There is a car parked where the block begins
And there are people singing praises
Say, "It's all because of him"
And there is a bird perched on a frayed, wet wire

And his voice sings out for a lover
But it's covered by the choir of voices
Reaching way beyond the rafters
With devotion, they perform these sacred tasks

They cross themselves and offer up their checkbooks
Slight suffering is not too much to ask
Besides, we all are making money
And we are all fucking alone

And we don't know what we are doing
Maybe just buying us some hope
Because we know that we are lonely
Yeah, lonely, that's for sure

And the older ones are coughing
And the older ones are dying
Maybe we are all dying
I pass a graveyard on my way to work

Today I saw two dozen white roses
On a fresh new mound of dirt
And I wondered about the occupant
When the darkness finally swallowed him

Was he calm and content?
Or was he sweating in a struggle to keep breathing
Ripping apart the sheets that dressed his bed
Crying out loud for someone to help him

And collapsing on his back, all pale and dead?
Maybe it's me who's this unstable
Always obsessed about the end
Why can't I let what happens happen?

And just enjoy the time I spend
Oh, how I wish it was so easy
But when there is no point to anything
It can get a bit confusing

Why is that I keep going?
Why is that we keep going?



Lyrics submitted by PLANES

Track duration: 04:10

"On My Way to Work" as written by Oberst

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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On My Way to Work song meanings
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21 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:he's the bird i think in the midst of the 'frayed wet wire' of death, crying out for love and the choir is basically doing the same thing but with a stronger voice
    Flag XianSnakeon December 20, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:oh i love this song
    it's perfectly done
    well writing
    flawlessly sung to deliver the real meaning
    just amazing
    Flag socoldwordsfrozeon July 22, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this is my favorite bright eyes song ever.
    there is nothing to decipher here, its all laid out for you.
    Flag tetsco!on July 09, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this is my favorite bright eyes song ever.
    there is nothing to decipher here, its all laid out for you.
    Flag tetsco!on July 09, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"And there is a bird perched on a frayed, wet wire
    And his voice sings out for a lover
    But it's covered by the choir of voices "

    i love that line cause to me its like people who take things too far, fanatical, tend to prevent others from living. in this case nature.

    then in it goes on to say everyone is alone and they will reach out to anything, even an illusion, of the opposite.

    another thing i love about this song is the last stanzas of the one who died. did he peacefully let the envitable death come or did he foolishly try to keep grasping to life, making it all the more worse when it came?

    then the complete honesty. loves it
    Flag Nakedfloweron June 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:let uss be free

    you "such" at spelling...
    Flag looseleevson April 19, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:oh and PLANES you such at deciphering lyrics. instead of putting "we are all fucking alone" and "we don't know what we are doing" how about you just put what he really says:
    "we're all fucking alone" "we don't know what we're doing"
    Flag let uss be freeon March 18, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:brighteyes4750 since you're such a big fan, i kind of wonder why you said bright eyes has a good voice instead of saying his name, conor oberst.
    Flag let uss be freeon March 18, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love this song its so rebellious and beautiful and sad as hell, but i love when he says
    "I pass a graveyard on my way to work
    Today I saw two dozen white roses
    On a fresh new mound of dirt
    And I wondered about the occupant
    When the darkness finally swallowed him
    Was he calm and content?
    Or was he sweating in a struggle to keep breathing
    Ripping apart the sheets that dressed his bed
    Crying out loud for someone to help him
    And collapsing on his back, all pale and dead?"
    its so true we never think about that and we should we should long for human interaction not what we have now but what we co0uld have and truly wish to have even though we may die unhappy with what we did in our life and long for something more and rip apart our sheets trying to stay alive so we might finish what we started or say something to someone we never did or love or hate or cry...but in turn we die.
    Flag imsogoodatvanishingon January 12, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Do you suppose the line "And we are all fucking alone" is actually referring to having intercourse by one's self, or simply reiterating how alone we are? I am slightly confused by this...
    Flag ABookOnAShelfon September 17, 2006   Link

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