Hard to Imagine

I think this song is about depression and how it changes the person experiencing it but also how the inflicted person can't explain what they're going through; maybe with the line "I tell a story, no one listen that long" they try to reach out but no one listens.

This is just my two cents, of course.

I think this is a war reflection song. Mainly, an older war, where people could only see the coverage on black and white TV. The story is about what is really going on behind all of the news, a story told by a veteran of that war, but no one wants to hear it. Then the second verse is about the veteran flashing back.

Tear into yourself cuttings on your arm Heart-a-beatin', tickin' like a bomb After having seen all that they saw

Then after they get back to the home country everythings changed. It's hard for them to grasp.

That is what I think of whe I hear this song.

when i listen to this song it reminds me of how if my parents looked after me more as a young child i wouldnt have been going throught the shit i am now and that its hard to imagine that i will be here in a few years time having a good life. im guessing its about someine they knew or heard of like that as thats what i get out of most of their music.

it could also be baout how the band wont change and theres no point interviewing them all the time

This is a tough one. Maybe about people's expectation that they be a grunge band and never change? "Paint a picture using only grey"- saying it's hard to express themselves using only one musical style (especially as grey can be associated with depression, like grunge). "Things were different then, all is different now"- maybe saying that they have grown from when they recorded Ten.

i could go with the evolving from when they recorded ten idea, except this was recorded a year after Ten, and they had songs like this recorded before this.

what i get from this is that its about how its hard for us to imagine horrible things that other people experience, how trauma can affect people to the extent that they cannot act as tho they never lived thru it..(all is different now)...if ya get my rambling...

...i think its on some soundtrack, and the scene in the film (that its playd in) is meant to represent the song perfectly - so if anyone can suss that one out theyll hav the answer...

I posted a possible meaning for this song two years ago. I've just read over the lyrics again and I believe my previous meaning was wrong.

The song seems to be saying..."It's hard to imagine".

That's it. He's not talking about imagining anything in particular, just making a comment that it's difficult for people to use their imaginations. Possibly based on an experience where he was trying to explain a past event to someone who just could not understand it.

I'm going with the war-explanation by flipflingo. It's seems to come partly from a veterans perspective, especially the chorus. Trying to explain but describing war seems impossible every time. Hard to imagine for anyone who hasnt 'been there'.

'light your pillow, lay back, watch the flames' I think describes someone watching a warmovie on tv in a comfortable position. Getting a far away and dreamy perspective on the horrors of war.

maybe also in verse one Ed tries to show the difference between pictures (movie) and someone telling the story first hand. The movie gets alot more views than the storyteller gets listeners.

I think this one is about being in prison

Does everyone remember the "Mamason" trilogy? I believe that it has something to do with those 3 songs about the young man on death row.

"Paint a picture, using only gray Light your pillow, lay back, watch the flames I tell a story, no one listen that long It's hard to imagine"

I believe he is still in his prison cell awaiting the day for his execution. He said he would tell a story but no one would listen that long. Like he tried to explain what he was going through and all the crap that happened, but no one was willing to listen to him.

"Tear into yourself cuttings on your arm Heart-a-beatin', tickin' like a bomb After having seen all that they saw It's hard to imagine"

If you remember in the song footsteps he mentions self mutilation also. He says his heart is beating, ticking like a bomb, to me it means that he is reliving all the murders while he awaits his own death. After having seen all that they saw....it means to me that he couldn't imagine himself doing something like this.

As Eddie has stated, the meaning to their songs are what you feel the mean. It can change the next time you hear it!!