I think this song is about a break up. The girl has moved on or is attempting to move on without him.
In the chorus of the song when he says,"But if you were a stone then I'd be the rain/ Turn you to sand as the time slips away," he is saying that he wants to turn her into the sands of time so he can have more time with her. "If you were a tree then I'd be the earth/ Clutching your roots as you reach skyward," he is saying that he wants to hold on to her even though she is moving on without him.
The Verse:
"I am a metaphor for all the things I couldn't say/ It's never easy/ Then it hurts/ Like scratching diamonds I have tried to find my way to you/ But we're both moving in reverse"
He is saying that he is ultimately the words he did not get the chance to say to her and it hurts him to know that he can't say it to her now. He wants their relationship to progress back to boyfriend and girlfriend but instead it is digressing back to friends (maybe back to strangers for her).
The lines,"I wish that we could both find a simple way just to make it by/ Right now I'm alright if you're just fine," he wished it had worked out but he would be happy if she is happy.
When he says:
"Some nights you're a photograph fading in my memory/ Some days I feel you on my skin/ We're trading silence/ There are words that seem to steal our breath/ And I just dream about your lips"
He truly misses her and dreams about their times together.
The repetition of,"I will wait for you," signifies that he can never get over her and will wait for her until she wants to get back with him.
I think this song is about a break up. The girl has moved on or is attempting to move on without him.
In the chorus of the song when he says,"But if you were a stone then I'd be the rain/ Turn you to sand as the time slips away," he is saying that he wants to turn her into the sands of time so he can have more time with her. "If you were a tree then I'd be the earth/ Clutching your roots as you reach skyward," he is saying that he wants to hold on to her even though she is moving on without him.
The Verse: "I am a metaphor for all the things I couldn't say/ It's never easy/ Then it hurts/ Like scratching diamonds I have tried to find my way to you/ But we're both moving in reverse" He is saying that he is ultimately the words he did not get the chance to say to her and it hurts him to know that he can't say it to her now. He wants their relationship to progress back to boyfriend and girlfriend but instead it is digressing back to friends (maybe back to strangers for her).
The lines,"I wish that we could both find a simple way just to make it by/ Right now I'm alright if you're just fine," he wished it had worked out but he would be happy if she is happy.
When he says: "Some nights you're a photograph fading in my memory/ Some days I feel you on my skin/ We're trading silence/ There are words that seem to steal our breath/ And I just dream about your lips" He truly misses her and dreams about their times together.
The repetition of,"I will wait for you," signifies that he can never get over her and will wait for her until she wants to get back with him.
this is my theory of what the song means.