Steppin Out Lyrics

Lyric discussion by whoeverunomeaz 

Cover art for Steppin Out lyrics by Joe Jackson

This song 'Steppin Out' is a song about death and the afterlife. The first verse is about the materialistice world that humans have manifested. The mist on the window is the haze that falls over our 'last breath' as we are passing into the threshold of the afterlife. Dry your eyes is referring to the emotional response from our life flashing before our eyes, but if we 'look' and 'dry our eyes,' we'll see the spendor of Heaven. The second verse refers to the perfection and 'light' of Heaven-- that there will be no more fear or wants. 'Get into a car and drive to the other side' is the metaphor of our journey into the afterlife. The chorus refers to the fact that all of us will face our death; that we step into the 'unknown' and 'feared' night (our death), which is really the 'light' of our afterlife. Third verse again refers to our aging process and how quickly our life passes before and the fact of leaving all of our worldly possessions behind. The fourth verse refers to the restoration to our perfect and child-like selves in the afterlife. The taxi is a metaphor for our shared life experiences with other humans and our commonality that we all our on a 'ride' that ends with our deaths. 'We'll be there in just a while if you follow me' either refers to the fact that the speaker is aware and has already come to grips that life is really a 'short ride,' or it could be a metaphor for Jesus 'leading us to the Promised Land.'

I think you are on to something but I don't think it is so convoluted. I see the beginning perhaps as somebody in their old age recollecting how they should have seized the opportunities of youth better.

Nice take on that, pklocek!

wow.