Is it any wonder that the stars just don't rush by
When you're only doin' 60 through this oh-so-vacant night
But it's lacking something big this time
What the hell did you expect to find
Aphrodite on a barstool by your side

Twelfth night we go
After something everyone should know
Somewhere in the distance out of sight...
Then I saw: gin mill rainfall
What do you remember if at all
Only pieces of the night...

And is it any wonder in the middle of the crowd
If you let your feet get trampled on
When the music is that loud
But you wanted to be where you are
But it looked much better from afar
A hillside in shadow
Between the people and the stars

Twelfth night we go
After something everyone should know
Somewhere in the distance out of sight...
Then I saw: gin mill rainfall
What do you remember if at all
Only pieces of the night...

It seems so distant
But still only half the night away
Where notions between your questions come too
Is it any wonder where
The pieces of the night have been...


Lyrics submitted by ang

Pieces Of The Night song meanings
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  • +2
    General Comment

    If this song "seems" to move you, and you are still young, then go get a guitar and play it. You will really like the feeling it brings out. Not that hard to learn. Just the C, G, D, Em, and A chord. A great song to get that "feeling" This was one hot albumn back in the 1990's when I owned a buy, sell, trade music store. Being an "old" guy and still feeling the value in this song is cool. Makes you want to go light one up (or drink a beer Head and Heart by America has this same effect. another song worth a little marketing is by DADA - Playboy In OuterSpace. cool thinking values

    Susanallennon February 04, 2014   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    pieces of the night is an absolutely beautiful and perfect discription of a 1 night stand. this song is about 2 people who get boozed up because they're depressed about being alone. they end up finding each other and having sex. however, in the morning it's all blured by intoxication and the girl isn't really sure what happened. the underlying theme is that sex shouldn't be meaningless but passionate and beautiful.

    GinBlossomson January 15, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Actually, I think it's about driving home from a bar or nightclub having failed to pick up, depite being desperate to do so. He's so lonely that he's talking to himself in the song.

    Regos the Saneon August 18, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Doug Hopkins’ song is a brilliant story of alcoholism. The title speaks of alcoholic blackouts. The 1st verse is about unrealistic expectation and disappointment. The chorus has a reference to Shakespeare’s comedy/soap opera 12th Night, and searching for happiness that you know that others posses, but seems out of reach for yourself. The 2nd verse takes responsibility for problems inflicted upon self, alienation and loneliness that an alcoholic feels. A separation from others even in a crowd. The outro talks of the alcoholic fog where events that happened just a few hours ago seem unreal or like old news.

    Or its a song about picking up chicks in bars and rocking out.

    RadioNationalson December 20, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this is a great song to have on with your friends while your drinking,its awesome without drinking too...too bad the gin blossoms arent around anymore...

    chisox142on July 04, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song incorporates two themes you can find in just about every Gin Blossoms song; drinking and love. It seems to me as if Doug Hopkins is writing about the drunken motives of this girl that he is with. It's their 12th night together, and they're about to have sex, but then he sees that there is nothing left of her in her alcohol and wonders what she would gain from the experience anyway. "What the hell did you expect to find? Aphrodite on a barstool by your side?" So many of us think so little of ourselves that we resort to drinking to find love... whether we know it or not. I know I sure as hell do. Anyways, this is my favorite Gin Blossoms song, and I've given my interpretation of its meaning a lot of thought. Make of it what you will.

    MelvinFrohikeon October 15, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i heard this song last night on my way home from a high school football game two towns up from where i live. i'd just hung out with some girl i'd worked with over the summer, whom for the past few weeks i thought i had a little crush on but then realized i didnt. but we just hung out cause we enjoyed each others company. anyway on the way home, we drove through another town where a girl i used to have the HUGEST crush on lived (she had no interest in me and kept having bf's). when the chorus came up, we drove by her school's football game "somewhere in the distance, out of sight." at that moment, i had the strangest feeling in the pit of my stomach haha.

    so in short, i interpret this song as a guy whos mostly moved on but then suddenly notices reflections of his past flash before his eyes. even though i'm probably totally wrong haha.

    journeyhead4everon October 17, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    12th Night refers to the last "night" of Christmas (which is, in liturgy, a 12-day holiday -- remember the carol?). The events in this song have nothing to do with a "twelfth date" or with Shakespeare -- they're happening on the night of January 5th, a bleak, dreary time of year.

    I agree it's about getting drunk, hoping to connect with someone, feeling invisible, and failing. The second-person the song is Hopkins addressing himself. "What did you expect, Aphrodite on a barstool? You thought you'd be satisfied being a cult sensation; you just weren't smart enough to know how hard it would be." He only remembers pieces of the night on purpose, because of the drinking, but he hates himself for it.

    SirenAsunderon September 16, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    That Major seventh Chord though.....

    tony101226on May 11, 2016   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Heard this the other day. Remember it well and probably my favorite Gin Blossoms song. Though not as popular as the hits, its a beautifully written, produced and performed piece of music.

    To me, definitely about a 1 night stand with a girl of the same "stature" shall we say. Only remembering "Pieces of the Night" the next morning, dealing with a hangover and the regret of once again finding only drunken, temporary solace in the arms of a woman who probably couldn't care less.

    An age-old tale told with a beautiful melody (yes that major 7th chord is a killer!) & all the more tragic when put into context with the songwriter.. who took is own life.

    Depression and inner turmoil produces the most amazing comedians, musicians, writers and songwriters. Creativity is such a gift in and of itself. So sad that it isn't enough for those who have been provided such blessings.

    harrpoe110on April 25, 2019   Link

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