Post subject: The best...song about coping with death
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 10:23 pm
Epitome of cool
Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:47 am Posts: 27904 Location: Philadelphia Gender: Male
Long Road vs. Light Years vs. Come Back
Lonog Road
and i wished for so long, cannot stay all the precious moments, cannot stay it's not like wings have fallen, cannot stay but still something's missing, i cannot say yeah
holding hands are daughters and sons and their faiths are falling down down down down i have wished for so long how i wish for you today
will i walk the long road the long road cannot stay the long road there's no need to say goodbye say goodbye all the friends and family all the memories going round round round i have wished for so long how i wish for you today
and the wind keeps roarin' and the sky keeps turning grey and the sun is setting the sun will rise another day
i have wished for so long how i wish for you today i have wished for so long how i wish for you today
will i walk the long road we all walk the long road will i walk the long road we all walk the long road
Light Years
i've used hammers made out of wood i have played games with pieces and rules i undeciphered tricks at the bar but now you're gone, i haven't figured out why i've come up with riddles and jokes about war i've figured out numbers and what they're for i've understood feelings and i've understood words but how could you be taken away?
and wherever you've gone and wherever we might go it don't seem fair...today just disappeared your light's reflected now, reflected from afar we were but stones, your light made us stars
with heavy breath, awakened regrets back pages and days alone that could have been spent, together.. but we were miles apart every inch between us becomes light years now no time to be void or save up on life you got to spend it all..
and wherever you've gone and wherever we might go it don't seem fair...you seemed to like it here your light's reflected now, reflected from afar we were but stones, your light made us stars
and wherever you've gone and wherever we might go it don't seem fair...today just disappeared your light's reflected now, reflected from afar we were but stones, your light made us stars
Come Back
If I keep holding out Will the light shine through? Under this broken roof It's only rain that I feel I've been wishin' out the days Oh oh oh Come back
I have been planning out All that I'd say to you Since you slipped away Know that I still remain true I've been wishin' out the days Please say that if you hadn't have gone now I wouldn't have lost you another way From wherever you are Oh oh oh oh Come back
And these days, they linger on, yeh, yeh And in the night, I've been waiting for A real possibility that I may meet you in my dreams I go to sleep
If I don't fall apart Will my memory stay clear? So you had to go And I had to remain here But the strangest thing to date So far away and yet you feel so close I'm not going to question it any other way There must be an open door for you To come back
And the days they linger on, yeh Every night I'm waiting for Is the real possibility that I may need to in my dream And Sometimes you're there and you're talking back to me Come the morning I could swear you're next to me And it's ok It's ok it's ok
I'll be here Come back, come back I'll be here Come back, come back I'll be here Come back, come back Oooooooo Oooooooo Oooooooo
Of these three songs, Long Road relies more on imagery than the other two. All three songs offer emotional confessions about coping with death, but Long Road’s lyrics are the most visual and metaphorical:
“Holding hands are daughters and sonsâ€
“And the wind keeps roaring, and the sky keeps turning greyâ€
“And the sun is setting, the sun will rise another dayâ€
Long Road is the slowest of the three songs and the most musically simple. The organ adds to the melancholy the narrator both feels and observes; this can be said for the music of the song in general as well. The lyrics are also wonderfully simple, but the music places the listener at the same funeral as the narrator and ultimately lets you inside of his emotional state as well as the lyrics do. If I had to describe the music in one word, I’d probably choose the word “somber,†which fits perfectly thematically.
“I have wished for so long, how I wish for you today.†Simple, elegant and beautiful.
Light Years, on the other hand, is an entirely different animal. There is no setting like in the previous song, and it focuses on the confusion of a death from the perspective of someone left behind more so than the grief. I love the song, but looking at it objectively (given the topic it addresses), it has some problems.
Lyrically, it’s hit or miss. Everything leading up to the first chorus is clunky. I understand the narrator’s point of not being able to grasp an understanding of why that particular person had to die, but it just doesn’t work that well as written. The second verse offers a bit of lyrical redemption if only for the line “No time to be void or save up on life, you’ve got to spend it all.†This verse is more personal, hence more affecting.
The chorus, however, is fantastic. “We were but stones—your light made us stars†contains a beautiful sentiment which can ultimately be construed as the narrator’s acceptance of the person’s death and his appreciation and love for the deceased. The song needs more lines like this, especially in the damn verses.
And finally, we have Come Back. It’s probably the catchiest of the three songs, given the ultra-relatable lyrics and the gorgeous R&B guitar work. The music of this song, much like Long Road, gives as a good amount of emotional insight into the narrator’s frame of mind as the lyrics, most notably the guitar solo after the final verse (but before the final chorus). Then that cock-rock guitar kicks in and the narrator screams his plea for a reunion during the coda, and the listener feels the raw emotion the separation has created.
The lyrics are nothing groundbreaking, but there is one line that strikes me each time I hear it:
“I have been planning out all that I’d say to you.â€
This line speaks volumes because of the brutal honesty it insinuates. The narrator misses this person so much that he actually imagines conversations that may very well never take place, but finds some sort of solace in the hypothetical hope of conversing with that certain person again. The desperation is haunting.
