The key to this song meaning is the title - A Matter of Time - Which means that something is inevitable, was always going to happen, something you can't stop from helping.
He obviously meets someone, perfect
"not a care in the world, not a burden on your mind... it was a matter of time.." and from that moment there entire story together, the love and the heartbreak was all inevitable.
The lyrics then point to not a happy relationship, but a troubled one, a paranoid love.. "there's a panic in the house and its bound to surface... walking through the front door makes me nervous".
He then recalls when things were good for them, in the better days
"When we first met, headstrong and filled with doubt
Made just enough hustling tables that summer to take you out
I was fallin' back on forever when you told me about your heart
You laid it on the line... it was a matter of time..."
Then he goes back to things being sour now, wondering why and why it can't work, they love eachother it should be all that matters, it should be simple:
"We found ourselves a place, We belong in it forever
Ain't that what it's all about? Make a promise and keep it
Come hell or high water, We'd figure it out"
Can't you see that it's tearing me up inside?
Look what's laying at our feet
That's the wreckage of broken dreams
And burned out halos
And it's here on our street
Here he's acknowledging the ruin of the relationship, its here at their feet, everything they dreamed of ended, burnt out halos.
The overall song to me is entirely about this - everything about their relationship, from when they met and she was perfect, to when they had something good together, to the paranoia, the jealousy and then the end of the relationship. All of this, the good and the bad, was always going to happen, it was just a matter of time.
As an aside the best thing about this song for me is the paranoia absent from some of TK's more recent work.
The key to this song meaning is the title - A Matter of Time - Which means that something is inevitable, was always going to happen, something you can't stop from helping.
He obviously meets someone, perfect "not a care in the world, not a burden on your mind... it was a matter of time.." and from that moment there entire story together, the love and the heartbreak was all inevitable.
The lyrics then point to not a happy relationship, but a troubled one, a paranoid love.. "there's a panic in the house and its bound to surface... walking through the front door makes me nervous".
He then recalls when things were good for them, in the better days "When we first met, headstrong and filled with doubt Made just enough hustling tables that summer to take you out I was fallin' back on forever when you told me about your heart You laid it on the line... it was a matter of time..."
Then he goes back to things being sour now, wondering why and why it can't work, they love eachother it should be all that matters, it should be simple: "We found ourselves a place, We belong in it forever Ain't that what it's all about? Make a promise and keep it Come hell or high water, We'd figure it out"
Can't you see that it's tearing me up inside? Look what's laying at our feet That's the wreckage of broken dreams And burned out halos And it's here on our street Here he's acknowledging the ruin of the relationship, its here at their feet, everything they dreamed of ended, burnt out halos.
The overall song to me is entirely about this - everything about their relationship, from when they met and she was perfect, to when they had something good together, to the paranoia, the jealousy and then the end of the relationship. All of this, the good and the bad, was always going to happen, it was just a matter of time.
As an aside the best thing about this song for me is the paranoia absent from some of TK's more recent work.