Lyric discussion by bmcva10 

Cover art for Hope lyrics by Jack Johnson

One of the most amazing thing about Jack's work is the ability to make his lyrics be specific enough to capture his thoughts, while also vague enough to mean something to each listener as well.

I feel like this song is hinting at religion: "Your reflection is a blur Out of focus But in confusion The frames are suddenly burnt And in the end of a roll of illusion A ghost waiting its turn Now I see can right through It’s a warning that nobody heard"

I think he's saying people get so lost in society's religious demands that they constantly compare themselves to their reflection/shadow which represents their ideal religious-self. But religions so many contradicting things that in the end, "the frames are suddenly burnt and in the end of a roll of illusion I can see a ghost waiting its turn". Meaning it comes full circle and the next ideal self is waiting to try it all over again.

"It will teach you to love what you’re afraid of After it takes away all that You learn to love"

He's saying religion wants us to appreciate the scare tactics (satan, hell, torture, pain) it uses to help gain "believers". The cost of giving that appreciation is to give up your free will to a supreme being (takes away all that you've learned to love).

"But you don’t Always Have to hold to your head Higher than your heart You better hope you’re not alone"

Practicing most religions is commonly thought of as all giving your heart out to those in need and loving your God. But really it's about self-control and patience, which are obviously mental characteristics. You better hope you're not alone - saying that we better hope we have made true relationships with those people we can see and touch around us because when you get upset or life doesn't react fairly to you, you need other people. Humans cannot be without each other.

Your echo comes back out of tune

  • you've slipped in your struggles with faith

Now you can probably get used to Reverb is just a room The problem is that there’s no truth

  • saying there is no factual evidence to back up religions, that's why it's called "faith". But for some reason we can still just accept it at face value and get used to it

It's fading way too soon The shadow is on the move And maybe you should be moving too

  • as science/technology/human progress moves forward, religion is getting left behind in it's own contradictions. he's suggesting to think for yourslef and maybe move on as well.

Just my opinion, let me know what u think.

i was thinking the same thing, excellent way of putting it

Those that have a connection to their soul would agree that this entire album of Jack's appears to be written based on speaking of the experiences of his soul.

To me this song is about your higher self, your soul. Your "shadow" is your soul. It teaches you many lessons in life and tries to make you see that the only answer is internal unconditional love.

In order to reach that inner peace you need to heed the warnings, and know that your soul has given you these tests to teach you to love yourself before you can...