Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Won't you smile, you look so shocked
Put the name tag on your smock
We've come to see you, Eddie Walker
We may pack a little tight, the girl up front says, it's alright
And look there's more of us still getting off the bus
We wish you'd come back home with us
Eddie Walker, this is your life
This ones you when you were small
And you're learnin' how to walk
They'd pick you up and you keep falling down
There you are with Aunt Louise, you're bouncing on her knees
Remember all those trees behind the garden
They're gone, oh, they all got cut down when she died
Eddie Walker, this is your life, you never had a son or a wife
You sure had a hell of a time, oh, Eddie Walker, this is your life
This one's you and Mary Jo
Well, she couldn't come, she says, hello
No, Eddie Walker and she doesn't hate your guts
It's just the whole thing's shook her up
How they picked you up and you kept falling down
Eddie Walker, this is your life, no, Eddie Walker, this is your life
You never had a coat or a tie, you never had a reason to cry
An' this whole stack and all of these
Are just a mist or overseas
We're gonna leave you, Eddie Walker
Put the name tag on your smock
We've come to see you, Eddie Walker
We may pack a little tight, the girl up front says, it's alright
And look there's more of us still getting off the bus
We wish you'd come back home with us
Eddie Walker, this is your life
This ones you when you were small
And you're learnin' how to walk
They'd pick you up and you keep falling down
There you are with Aunt Louise, you're bouncing on her knees
Remember all those trees behind the garden
They're gone, oh, they all got cut down when she died
Eddie Walker, this is your life, you never had a son or a wife
You sure had a hell of a time, oh, Eddie Walker, this is your life
This one's you and Mary Jo
Well, she couldn't come, she says, hello
No, Eddie Walker and she doesn't hate your guts
It's just the whole thing's shook her up
How they picked you up and you kept falling down
Eddie Walker, this is your life, no, Eddie Walker, this is your life
You never had a coat or a tie, you never had a reason to cry
An' this whole stack and all of these
Are just a mist or overseas
We're gonna leave you, Eddie Walker
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I always took "No, Eddie Walker, she doesn't hate your guts." to mean that she forgave him for the things he did because she understood that they were due to his illness and beyond his control.
"This actually was millimetres from being on the live album...". "It's a really old song (um, it's old to me). I wrote it about a friend. I used to visit him in a halfway home and we'd sit and look at pictures and, er, I guess some of you have been to one of those places. (audience laugh). I've told this before, but it puts it in perspective. I would have to go up to the little attic area that they'd made for him and he'd look through pictures and he'd get sick of that so he'd wanna play guitar and there was a broom with a microphone stand taped to it and he would sing this song that he wrote about his girlfriend, who had a restraining order against him (audience laughs). The song went "Vir-gin-ia, I want to touch you". It was a good song actually. He's all better now." Ben Fold Live in NYC 2003.
No, that's what I got from this one. The line "you keep falling down" is figurative. It means Eddie tried to get better, but he continued to relapse, probably into depression. The visitors are his friends. Mary Jo is probably his ex-girlfriend who loved him, but she cannot handle the reality of his mental health. This song is really sad in its simplicity. Nobody around Eddie - including himself - can handle the situation, but they try. Another gem from Ben, one of my all-time favorite songwriters.
I saw Ben Folds in concert last week with Ben Kweller and Ben Lee, he explained that this song is about a friend of his, Eddie Walker. Yes, he was in a half way house and they used to go and visit him and look at pictures and listen to him play songs about his g.f who had a restraining order against him.
Ben Folds rocks my socks
I heard somewhere that this song is about one of Ben's friends (or someone) who admitted themself to a mental hospital. This song is about Eddie and some of his friends who have come to cheer him up going through some old photos. Could be wrong--don't know where I heard it from.
Eddie got better, Ben said in his solo concert. Hoorah!
I saw ben in concert with Ben Kweller and Ben Lee and he explained that this song was about his friend, Eddie Walker, and yes he was in a half way house. Ben and a few friends used to go and visit him and they'd look at pictures and listen to him play music about his g/f who had a restraining order against him
I always thought this song was about Eddie Walker's funeral, and these are a bunch of people visiting him. And showing one of those crappy slideshows that you always see at funerals (not that I make daily trips) and kind of wrap up Edie Walker's life. But I guess I can't argue with Ben Folds himself
I concur with the previous posts about the mental hospital visit. Even before learning that Ben based this protagonist on a real friend, I pictured a sort of fallen, dissociative man in a hospital....almost like a war veteran who's not himself anymore after some kind of breakdown. I can just picture the setting...a long-term care place with lame activities for the residents who are treated almost a bit like children: "put the nametag on your smock" etc. Anyway, the song suggests that Eddie is basically a broken man. One line that I think is important is "you never had a reason to cry." There are two main reasons that people cry.....happiness and sadness. If Eddie never had a reason to cry, it's not just because he missed out on the great things life has to offer....it's also because he won't get to experience all of life's sadness either. It's like Eddie's mental breakdown led him to live in this emotional vacuum where the range of beauty of the world (including both the best and worst of times) are now beyond his grasp. And that makes the song even more bittersweet. I really identify with this song even though I'm not institutionalized. :)
Ben was in a band called Majosha where Ben played drums. That band broke up and reformed without him (probably the source of the song "Army"). The reformed band (known as "Pots and Pans") included Eddie Walker.
Ok, I like the line about Mary Jo, "No she couldn't come she says 'hello'...no, Eddie Walker, she dodn't hate yer guts Fist slam" - I think it shows that Eddie is kind of socially paranoid, and assumes everyone hates him, and gets angry about it. The singer is trying to convince him that Mary Jo doesn't hate his guts, and that none of his other friends (that he assumes hate his guts) do either, and the fist slam shows frustration, maybe on both sides, over Eddie always being afraid of people hating him, and making a big deal out of it. Anyways, I just like that little bit a lot, I guess cause I can relate a bit.