Hollow Years Lyrics
i think i finally know the exact same meaning of this song, here it goes... I wont pay attention to the verses as the real core is in the chorus, I understand the whole thing is about growing up, getting mature, and being happy: "Carry me to the shoreline, bury me in the sand, walk me across the waters" could be interpreted as how life sucks sometimes and makes us feel so down. "And maybe youll understand" means that after youve been through all that pain MAYBE youll "get it" if youre strong/brave/mature enough, aha? "Once the stone youre crawling under is lifted off your shoulders, once the cloud thats raining over your head disappears, the noise that youll hear is the crashing down of hollow years" Here is where the song gets powerful, it means that once youve left all your baggage and your issues behind and accepted reality, you finally begin to be happy "the stone is lifted off your shoulders" and "the cloud disappears" its like you just started living, and finally the term "hollow years" mean literally all that time in ur life when you still didnt "get it", all those years you felt miserable, but you are happy now, and that the noise that you are hearing is nothing more than the crashing down of those hollow years. hope makes sense to you, cheers.
Totally agree. In an answer that Petrucci gave in his forum, about how he creates the songs and lyrics, he stated that usually first comes the melody and then he arranges the words, taking very special care to the sound of those words and how they get fit in the melody.
Totally agree. In an answer that Petrucci gave in his forum, about how he creates the songs and lyrics, he stated that usually first comes the melody and then he arranges the words, taking very special care to the sound of those words and how they get fit in the melody.
If we take close attention, the melody when it explains -troubles- its downbeat, kinda sad, but when it comes to the chorus when talks about relieve and "lifting problems over shoulders" it gets more merryer, specially in the concert of Budokan, it almost sounds like a Triumphant tune....
If we take close attention, the melody when it explains -troubles- its downbeat, kinda sad, but when it comes to the chorus when talks about relieve and "lifting problems over shoulders" it gets more merryer, specially in the concert of Budokan, it almost sounds like a Triumphant tune.
so i get this meaning, and, adding my personal experience, now, after three years of deep depression due to a vast amout of problems that stacked up, now that i have worked all of them out, its true, somehow i can "hear" the crashing down of all that.
I dont consider them "hollow" because even the bad stuff is useful, but yes, its a triumphant sound to hear that part "crash down" specially when you had to work hard to make em fall.
And about the theory of suicide.... I think its impossible and also a "cliche" of all rock players talking about suicide.
AND, who suicides ONCE (after) their "stones" have been lifted? ;-)
This song makes me cry everytime i hear it... but of happiness. ( its a mixture, when i remember what i felt and lived during those "hollow years" and happiness to had the strenght to fight trhought them and now being a winner over it) its causes a powerful mix of feelings into me, its awesome how music can explain things that words can´t.
this is one of my favorite dream theater songs
"She'll give you all the signs She'll tell you everything Then turn around and walk away"
I think most of us can relate to that in some way
@oliverbakeman but depending on how you interpret that, because is one of the trickiest parts of the song, you will fit into the bucket of "everyone else who didn't go through depression / growing or whatever you can call hollow years". But is totally correct, I also think that that's the purpose of this paragraph, it expands the universe of the people who can relate to it by making it as common as a romantic relationship
@oliverbakeman but depending on how you interpret that, because is one of the trickiest parts of the song, you will fit into the bucket of "everyone else who didn't go through depression / growing or whatever you can call hollow years". But is totally correct, I also think that that's the purpose of this paragraph, it expands the universe of the people who can relate to it by making it as common as a romantic relationship
I heard from one of my friends that its lyrics is about divorce, when the marriage years of a couple become hollow, thus the title. The stone meant a heavy burden and the cloud probably meant problems and if these things would be taken away, the hollow years will crash down and come to an end.. I too believe that it's what the song probably meant. ^_^
I really hate when people come onto song meaning and say how much they like a song, yet give no constructive contribution. Right let's discuss how great the solo is on a lyrical interpretation site. Onto interp - I always thought it was the divorce story. Upinthesky has it down perfectly. He's the kind of man who will leave his family on a whim, not talk about his problems, and not really care. She's the kind of girl who will work hard for it, tell you her problems, and when the fall on deaf ears, she'll walk away. The course is like getting out of a bad relationship you thought was good, you begin to see things from an objective persepctive and realize it wasnt' so good. Once the cloud disappears, you will see how hollow the years have really been.
