As I've said on other song interpretations, I do believe that the meaning of a song is subjective and dependent on the listener and what they are experiencing or have experienced. Due to this, this song, for me, has a slightly different meaning of it being about two people who love each other but are separated by distance and don't know if their love can even go anywhere.
I opened my eyes last night
'Opening the eyes' could be opening the eyes to a memory, allowing it to be viewed in one's mind. Boy 'opens his eyes' and remembers seeing Girl 'last night' (last night meaning any time in the past).
And saw you in the low light
Walking down by the bay
On the shore, staring up at the stars
That aren't there anymore
Boy recalls walking with Girl along the shore and she was watching the stars. The stars not being there anymore shows that the stars of his memory are not, at least to him, the same as the stars he sees now.
I was feeling the night grow old
And you were looking so cold
Boy remembers how the night passed and suddenly, was over, and remembers how, as the night grew deeper (older), Girl got colder. Also a metaphor for the distance- the older the night, the farther the distance.
So like an introvert
I drew my over shirt
Around my arms and began
To shiver violently before
Boy's back in the present and is chilled by the memories because he can't see Girl anymore so he draws his shirt and his arms around himself to console himself.
You happened to look
And see the tunnels all around me
Running into the dark
Underground
All the subways around
Create a great sound
Girl looks at all the ways she can communicate with or see Boy, but the great distance is darkness that is filled with great sound (busyness or other time-filling commitments).
To my motion fatigue
Farewell
Boy hates travelling, but bids farewell to this hatred so he can meet Girl.
With your ear to a seashell
You can hear the waves
In underwater caves
As if you actually were inside
A saltwater room
Boy and Girl share the memories of the beach and Girl listens to the 'ocean' in seashells so that she feels closer to Boy because they have so many memories by the water.
Time together isn't ever quite enough
What little time Boy and Girl spend together is nowhere near enough to satisfy them.
When you and I are alone
I've never felt so at home
They feel at home with each other, so if, say, Girl went to visit Boy, she is far from home, but she's still at home because she's with Boy.
What will it take to make or break this hint of love?
Only time, only time
Boy and Girl realize that they need to wait to see where their relationship is going before they can 'make or break' their feelings for each other.
Can you believe that the crew has gone
And wouldn't let me sign on
Girl has to leave to return home or wherever and Boy isn't allowed to due to obligations where he is.
All my islands have sunk
In the deep, so I can hardly relax
Or even oversleep
This is harder. The islands could be a metaphor for the distance between Boy and Girl, meaning that the farther from Boy (mainland) Girl (island) gets, the fewer islands there are and she is 'sunk' in her own life away from him.
I feel more with your hand
In mine
When we walk on the shore line
Boy feels his love more strongly when he is walking with Girl, especially along the seashore where they keep going back to in their memories.
I guess I'll never know
Why sparrows love the snow
Sparrows and snow seem like two contrasting ideas, so here, Boy could be thinking how love for someone (Girl) so vastly different could be possible, but acknowledges that it is a mystery to him.
We'll turn off all of the lights
And set this ballroom aglow
They'll finally turn off the 'lights' which, to me, based on personal experiences, could be city lights, as one (presumably Girl, because Boy seems to have the capability of returning to their shoreline) of the two is in the city while the other is farther away. Turning off the lights means they're so far away from the city, they can't see the city lights.
When we're apart whatever are you thinking of
Boy wants to know Girl better because the distance is hard to communicate over and wants to know her thoughts and if they're of him.
If this is what I call home
Why does it feel so alone
Boy is home, but he feels alone because the love of his life is not there (home is where the heart is).
So tell me darling
Do you wish we'd fall in love
Boy asks Girl if she wishes they could have a relationship rather than be friends who love each other and want to see where it goes.
All the time, all the time
Boy and Girl think all the time that they wish they could date.
This is, as I said, based largely on my personal experience of loving a guy who loves me and is very different, but we are waiting before we do anything so that we can be sure this is what we need. We're also far apart, leading to all my comments on the distance between.
>Nice interpretation! A few months ago I just happened to have this in my library because of Fireflies and I tended to simply let it shuffle when I played full library (1/month). I added it to my list of favourite songs about 2-3 weeks ago since this song pretty much fits what I feel now, esp. the city lights thing.
Anyways I think your interpretation is excellent, and I never thought about the lights things :p
>Nice interpretation! A few months ago I just happened to have this in my library because of Fireflies and I tended to simply let it shuffle when I played full library (1/month). I added it to my list of favourite songs about 2-3 weeks ago since this song pretty much fits what I feel now, esp. the city lights thing.
