I feel that this song is about losing a parent (or grandparent) and how even though you will never feel as safe as when they were alive to protect you, their love will always remain. He is thinking back to childhood memories (maybe the girl he speaks of is his sister?) and how he just wants everything to be back to the way it was when they were children and didn't have to think about death. The death of the parent has caused him to contemplate the precariousness of his own life - how we never know when we will go and what will happen afterward. He is comforted by the fact that even though he doesn't know what awaits his loved one (or himself) after death, love is something that can immortalize a person.
There's a place I'd like to go somewhere out west (probably a childhood home),
it's not specific, and the pictures show it best (he most likely was too young to remember, but can piece together what it looked like by his vague memories and the pictures he's seen).
I know there's trees I know there's sand and I know there's grass (all things that I child would have remembered),
I know it's somewhere in the past (this line lends a feeling of finality, like he knows he will never be able to return to that part of his life).
There's a girl out there who's lookin for it too (maybe just a reference to the fact that he knows he is not alone in his grief, possibly he is speaking about a sibling who would most likely be sifting through the same emotions he is),
she's not sure when she'll go or exactly what she'll do (He knows that this person is also wondering when they will die and how they will cope when it is happening).
If i am doomed am I the first one or the last? (This is the line that makes me think he is speaking about family and the girl he talks about is his sister: He knows he will die eventually, but will he be the first to die [out of all his siblings] or will he have to grieve them all like he is grieving his loved one now?)
Am I just someone from the past? (He is wondering about the possibility of reincarnation... death would be less scary if you knew you could come back. Also, there is a suggestion that reincarnation would somehow negate the individuality he has achieved in this particular life - like if he were reincarnated, his life would somehow be less special, one life in a whole string of lives that he has lived before.)
No one has to hear, the sound of people laughing at their fears, and the ocean and sun are always there, to make you happy if you're feeling scared of the darkness (I think this line is illustrating what he hopes the afterlife is like. These are the kinds of thoughts we comfort ourselves with when we are lying awake at night, dwelling on how finite our existence is. In this place, no one will have to laugh off their fear of death because they will finally know how it all ends. He knows that the ocean and the sun will always be there even after he is long gone. The permanence of these things is comforting to him because he knows that even if he comes back as someone completely different, he will get to live in the same world he loved so much before).
If I ever saw a ghost it'd change the way I think. (it would comfort him to know that there definitely is something after life has ended)
I wouldn't gasp for air if ever I did sink. (He wouldn't fight death if he knew it wasn't the end of everything)
I wouldn't struggle, I'd just let it all out fast, (This line suggests that if he knew he would get to come back to earth [reincarnated or as a ghost] he would gladly let go of his life and just get through with the whole dying business)
and then start living in the past. (this line may mean that he would miss his old life even if he did reincarnate. To me, it suggests a lingering doubt about all the thoughts he has invoked to comfort himself.)
If we hold the hand that raised the hand (This line suggests a familial relationship, like holding the hand of of your parent with the hand they raised [your hand]),
and everyone can feel the hand (Taken in the context of my interpretation of the previous line, this line could mean that he feels God is everyone's "parent" and this time God's hand is taking away someone he loves and everyone in the room can feel it. Alternatively, it could also refer to everyone being able to feel the guiding hand of their loved ones, even after death. We have a feeling that they will always be watching us and protecting us.)
and nothing's gonna change, (This line can be interpreted as either him being in denial of the death or him accepting the death, knowing life will go on. He will always be able to feel the hand, so really nothing will change.)
it could be the time we're living in, (people have much less faith in the afterlife in modern times)
we'll never feel so safe again (now that the parent is gone, and now that he has seen the end of a life firsthand, he will never be able to feel so blissfully ignorant about the end of his own life again. He also will not have his parent to comfort him when these feelings arise. This line is contrasted to the line about nothing's gonna change - he knows that things WILL change and that they never will be the same, but SOME things will remain unchanged, like love)
but love always remains (He knows that the love his parent gave to him will always be with him, and no matter what happens after death, his love for this person [and their love for him] will somehow give them eternal life. This line wraps up the whole song so nicely, in that it puts an end to all his doubts, saying that no matter what happens, you know that there is love and love will outlast everything.)