My vote for the best song about death and the struggle of coping it with it goes to Long Road. Light Years and Come Back are both good, solid songs in their own right, but neither possesses the poignancy of Long Road either lyrically or musically.
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Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:14 pm Posts: 15317 Location: Concord, NC Gender: Male
personally, i prefer light years, hands down. nothing against long road, but light years just...eh, i can't explain it.
let me just say that the first time i heard the line "we were but stones, your light made us stars" i started to choke up. and that shit doesnt happen very often.
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Of these three songs, Long Road relies more on imagery than the other two. All three songs offer emotional confessions about coping with death, but Long Road’s lyrics are the most visual and metaphorical:
“Holding hands are daughters and sonsâ€
“And the wind keeps roaring, and the sky keeps turning greyâ€
“And the sun is setting, the sun will rise another dayâ€
Long Road is the slowest of the three songs and the most musically simple. The organ adds to the melancholy the narrator both feels and observes; this can be said for the music of the song in general as well. The lyrics are also wonderfully simple, but the music places the listener at the same funeral as the narrator and ultimately lets you inside of his emotional state as well as the lyrics do. If I had to describe the music in one word, I’d probably choose the word “somber,†which fits perfectly thematically.
“I have wished for so long, how I wish for you today.†Simple, elegant and beautiful.
Light Years, on the other hand, is an entirely different animal. There is no setting like in the previous song, and it focuses on the confusion of a death from the perspective of someone left behind more so than the grief. I love the song, but looking at it objectively (given the topic it addresses), it has some problems.
Lyrically, it’s hit or miss. Everything leading up to the first chorus is clunky. I understand the narrator’s point of not being able to grasp an understanding of why that particular person had to die, but it just doesn’t work that well as written. The second verse offers a bit of lyrical redemption if only for the line “No time to be void or save up on life, you’ve got to spend it all.†This verse is more personal, hence more affecting.
The chorus, however, is fantastic. “We were but stones—your light made us stars†contains a beautiful sentiment which can ultimately be construed as the narrator’s acceptance of the person’s death and his appreciation and love for the deceased. The song needs more lines like this, especially in the damn verses.
And finally, we have Come Back. It’s probably the catchiest of the three songs, given the ultra-relatable lyrics and the gorgeous R&B guitar work. The music of this song, much like Long Road, gives as a good amount of emotional insight into the narrator’s frame of mind as the lyrics, most notably the guitar solo after the final verse (but before the final chorus). Then that cock-rock guitar kicks in and the narrator screams his plea for a reunion during the coda, and the listener feels the raw emotion the separation has created.
The lyrics are nothing groundbreaking, but there is one line that strikes me each time I hear it:
“I have been planning out all that I’d say to you.â€
This line speaks volumes because of the brutal honesty it insinuates. The narrator misses this person so much that he actually imagines conversations that may very well never take place, but finds some sort of solace in the hypothetical hope of conversing with that certain person again. The desperation is haunting.
My vote for the best song about death and the struggle of coping it with it goes to Long Road. Light Years and Come Back are both good, solid songs in their own right, but neither possesses the poignancy of Long Road either lyrically or musically.
excellent job, Frank..I agree with Long Road. Lyrically, musically, emotionally, it may be PJ's finest work.
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Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 11:36 pm Posts: 25824 Location: south jersey
long road was the first song i thought of. to me, its the perfect song for this subject. infact, ive written "we all walk the long road, there's no need to say goodbye" on a number of funeral cards
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after all, to me, come back is the most personal, most emotional of the three... and the one that hit me the hardest and still has an impact on me...
oh and hearing it live helped, too...
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These are 3 top-notch PJ songs in my opinion. I disagree with you when you assert that the verses to Light Years are "clunky." I think the purpose is clearly to bring to life that utterly confused stuper a person finds his/herself in upon learning of the death of a loved one. I think it does that perfectly.
To pick one of these is very difficult. LY is my favorite Binural song, Come Back is my favorite s/t song, and LR is just plain beautiful.
I would vote for LR, not neccesarilly that its the best song of the group, but it is the one I most associate with the topic. I just think of Ed's speech at a show (wish I could remember which one) when he tells the story of writing that song. It makes it that much better, and that much more personal.
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Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:00 pm Posts: 19826 Location: Alone in a corridor
aprilfifth wrote:
I would vote for LR, not neccesarilly that its the best song of the group, but it is the one I most associate with the topic. I just think of Ed's speech at a show (wish I could remember which one) when he tells the story of writing that song. It makes it that much better, and that much more personal.
San Diego 06.
Personally, I'll always associate Long Road with it being the first song I ever heard live by PJ, 2 years ago in Kitchener. It kinda lost its original meaning to me.
light years. then long road. light years is in the top 3 PJ songs.
come back i associate with a girl that you just got dumped by. i don't get the feeling it deals with death even if that is what it is intended for.
and both light years and long road will be played at my funeral.
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Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
long road
light years
come back
long road is fucking beautiful beyond words.
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Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 9:29 pm Posts: 226 Location: portugal
light years is just something.......hard question this one, i don´t all three are great but if i had to choose one, i´d go for light years just because i hear it more than the others.
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