I haven't gone much into analyzing this song, just heard it a lot while listening to my cds, and yes the Budokan version is so much better with the Petrucci solo. But I believe the first verse is about a father leaving his family of course, and the 2nd is speaking of the daughter of that man, perhaps her mother began to date another, and she gives the signs she ready for a new father, but really she never will be, and just wishes her dad would return.
I would have to agree with the assumption that it is about the break up of a family. Once the cloud thats raining over your head disappears, the noise that youll hear is the crashing down of hollow years. it has to refer to when all pretence is gone and all the pointless struggling ceases you see the waste of those years.
It's definitely not about suicide. It's about human relationships,about a guy and a girl, finding out after years(hollow years, due to lack of knowledge) that they are so different. The break up(or something else...for example, accepting how things are set up and making a new beginning) brings salvation and peace of mind, probably for both of them. A great song.
Forgot about the all important chorus! This interpretation is semi-metaphorical
"Carry me to the shoreline Bury me in the sand Walk me across the water And maybe you'll understand"
The concept here is that sometimes we are weak and we fall, we need someone to care for us, to help us out. I love the metaphor of the beach. What he wants you to do, in my opinion, is support him, get him to the shoreline(be there for him), bury him in the sand(take him away from his problems), walk him across the water(take him to your end, there is a vast ocean between the two of you) and maybe you'll understand(because now you have seen BOTH sides).
"Once the stone You're crawling under Is lifted off your shoulders Once the cloud that's raining Over your head disappears The noise that you'll hear Is the crashing down of Hollow Years"
This could be any number of people speaking. The concept, I think, is this:
When you are finally relieved of your pain, when someone finally comes and sets you free from your personal hell, when you are released from the cage of your troubles.. you will realize that it was all meaningless. That pain and suffering is gone and worthless to you now. This is now, that was then.
This does kind of support the suicide theory, as all the bad goes away at once when you die(theoretically) but, again, I don't feel the verses support the idea of a suicide. Occam's razor makes me think relationship
You're all wrong. This song is about Jack Bauer's fake death between 24's season 4 and season 5. Wait a minute, that is not possible, since this song was written in the 90s, and the TV show was aired 10 years later... Anyway Here's the breakdown.
He's just the kind of man You hear about
-- Jack Bauer changed his name/identity, and became an ordinary worker.
Who leaves his family for An easy out
-- He left his family (his daughter) and made her think he's dead.
They never saw the signs He never said a word He couldn't take another day
-- Jack disappeared just like that. At the end of season 4. He couldn't take "another day", well, it had been a long day.
Chorus Carry me to the shoreline Bury me in the sand Walk me across the water And maybe you'll understand
-- Jack is supposed to be dead. So he says "bury me in the sand". "The water" is referring to the ending of season 6 (Jack gazing at the Pacific Ocean). 24 was set in Los Angeles, California -- they had nice beaches and shorelines there.
Once the stone You're crawling under Is lifted off your shoulders Once the cloud that's raining Over your head disappears The noise that you'll hear Is the crashing down of Hollow Years
-- This verse refers to the terrorists. "The stone" is their WMD, and "the cloud" is the mushroom cloud of the nuclear bomb. "The crashing down" could refer to the explosion of the bomb (season 2 and 6), or the failure of the attack (season 4).
She's not the kind of girl You hear about She'll never want another She'll never be without She'll give you all the signs She'll tell you everything Then turn around and walk away
-- This verse is about Jack's daughter, Kim. She'll never want another man to be her father. Now that her father is (supposedly) dead, she'll try to turn around and walk away from all the sadness in her life.
I think its about dealing with Suicide. Its A great song