I feel that this song is about losing a parent (or grandparent) and how even though you will never feel as safe as when they were alive to protect you, their love will always remain. He is thinking back to childhood memories (maybe the girl he speaks of is his sister?) and how he just wants everything to be back to the way it was when they were children and didn't have to think about death. The death of the parent has caused him to contemplate the precariousness of his own life - how we never know when we will go and what will happen afterward. He is comforted by the fact that even though he doesn't know what awaits his loved one (or himself) after death, love is something that can immortalize a person.
There's a place I'd like to go somewhere out west (probably a childhood home), it's not specific, and the pictures show it best (he most likely was too young to remember, but can piece together what it looked like by his vague memories and the pictures he's seen). I know there's trees I know there's sand and I know there's grass (all things that I child would have remembered), I know it's somewhere in the past (this line lends a feeling of finality, like he knows he will never be able to return to that part of his life). There's a girl out there who's lookin for it too (maybe just a reference to the fact that he knows he is not alone in his grief, possibly he is speaking about a sibling who would most likely be sifting through the same emotions he is), she's not sure when she'll go or exactly what she'll do (He knows that this person is also wondering when they will die and how they will cope when it is happening). If i am doomed am I the first one or the last? (This is the line that makes me think he is speaking about family and the girl he talks about is his sister: He knows he will die eventually, but will he be the first to die [out of all his siblings] or will he have to grieve them all like he is grieving his loved one now?) Am I just someone from the past? (He is wondering about the possibility of reincarnation... death would be less scary if you knew you could come back. Also, there is a suggestion that reincarnation would somehow negate the individuality he has achieved in this particular life - like if he were reincarnated, his life would somehow be less special, one life in a whole string of lives that he has lived before.)
No one has to hear, the sound of people laughing at their fears, and the ocean and sun are always there, to make you happy if you're feeling scared of the darkness (I think this line is illustrating what he hopes the afterlife is like. These are the kinds of thoughts we comfort ourselves with when we are lying awake at night, dwelling on how finite our existence is. In this place, no one will have to laugh off their fear of death because they will finally know how it all ends. He knows that the ocean and the sun will always be there even after he is long gone. The permanence of these things is comforting to him because he knows that even if he comes back as someone completely different, he will get to live in the same world he loved so much before).
If I ever saw a ghost it'd change the way I think. (it would comfort him to know that there definitely is something after life has ended) I wouldn't gasp for air if ever I did sink. (He wouldn't fight death if he knew it wasn't the end of everything) I wouldn't struggle, I'd just let it all out fast, (This line suggests that if he knew he would get to come back to earth [reincarnated or as a ghost] he would gladly let go of his life and just get through with the whole dying business) and then start living in the past. (this line may mean that he would miss his old life even if he did reincarnate. To me, it suggests a lingering doubt about all the thoughts he has invoked to comfort himself.)
If we hold the hand that raised the hand (This line suggests a familial relationship, like holding the hand of of your parent with the hand they raised [your hand]), and everyone can feel the hand (Taken in the context of my interpretation of the previous line, this line could mean that he feels God is everyone's "parent" and this time God's hand is taking away someone he loves and everyone in the room can feel it. Alternatively, it could also refer to everyone being able to feel the guiding hand of their loved ones, even after death. We have a feeling that they will always be watching us and protecting us.) and nothing's gonna change, (This line can be interpreted as either him being in denial of the death or him accepting the death, knowing life will go on. He will always be able to feel the hand, so really nothing will change.) it could be the time we're living in, (people have much less faith in the afterlife in modern times) we'll never feel so safe again (now that the parent is gone, and now that he has seen the end of a life firsthand, he will never be able to feel so blissfully ignorant about the end of his own life again. He also will not have his parent to comfort him when these feelings arise. This line is contrasted to the line about nothing's gonna change - he knows that things WILL change and that they never will be the same, but SOME things will remain unchanged, like love) but love always remains (He knows that the love his parent gave to him will always be with him, and no matter what happens after death, his love for this person [and their love for him] will somehow give them eternal life. This line wraps up the whole song so nicely, in that it puts an end to all his doubts, saying that no matter what happens, you know that there is love and love will outlast everything.)