Mother doesn't know where love has gone
She says it must be youth
That keeps us feeling strong
I see it in her face, that's turned to ice
And when she smiles she shows the lines of sacrifice

And now I know what they're saying
'Cause our sun begins to fade
And we made our love on wasteland
And through the barricades

Father made my history
He fought for what he thought
Would set us somehow free
He taught me what to say in school
I learned it off by heart
But now that's torn in two

And now I know what they're saying
In the music of the parade
We made our love on wasteland
And through the barricades

Born on different sides of life
We feel the same and feel all of this strife
So come to me when I'm asleep
We'll cross the line
And dance upon the street

And now I know what they're saying
As the drums begin to fade
And we made our love on wasteland
And through the barricades

Oh, turn around and I'll be there
Oh, there's a scar through my heart but I'll bare it again
Oh, I thought we were the human race
But we were just another borderline case
And the stars reach down and tell us
There's always one escape

Oh, I don't know where love has gone
And in this trouble land
Desperation keeps us strong
Friday's child is full of soul
With nothing left to lose, there's everything to go

And now I know what they're are saying
It's a terrible beauty we've made
So we make our love on wasteland
And through the barricades

Now I know what they're are saying
As hearts go to their graves
We made our love on wasteland
Oh, and through the barricades


Lyrics submitted by bambi3k, edited by johnujf, glyniscste

Through The Barricades Lyrics as written by Gary James Kemp

Lyrics © REFORMATION MUSIC INC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Through The Barricades song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

10 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    Gary Kemp himself in an interview said it is a love story set against the troubles in Northern Ireland.

    barry10153on December 03, 2015   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.