He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
Just three miles from the rest stop
And she slams on the breaks
She said I tried to be but I'm not
And could you please collect your things
I don't wanna be cold
I don't wanna be cruel
But I gotta find more
Than what's happening with you
If you'd, open up the door
She said, while you were sleeping
I was listening to the radio
And wondering what you're dreaming when
It came to mind that I didn't care
So I thought, hell if it's over
I had better end it quick
Or I could lose my nerve
Are you listening, can you hear me
Have you forgotten
Just three miles from the rest stop
And my mouth's too dry to rage
The light was shining from the radio
I could barely see her face
But she knew all the words that I never had said
She knew the crumpled-up promise of this
Broken down man, and as I opened up the door
She said, while you were sleeping
I was listening to the radio
And wondering what you're dreaming when
It came to mind that I didn't care
So I thought, hell if it's over
I had better end it quick
Or I could lose my nerve
Are you listening, can you hear me
Have you forgotten
She said, while you were sleeping
I was listening to the radio
And wondering what you're dreaming when
It came to mind that I didn't care
So I thought, hell if it's over
I had better end it quick
Or I could lose my nerve
Are you listening, can you hear me
While you were sleeping
I was listening to the radio
And wondering what you're dreaming when
It came to mind that I didn't care
So I thought, hell if it's over
I had better end it quick
Or I could lose all my nerve
Are you listening, can you hear me
And she slams on the breaks
She said I tried to be but I'm not
And could you please collect your things
I don't wanna be cold
I don't wanna be cruel
But I gotta find more
Than what's happening with you
If you'd, open up the door
She said, while you were sleeping
I was listening to the radio
And wondering what you're dreaming when
It came to mind that I didn't care
So I thought, hell if it's over
I had better end it quick
Or I could lose my nerve
Are you listening, can you hear me
Have you forgotten
Just three miles from the rest stop
And my mouth's too dry to rage
The light was shining from the radio
I could barely see her face
But she knew all the words that I never had said
She knew the crumpled-up promise of this
Broken down man, and as I opened up the door
She said, while you were sleeping
I was listening to the radio
And wondering what you're dreaming when
It came to mind that I didn't care
So I thought, hell if it's over
I had better end it quick
Or I could lose my nerve
Are you listening, can you hear me
Have you forgotten
She said, while you were sleeping
I was listening to the radio
And wondering what you're dreaming when
It came to mind that I didn't care
So I thought, hell if it's over
I had better end it quick
Or I could lose my nerve
Are you listening, can you hear me
While you were sleeping
I was listening to the radio
And wondering what you're dreaming when
It came to mind that I didn't care
So I thought, hell if it's over
I had better end it quick
Or I could lose all my nerve
Are you listening, can you hear me
Lyrics submitted by punkmebabygal
Rest Stop Lyrics as written by Rob Thomas
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
even though the song is about a true story in Rob's life it definitly is a song that everyone can relate to at some point and time in his or her life...i can relate to it from both sides of the story... i've been in both persons shoes and its not easy either way... this is my favorite matchbox 20 song... its beautiful and shows so much emotion.