraordinary is the closest thing there is to a "hell on earth": being cut off from society.

    "Holding the world at his behest" represents the extraordinary man. "to whom only gods are blessed" further reinforces the Nietzschian "Superman" concept. "far too lonely" describes the extraordinary man's status upon ascending beyond the realm of the ordinary.

    Now we get into how the author feels about these things.

    "Every night I close my eyes so I don't have to see the light" implies that the author puts forward a daily effort to not become Enlightened, and thus be cut off from society. The author understands the consequences of becoming a Superman, and he fights it by restricting himself to ignorance.

    "Now I've got them open wide and you've fallen into my hands" is where the author decides to open his mind, and as a result knowledge of society and the way it works falls into his hands. It's so much knowledge it's painful, and this is expressed in the "you're burning me"

    rswon April 27, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    to me.. this song is about dreams and aspirations... reaching for the stars. daring to dream.. or just brushing such things aside(i'll shut my eyes, i'll dream of a cloudy sky, i am just a man)

    the stars are like a goal to strive for.. shining so bright.. calling out to you..

    and the sky is clear tonight.. tomorrow.. the possibility is always open for reaching for the stars..

    in the end.. i dont see the burning as a negative thing.. it's more like he's now opened up.. the star is in his hands.. watever it is he's been longing for is now in his hands.. and now he's burning.. he feels more alive

    i hope that all made sense.. to me it's about a man who holds himself back from aspiring to be or have something(be it love, or one's aspirations)... but in the end he gets a taste of it and is so affected by it.. the feeling is so intense it's 'burning' him

    that's what i think.. that's what i identify with

    po0ton March 01, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    rsw's interp. is convincing and it is possible that Mike Patton does like to read the odd book (after all, Digging the Grave seems to be about profit and exploitation from a Marxist perspective), but if you wanted to keep it simple you could just say that it's about someone who is afraid to aspire to his greatest potential, whatever the context, because as he aims high the stakes and the risks also escalate. So it would be easier if the sky was cloudier and he had an excuse not to try.

    GotMeNowon February 05, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    WOW i have jsut been enlightened. so many different interpretations, all of them good. This is a perfect example of why i LOVE this band: the music requires some thought, imagination. What fun is music that doesnt make you wonder? I LOVE FNM! the best band ever, period.
    My thought on the song had been: religious faithlessness. i think its a common theme in the music they write, And thats fine by me. every night is Shut my eyes so i dont have to see the light- shining so bright-.. cloudy sky: Closing eyes to 'god', religion, the 'light' (god or so called good) so bright- too harsh, blinding.. i dream about a cloudy sky being the 'dark' or evil is more comforting, soothing. A star is out - I reach for one to sparkle in my hand (seeking answers on faith) I will not touch you I am and just a man: man cannot match or be expected to live by the high 'laws' of religion, to live without sin. But now I've got them open wide, (eyes) (mind). You've fallen into my hands, (examining, learning) And now you're burning me: being burned by religion or faith, having new sight, opening your mind to the reality that religion is all mind control,basically bullshit. wasted time. And yes religion is all BS. Mr. Daryll Sloan has it nailed down should you ever desire to see teh light' and have free thought and true 'faith' in yourself and each other. not in some made up man in the clouds who is wathcing EVERYTHING YOU DO and has an everlasting FIERY HELL awaiting the 'sinner' wow, such a loving understanding 'god' ha. IF YOU ASK ME I WILL TELL YOU MIKE PATTON IS MORE OF A GOD AND ONE TO LOOK UP TO.

    • man is not perfect and to expect he live in virtue with all the temptations placed before him is just plain unreasonable, impossible. so keep on living and sinning people. enjoy.
    sammykay71on April 28, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song is the best album closer i have ever heard! but like after eight mints you can only enjoy them fully after a nice big bish bosh 10 course meal. So listen to the album, a feast fit for a king, and finish it all off with.... this :P this song its pretty simple to understand the lyrics really the churchy chorus though erm.. "--And every night I shut my eyes So I don't have to see the light Shining so bright I'll dream about a cloudy sky, A cloudy sky

    And every night I shut my eyes But now I've got them open wide You've fallen into my hands And now you're burning me And now you're burning me" me think it is about living a lie "and every night i close my eyes so i dont have to see the light" the reference to the light i imagine as the truth, so intense it is though, to realise it would burn you up inside.

    Calculator Joseon May 24, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    actually after considering this i have a different perspective.

    this song I think is about a man who is scared to reach for stars, because like icarus he might try to fly too high and fall. So he closes his eyes and hopes for cloudy skies so he might not see these stars tantalising him.
    But at the end his eyes are now open and he reaches for the stars (he tries to be more than just a man) which as he feared - end up burning him.

    bongoon November 11, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this song is about enlightenment! rsw has got it! the truth hurts, bigtime! but the truth is that we all could be supermen but are brainwashed not to seek enlightenment, and therefore mans future holds a very cloudy sky indeed

    freekermanon May 31, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Fuken good song, even like the black church singers in the backround

    MikePattonRuleson September 12, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    and the truth is that he is just a man

    bongoon November 10, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It's basically feeling that love relationships usually don't work out. As a man, he flies to high (tries to hard in love) and, like Icarus, his wings are burned by the sun (possibly women or love?). And anyway, he dreams of a cloudy sky...where there is no sun to harm him, and his relationships can succeed.

    Songmeaningsuseron November 22, 2004   Link

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