This doesn't have to apply solely to romantic heartbreaks.
"all my days are spent,
all my cards are dealt,
oh the desolation grows."
The speaker has done everything in his power to struggle through life, and has no more energy left. The emptiness that he has only grows because he keeps trying, but does not get anything in return. His attempts are futile.
"Every inch revealed as my heart is pierced,
Oh my soul is now exposed."
He has been through so much that what others see of the speaker now is his essence. He has had it with the world, and the futility, that he no longer has the power to keep up the façade.
"In the oceans deep,
In the canyons steep,
Walls of granite here I stand."
The deep oceans and the steep canyons, as well as the walls of granite, are things that are not easily escaped. The situation the speaker is in at the moment seems so big (as big as oceans and canyons) and inescapable. Note that "deep" and "steep" imageries are alluding that this is the lowest point of his life, which is later contrasted with "hills." He falls deeper into despair and sees no way out of it.
"All my desperate calls,
Echo off the walls,
Back and forth then back again."
The speaker calls out for help, but the sound does not go beyond the granite walls. He feels that he is alone in this, with no one to help him out of the hardship he is facing, which is probably the dismay he feels from the futility of his endeavors.
"To believe I walk alone
Is a lie that I've been told"
Others often tell the speaker that he must be independent, and that he himself is the only one that he can and should rely on. He realizes that he is not alone in this, for whatever reasons.
"So let your heart hold fast
For this soon shall pass
Like the high tide takes the sand."
The imagery here is extended from the oceans imagery, but here, you see the beach instead of the deep oceans. The speaker is now seeing the surface, and the granite walls are no longer rocks, but rather sand. He sees that the high tide eventually takes the sand away and smoothes it out. The solitude soon passes, and the walls come down.
"At the bitter end
Salt and liquid blend
From the corner of my eye."
The speaker is crying at the end of all the hardships he had to face. The question here is whether he focuses on the word "bitter" or "end." We could assume that the emphasis is on "end," seeing as it is part of the rhyme, as well as the peak of the melody in that line. The syllables in "bitter" are the two lowest notes, which fades a bit. The speaker does not seem to be weeping, though, since there are no violent imageries, but rather subtle ones, with words such as "blend" and "salt and liquid." He only indirectly tells that he is crying.
"All the miles wrecked,
Every broken step,
Always searching, always blind."
"Wrecked" and "broken" alludes again to his failure and futility of his attempts. He sees that nothing has been accomplished, and he feels that his attempts were short-sighted in that he was "always searching, always blind." The short-sightedness and the overall message of it all passing work, but this is contrasting in that the short-sightedness is in the past as opposed to the short-sightedness that is in the present, i.e. the granite walls.
"Never fear! No, Never fear!
Never fear! No, Never fear!"
He repeats "never fear" to truly emphasize that there is nothing to be scared of. He does not extend into the reason why until the next stanza. Note that this is one of few sets of lines that uses "you" as the subject. The song is not only about the speaker; rather, he is trying to create a connection between the audience and himself by telling his stories, which is close to what the audience has experienced, and encouraging the audience strongly to "never fear."
"So let your heart hold fast,
For this soon shall pass,
There's another hill ahead."
The "hill" imagery contrasts with the earlier imageries of "oceans deep" and "canyons steep." We can conclude that "hill" does not mean another hardships, but rather a high point. He reminds the audience that whenever this passes, another high point (perhaps happiness, or a bit of satisfaction) will come. Note that he chose "hill" over any other images of height, perhaps to imply that unfortunately, it will eventually come down again.
This doesn't have to apply solely to romantic heartbreaks.
"all my days are spent, all my cards are dealt, oh the desolation grows."
The speaker has done everything in his power to struggle through life, and has no more energy left. The emptiness that he has only grows because he keeps trying, but does not get anything in return. His attempts are futile.
"Every inch revealed as my heart is pierced, Oh my soul is now exposed."
He has been through so much that what others see of the speaker now is his essence. He has had it with the world, and the futility, that he no longer has the power to keep up the façade.
"In the oceans deep, In the canyons steep, Walls of granite here I stand."
The deep oceans and the steep canyons, as well as the walls of granite, are things that are not easily escaped. The situation the speaker is in at the moment seems so big (as big as oceans and canyons) and inescapable. Note that "deep" and "steep" imageries are alluding that this is the lowest point of his life, which is later contrasted with "hills." He falls deeper into despair and sees no way out of it.
"All my desperate calls, Echo off the walls, Back and forth then back again."
The speaker calls out for help, but the sound does not go beyond the granite walls. He feels that he is alone in this, with no one to help him out of the hardship he is facing, which is probably the dismay he feels from the futility of his endeavors.
"To believe I walk alone Is a lie that I've been told"
Others often tell the speaker that he must be independent, and that he himself is the only one that he can and should rely on. He realizes that he is not alone in this, for whatever reasons.
"So let your heart hold fast For this soon shall pass Like the high tide takes the sand."
The imagery here is extended from the oceans imagery, but here, you see the beach instead of the deep oceans. The speaker is now seeing the surface, and the granite walls are no longer rocks, but rather sand. He sees that the high tide eventually takes the sand away and smoothes it out. The solitude soon passes, and the walls come down.
"At the bitter end Salt and liquid blend From the corner of my eye."
The speaker is crying at the end of all the hardships he had to face. The question here is whether he focuses on the word "bitter" or "end." We could assume that the emphasis is on "end," seeing as it is part of the rhyme, as well as the peak of the melody in that line. The syllables in "bitter" are the two lowest notes, which fades a bit. The speaker does not seem to be weeping, though, since there are no violent imageries, but rather subtle ones, with words such as "blend" and "salt and liquid." He only indirectly tells that he is crying.
"All the miles wrecked, Every broken step, Always searching, always blind."
"Wrecked" and "broken" alludes again to his failure and futility of his attempts. He sees that nothing has been accomplished, and he feels that his attempts were short-sighted in that he was "always searching, always blind." The short-sightedness and the overall message of it all passing work, but this is contrasting in that the short-sightedness is in the past as opposed to the short-sightedness that is in the present, i.e. the granite walls.
"Never fear! No, Never fear! Never fear! No, Never fear!"
He repeats "never fear" to truly emphasize that there is nothing to be scared of. He does not extend into the reason why until the next stanza. Note that this is one of few sets of lines that uses "you" as the subject. The song is not only about the speaker; rather, he is trying to create a connection between the audience and himself by telling his stories, which is close to what the audience has experienced, and encouraging the audience strongly to "never fear."
"So let your heart hold fast, For this soon shall pass, There's another hill ahead."
The "hill" imagery contrasts with the earlier imageries of "oceans deep" and "canyons steep." We can conclude that "hill" does not mean another hardships, but rather a high point. He reminds the audience that whenever this passes, another high point (perhaps happiness, or a bit of satisfaction) will come. Note that he chose "hill" over any other images of height, perhaps to imply that unfortunately, it will eventually come down again.