Anyways I think your interpretation is excellent, and I never thought about the lights things :p
As I've said on other song interpretations, I do believe that the meaning of a song is subjective and dependent on the listener and what they are experiencing or have experienced. Due to this, this song, for me, has a slightly different meaning of it being about two people who love each other but are separated by distance and don't know if their love can even go anywhere.
I opened my eyes last night
'Opening the eyes' could be opening the eyes to a memory, allowing it to be viewed in one's mind. Boy 'opens his eyes' and remembers seeing Girl 'last night' (last night meaning any time in the past).
And saw you in the low light Walking down by the bay On the shore, staring up at the stars That aren't there anymore
Boy recalls walking with Girl along the shore and she was watching the stars. The stars not being there anymore shows that the stars of his memory are not, at least to him, the same as the stars he sees now.
I was feeling the night grow old And you were looking so cold
Boy remembers how the night passed and suddenly, was over, and remembers how, as the night grew deeper (older), Girl got colder. Also a metaphor for the distance- the older the night, the farther the distance.
So like an introvert I drew my over shirt Around my arms and began To shiver violently before
Boy's back in the present and is chilled by the memories because he can't see Girl anymore so he draws his shirt and his arms around himself to console himself.
You happened to look And see the tunnels all around me Running into the dark Underground All the subways around Create a great sound
Girl looks at all the ways she can communicate with or see Boy, but the great distance is darkness that is filled with great sound (busyness or other time-filling commitments).
To my motion fatigue Farewell
Boy hates travelling, but bids farewell to this hatred so he can meet Girl.
With your ear to a seashell You can hear the waves In underwater caves As if you actually were inside A saltwater room
Boy and Girl share the memories of the beach and Girl listens to the 'ocean' in seashells so that she feels closer to Boy because they have so many memories by the water.
Time together isn't ever quite enough
What little time Boy and Girl spend together is nowhere near enough to satisfy them.
When you and I are alone I've never felt so at home
They feel at home with each other, so if, say, Girl went to visit Boy, she is far from home, but she's still at home because she's with Boy.
What will it take to make or break this hint of love? Only time, only time
Boy and Girl realize that they need to wait to see where their relationship is going before they can 'make or break' their feelings for each other.
Can you believe that the crew has gone And wouldn't let me sign on
Girl has to leave to return home or wherever and Boy isn't allowed to due to obligations where he is.
All my islands have sunk In the deep, so I can hardly relax Or even oversleep
This is harder. The islands could be a metaphor for the distance between Boy and Girl, meaning that the farther from Boy (mainland) Girl (island) gets, the fewer islands there are and she is 'sunk' in her own life away from him.
I feel more with your hand In mine When we walk on the shore line
Boy feels his love more strongly when he is walking with Girl, especially along the seashore where they keep going back to in their memories.
I guess I'll never know Why sparrows love the snow
Sparrows and snow seem like two contrasting ideas, so here, Boy could be thinking how love for someone (Girl) so vastly different could be possible, but acknowledges that it is a mystery to him.
We'll turn off all of the lights And set this ballroom aglow
They'll finally turn off the 'lights' which, to me, based on personal experiences, could be city lights, as one (presumably Girl, because Boy seems to have the capability of returning to their shoreline) of the two is in the city while the other is farther away. Turning off the lights means they're so far away from the city, they can't see the city lights.
When we're apart whatever are you thinking of
Boy wants to know Girl better because the distance is hard to communicate over and wants to know her thoughts and if they're of him.
If this is what I call home Why does it feel so alone
Boy is home, but he feels alone because the love of his life is not there (home is where the heart is).
So tell me darling Do you wish we'd fall in love
Boy asks Girl if she wishes they could have a relationship rather than be friends who love each other and want to see where it goes.
All the time, all the time
Boy and Girl think all the time that they wish they could date.
This is, as I said, based largely on my personal experience of loving a guy who loves me and is very different, but we are waiting before we do anything so that we can be sure this is what we need. We're also far apart, leading to all my comments on the distance between.
>Nice interpretation! A few months ago I just happened to have this in my library because of Fireflies and I tended to simply let it shuffle when I played full library (1/month). I added it to my list of favourite songs about 2-3 weeks ago since this song pretty much fits what I feel now, esp. the city lights thing.
Anyways I think your interpretation is excellent, and I never thought about the lights things :p
>Nice interpretation! A few months ago I just happened to have this in my library because of Fireflies and I tended to simply let it shuffle when I played full library (1/month). I added it to my list of favourite songs about 2-3 weeks ago since this song pretty much fits what I feel now, esp. the city lights thing.
Anyways I think your interpretation is excellent, and I never thought about the lights things :p