I have to say I don't think "relationship" when I hear this song. To me this is the quintessential "small town band heading out to make it big" song. It's a song about ambition.
Load the car and write the note
Grab your bag and grab your coat
Tell the ones that need to know
We are headed north
One foot in and one foot back
But it don't pay to live like that
So I cut the ties and I jumped the tracks
For never to return
This is leaving, for good. Breaking ties with home and the past to go wholeheartedly into the future.
When at first I learned to speak
I used all my words to fight
With him and her and you and me
Oh but it's just a waste of time
Yeah, it's such a waste of time
The singer summarizes the life and relationships he's known in his youth, when his words were only instruments of useless frustration and anger - unlike now, when he can string them together to ensure his success (with his music).
That woman shes got eyes that shine
Like a pair of stolen polished dimes
She asked to dance, I said it's fine
I'll see you (Brooklyn) in the morning time
This woman that he's encountered somewhere along the way, she may keep him for a time, but she's not enough to deter him from his ultimate goal (of reaching Brooklyn and achieving his dream).
Three words that became hard to say:
I and love and you
What you were then I am today
Look at the things I do
Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in?
My hands, they shake, my head, it spins
Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in (x2)
I believe the singer is addressing Brooklyn directly here. He's saying "look at me (Brooklyn), I'm young and brash and ambitious, just like you were in your early days".
Dumbed down and numbed my time and age
Your dreams, the catch, this world, the cage
The highway sets the travelers' stage
All exits look the same
This, to me, is a statement - he has to move now, before he gets too old to remember what his dreams were or where he were trying to go and why it was important (this is my favorite stanza in the whole song).
It's because of this overriding hunger that he finds it harder and harder to really to care about much else in his life:
Three words that became hard to say:
I and love and you
I and love and you
I and love and you
i like it... its not about a relationship but the band
i like it... its not about a relationship but the band
the cities eyes shine... could be simply city lights and the dance is nightlife. considering the band has confirmed it was about the city and how it was thier first big city.
the cities eyes shine... could be simply city lights and the dance is nightlife. considering the band has confirmed it was about the city and how it was thier first big city.
Getting closer. This is not about a relationship with a woman. The woman is probably his mother. He is breaking away from his small town world. He sees he is beginning to act like his family. He does not like it. And once you leave this world it is difficult to come back. Brooklyn is a metaphor for the big time, New York. He hinted at that in an interview. This is why the picture on the album is of an older woman. Very retrospective. Most of the...
Getting closer. This is not about a relationship with a woman. The woman is probably his mother. He is breaking away from his small town world. He sees he is beginning to act like his family. He does not like it. And once you leave this world it is difficult to come back. Brooklyn is a metaphor for the big time, New York. He hinted at that in an interview. This is why the picture on the album is of an older woman. Very retrospective. Most of the album is. Mostly not about past romantic relationships (they are both married) but coming to terms with their aspirations. Several songs echo the breaking away from family but not trashing the family. He still values the connection (MURDER IN THE CITY) but needs to break away from the negative thoughts that hold him back.
I have to say I don't think "relationship" when I hear this song. To me this is the quintessential "small town band heading out to make it big" song. It's a song about ambition.
Load the car and write the note Grab your bag and grab your coat Tell the ones that need to know We are headed north
One foot in and one foot back But it don't pay to live like that So I cut the ties and I jumped the tracks For never to return
This is leaving, for good. Breaking ties with home and the past to go wholeheartedly into the future.
When at first I learned to speak I used all my words to fight With him and her and you and me Oh but it's just a waste of time Yeah, it's such a waste of time
The singer summarizes the life and relationships he's known in his youth, when his words were only instruments of useless frustration and anger - unlike now, when he can string them together to ensure his success (with his music).
That woman shes got eyes that shine Like a pair of stolen polished dimes She asked to dance, I said it's fine I'll see you (Brooklyn) in the morning time
This woman that he's encountered somewhere along the way, she may keep him for a time, but she's not enough to deter him from his ultimate goal (of reaching Brooklyn and achieving his dream).
Three words that became hard to say: I and love and you What you were then I am today Look at the things I do
Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in Are you aware the shape I'm in? My hands, they shake, my head, it spins Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in (x2)
I believe the singer is addressing Brooklyn directly here. He's saying "look at me (Brooklyn), I'm young and brash and ambitious, just like you were in your early days".
Dumbed down and numbed my time and age Your dreams, the catch, this world, the cage The highway sets the travelers' stage All exits look the same
This, to me, is a statement - he has to move now, before he gets too old to remember what his dreams were or where he were trying to go and why it was important (this is my favorite stanza in the whole song).
It's because of this overriding hunger that he finds it harder and harder to really to care about much else in his life:
Three words that became hard to say: I and love and you I and love and you I and love and you
i like it... its not about a relationship but the band
i like it... its not about a relationship but the band
the cities eyes shine... could be simply city lights and the dance is nightlife. considering the band has confirmed it was about the city and how it was thier first big city.
the cities eyes shine... could be simply city lights and the dance is nightlife. considering the band has confirmed it was about the city and how it was thier first big city.
Getting closer. This is not about a relationship with a woman. The woman is probably his mother. He is breaking away from his small town world. He sees he is beginning to act like his family. He does not like it. And once you leave this world it is difficult to come back. Brooklyn is a metaphor for the big time, New York. He hinted at that in an interview. This is why the picture on the album is of an older woman. Very retrospective. Most of the...
Getting closer. This is not about a relationship with a woman. The woman is probably his mother. He is breaking away from his small town world. He sees he is beginning to act like his family. He does not like it. And once you leave this world it is difficult to come back. Brooklyn is a metaphor for the big time, New York. He hinted at that in an interview. This is why the picture on the album is of an older woman. Very retrospective. Most of the album is. Mostly not about past romantic relationships (they are both married) but coming to terms with their aspirations. Several songs echo the breaking away from family but not trashing the family. He still values the connection (MURDER IN THE CITY) but needs to break away from the negative thoughts that hold him back.