As far as my eyes can see
> There are Shadows approaching me
The author thinks about death approaching.
The author is not necessarily old, thinking about certainty of death may happen at any age.
> And to those I left behind
> I wanted you to Know
> You've always shared my deepest thoughts / You've always Shared my darkest hours
The author keeps fond memories of friends, has a habit of thinking about them, especially in the most intimate thought (decisions ?) and in difficult times of life.
> You follow where I go
Even death will not dissolve relations, they extend between the people still living and the dead ones.
> And oh when I'm old and wise
This line may not be about actual age but metaphorical, see below.
> Bitter words mean little to me / Heavy words that tossed and blew me
Deeply thinking about death makes us realize how many things that hurt us actually aren't important.
> Autumn Winds will blow right through me
A metaphor of death: cold can flow through your body and that's no longer important.
More poetically, after you realize what's important and what's not you don't care about things that come and go without important effects, like the wind.
> And someday in the mist of time
Not an actual moment in time. The previous lines describe a kind of permanent "frozen" state of the relation, like a museum of the past.
Following lines describe the attitude that the author wants people to remember.
> When they asked me if I knew you
> I'd smile and say you were a friend of mine
> And the sadness would be Lifted from my eyes
This may be the core of the song: when you mentally represent an overview of your entire life, any sadness for any reason eventually disappears, what actually remains important is friends, relatives and the memory of friendship.
> Oh when I'm old and wise
May mean that the author is not there yet.
(Then part of the song basically repeats the same except a few lines.)
> When they ask you if you knew me
> Remember that You were a friend of mine
The persons are reversed here: in turn, the listener is invited to think about the author, making the link mutual, two-ways.
> As the final curtain falls before my eyes
Another metaphor of death. A curtain traditionally closes ("falls") at the very end of a theater play.
* Back to the Little Prince
Notice that if you put aside the idea of death, the remaining message matches the message from the fox to the Little Prince:
> "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
I hope you enjoyed this interpretation.
I'd like to know if you agree, disagree, think about some refinement.
Life timespan is limited. Go out, smile to the people, take occasions to live emotional moments with friends and relatives, be honest and true to them, forgive imperfections. Memories of those moments will be kept and shared in your hearts forever.
Cheers!">
Old And Wise Meanings & Lyrics Discussion by GLittlePrince | SongMeanings
As far as my eyes can see
> There are Shadows approaching me
The author thinks about death approaching.
The author is not necessarily old, thinking about certainty of death may happen at any age.
> And to those I left behind
> I wanted you to Know
> You've always shared my deepest thoughts / You've always Shared my darkest hours
The author keeps fond memories of friends, has a habit of thinking about them, especially in the most intimate thought (decisions ?) and in difficult times of life.
> You follow where I go
Even death will not dissolve relations, they extend between the people still living and the dead ones.
> And oh when I'm old and wise
This line may not be about actual age but metaphorical, see below.
> Bitter words mean little to me / Heavy words that tossed and blew me
Deeply thinking about death makes us realize how many things that hurt us actually aren't important.
> Autumn Winds will blow right through me
A metaphor of death: cold can flow through your body and that's no longer important.
More poetically, after you realize what's important and what's not you don't care about things that come and go without important effects, like the wind.
> And someday in the mist of time
Not an actual moment in time. The previous lines describe a kind of permanent "frozen" state of the relation, like a museum of the past.
Following lines describe the attitude that the author wants people to remember.
> When they asked me if I knew you
> I'd smile and say you were a friend of mine
> And the sadness would be Lifted from my eyes
This may be the core of the song: when you mentally represent an overview of your entire life, any sadness for any reason eventually disappears, what actually remains important is friends, relatives and the memory of friendship.
> Oh when I'm old and wise
May mean that the author is not there yet.
(Then part of the song basically repeats the same except a few lines.)
> When they ask you if you knew me
> Remember that You were a friend of mine
The persons are reversed here: in turn, the listener is invited to think about the author, making the link mutual, two-ways.
> As the final curtain falls before my eyes
Another metaphor of death. A curtain traditionally closes ("falls") at the very end of a theater play.
* Back to the Little Prince
Notice that if you put aside the idea of death, the remaining message matches the message from the fox to the Little Prince:
> "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
I hope you enjoyed this interpretation.
I'd like to know if you agree, disagree, think about some refinement.
Life timespan is limited. Go out, smile to the people, take occasions to live emotional moments with friends and relatives, be honest and true to them, forgive imperfections. Memories of those moments will be kept and shared in your hearts forever.
Cheers!" />
I'm offering below what I think the author(s) of the song meant.
I tried not to introduce personal extras, but is that possible anyway ?
Introduction: why ? / some context about me
The sad side:
An ex coworker died last yeas in a plane crash.
My wife's mother also died last year.
My godfather is dying of multiple cancers.
There must be a reason why those events now remind me about this song.
The good side: on top of that I've had troubles with neighbors which are calming down, but all those events actually taught me to enjoy life.
Notice that I'm a fan of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
This might have enlightened me or actually biased me, what do you think ?
See at the end a link I make between this song and the book "The Little Prince".
My interpretation about the song, in one sentence.
What's most important in life is friendship+relations.
My interpretation about the song, detailed
As far as my eyes can see
There are Shadows approaching me
The author thinks about death approaching.
The author is not necessarily old, thinking about certainty of death may happen at any age.
And to those I left behind
I wanted you to Know
You've always shared my deepest thoughts / You've always Shared my darkest hours
The author keeps fond memories of friends, has a habit of thinking about them, especially in the most intimate thought (decisions ?) and in difficult times of life.
You follow where I go
Even death will not dissolve relations, they extend between the people still living and the dead ones.
And oh when I'm old and wise
This line may not be about actual age but metaphorical, see below.
Bitter words mean little to me / Heavy words that tossed and blew me
Deeply thinking about death makes us realize how many things that hurt us actually aren't important.
Autumn Winds will blow right through me
A metaphor of death: cold can flow through your body and that's no longer important.
More poetically, after you realize what's important and what's not you don't care about things that come and go without important effects, like the wind.
And someday in the mist of time
Not an actual moment in time. The previous lines describe a kind of permanent "frozen" state of the relation, like a museum of the past.
Following lines describe the attitude that the author wants people to remember.
When they asked me if I knew you
I'd smile and say you were a friend of mine
And the sadness would be Lifted from my eyes
This may be the core of the song: when you mentally represent an overview of your entire life, any sadness for any reason eventually disappears, what actually remains important is friends, relatives and the memory of friendship.
Oh when I'm old and wise
May mean that the author is not there yet.
(Then part of the song basically repeats the same except a few lines.)
When they ask you if you knew me
Remember that You were a friend of mine
The persons are reversed here: in turn, the listener is invited to think about the author, making the link mutual, two-ways.
As the final curtain falls before my eyes
Another metaphor of death. A curtain traditionally closes ("falls") at the very end of a theater play.
Back to the Little Prince
Notice that if you put aside the idea of death, the remaining message matches the message from the fox to the Little Prince:
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
I hope you enjoyed this interpretation.
I'd like to know if you agree, disagree, think about some refinement.
Life timespan is limited. Go out, smile to the people, take occasions to live emotional moments with friends and relatives, be honest and true to them, forgive imperfections. Memories of those moments will be kept and shared in your hearts forever.
Comparing with other comments, I notice that in my interpretation the song does not address:
Comparing with other comments, I notice that in my interpretation the song does not address:
actually saying goodbye to people (it does not prevent but is more a thought experiment)
having lost contact with anyone/feeling alone (it's rather saying that even death does not prevent that "you follow where I go)
sadness per se (rather peace of mind, though the song tone is IMHO extremely emotional)
bad things to come (I think "shadows" only represent death, but one may put any coming danger behind that)
last moments of life (rather a philosophical experiment that you can do at any age)
That said, the emotional tone...
>
actually saying goodbye to people (it does not prevent but is more a thought experiment)
having lost contact with anyone/feeling alone (it's rather saying that even death does not prevent that "you follow where I go)
sadness per se (rather peace of mind, though the song tone is IMHO extremely emotional)
bad things to come (I think "shadows" only represent death, but one may put any coming danger behind that)
last moments of life (rather a philosophical experiment that you can do at any age)
That said, the emotional tone of the song definitely brings many of those emotions and topics when listening, depending on the listener's situation.
On related topics, if you need courage when facing some difficult moment in life, you can read the poem "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley.
Hello all,
I'm offering below what I think the author(s) of the song meant. I tried not to introduce personal extras, but is that possible anyway ?
The sad side: An ex coworker died last yeas in a plane crash. My wife's mother also died last year. My godfather is dying of multiple cancers. There must be a reason why those events now remind me about this song.
The good side: on top of that I've had troubles with neighbors which are calming down, but all those events actually taught me to enjoy life.
Notice that I'm a fan of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This might have enlightened me or actually biased me, what do you think ? See at the end a link I make between this song and the book "The Little Prince".
What's most important in life is friendship+relations.
The author thinks about death approaching. The author is not necessarily old, thinking about certainty of death may happen at any age.
The author keeps fond memories of friends, has a habit of thinking about them, especially in the most intimate thought (decisions ?) and in difficult times of life.
Even death will not dissolve relations, they extend between the people still living and the dead ones.
This line may not be about actual age but metaphorical, see below.
Deeply thinking about death makes us realize how many things that hurt us actually aren't important.
A metaphor of death: cold can flow through your body and that's no longer important. More poetically, after you realize what's important and what's not you don't care about things that come and go without important effects, like the wind.
Not an actual moment in time. The previous lines describe a kind of permanent "frozen" state of the relation, like a museum of the past. Following lines describe the attitude that the author wants people to remember.
This may be the core of the song: when you mentally represent an overview of your entire life, any sadness for any reason eventually disappears, what actually remains important is friends, relatives and the memory of friendship.
May mean that the author is not there yet.
(Then part of the song basically repeats the same except a few lines.)
The persons are reversed here: in turn, the listener is invited to think about the author, making the link mutual, two-ways.
Another metaphor of death. A curtain traditionally closes ("falls") at the very end of a theater play.
Notice that if you put aside the idea of death, the remaining message matches the message from the fox to the Little Prince:
I hope you enjoyed this interpretation. I'd like to know if you agree, disagree, think about some refinement.
Life timespan is limited. Go out, smile to the people, take occasions to live emotional moments with friends and relatives, be honest and true to them, forgive imperfections. Memories of those moments will be kept and shared in your hearts forever.
Cheers!
Comparing with other comments, I notice that in my interpretation the song does not address:
Comparing with other comments, I notice that in my interpretation the song does not address:
actually saying goodbye to people (it does not prevent but is more a thought experiment) having lost contact with anyone/feeling alone (it's rather saying that even death does not prevent that "you follow where I go) sadness per se (rather peace of mind, though the song tone is IMHO extremely emotional) bad things to come (I think "shadows" only represent death, but one may put any coming danger behind that) last moments of life (rather a philosophical experiment that you can do at any age) That said, the emotional tone...
>
That said, the emotional tone of the song definitely brings many of those emotions and topics when listening, depending on the listener's situation.
On related topics, if you need courage when facing some difficult moment in life, you can read the poem "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley.