You want to go out Friday
And you want to go forever.
You know that it sounds childish
That you've dreamt of alligators.
You hope that we are with you
And you hope you're recognized
You want to go forever
You see it in my eyes.
I'm lost in the confusion
And it doesn't seem to matter
You really can't believe it
And you hope it's getting better

You want to trust the doctors
Their procedure is the best
But the last try was a failure
And the intern was a mess.
And they did the same to Matthew
And he bled 'til Sunday night
They're saying don't be frightened
But you're weakened by the sight of it
You lock into a pattern
And you know that it's the last ditch
You're trying to see through it
And it doesn't make sense
But they're saying don't be frightened
And they're killing alligators
And they're hog-tied
And accepting of the struggle

You want to trust religion
And you know it's allegory
But the people who are followers
Have written their own story.
So you look up to the heavens
And you hope that it's a spaceship
And it's something from your childhood
You're thinking don't be frightened

You want to climb the ladder
You want to see forever
You want to go out Friday
And you want to go forever.
And you want to cross your DNA
To cross your DNA with something reptile.
And you're questioning the sciences
And questioning religion
You're looking like an idiot
And you no longer care.
And you want bridge the schism,
A built-in mechanism to protect you.
And you're looking for salvation
And you're looking for deliverance
You're looking for deliverance
You're looking like av idiot
And you no longer care.
You want to climb the ladder
You want to see forever.
You want to go out Friday
You want to go forever.



Lyrics submitted by junkie

Track duration: 05:02

"Hope" as written by Leonard Cohen, Peter Buck, Michael Stipe, Mike Mills

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Hope song meanings
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19 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:I have to agree with the people that said it's about illness. I had cancer when I was a boy and the minute I heard this song I instantly identified with it. The allusions to alligators and spaceships also fit me, I was obsessed with dinosaurs and snakes and the like when I was a kid. I think these are brought up because when you're stuck in a bed for a year, you end up thinking a lot of stuff, about the past and the future.

    also, the bit about crossing DNA with something reptile could well be a reference to healing powers reptiles have, able to grow limbs back and in some cases, like alligators, seemingly indestructible, powerful creatures. (which is perhaps why the line about killing alligators appears earlier)
    Flag woodenflooron August 01, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I agree with the person up there who said Matthew was probably a reference to the apostle Matthew. Mayb. *Shrug* It's an amazing song though. Now I should go dig up that Cohen song.
    Flag orangecrush8080on November 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:To me this one is obviously about being emotionaly overwhelmed, about how we are struggling with logic, a purpose for life, and any sense to rely to, when going thtough life's trial.
    put in the situation where the helplessness of it is fought with no real weapon. the total confusion takes over when confronted to uncontrollable things, as the song depicts one dealing with a close friend's stuggle with death.
    we're left with little to make sense of, little to know how to justify why things are going they are.
    as usual with people, in such distress, confusion and helplessness some people tend to compensate it with beliefs of a holy presence, as they grab this as their hope. hoping someone is there no matter what...relying on that religious faith for to find some salvation.
    Flag naivadaon October 05, 2009   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:I've always thought this song was about Louise Woodward and her murder trial.

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
    Flag decemberboyon March 16, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think of this song as an LSD trip with the reptilian references and patterns. This also comes through by having asides that range from real like the one about Matthew, to absurd mating with reptiles, and of deeper thoughts like references to questioning the role of religion.

    As for the music, I want to point out this is what i call a riff song, where a recognizable chunk of music is repeated often through the song. R.E.M. is great at writing these, here they use Cohen's song. Anyway, the point here is during a trip, the mind tends to look for and latch onto patterns. Musically this song could appeal a great deal to a tripper.
    Flag Agent52on May 04, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I agree with those above who say it's about mortality - and more specifically, someone who is suffering from a terminal illness. Something about the childishness of some of the lyrics - dreaming of alligators? - makes me think it's a relatively young person.

    Someone who wants to believe that it will be ok - trust to science? but look what a mess it made of Matthew (whom I take simply to be a name arbitrarily assigned to someone he has seen suffer) trust to religion? He may value what religion has to teach - but he doesn't really believe it - "the people who are followers have written their own story"

    How about a space ship? Maybe aliens will save him? In the face of the really terrifying, we'll cling to anything....
    Flag el_hon March 01, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is about a person facing mortality for some reason or another and facing the old science vs religion debate. At one time the person wants to trust the scientists or wants to trust religion but both have faults. They want to "bridge the schism" between the two competing solutions for mortality. "You want to go out Friday" is a reference to Jesus dying on a Friday, and by being resurrected could "go forever". "You want to climb the ladder" references Jacob's Ladder reaching heaven in the old testament, where you can see the heavens and hence "see forever". I'm not sure about the Matthew reference but my guess is that it refers to Jesus' apostle who was presumably martyred and not resurrected as Jesus was and therefore not immortal.
    Flag drewdoon September 15, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This really is rather a blatant rip-off of "Suzanne." According to Leonard Cohen's Wikipedia page, the band even credits Cohen as a co-writer ("Although Cohen had not truly collaborated on 'Hope' the band felt that it shared too many similarities to 'Suzanne' ").
    Flag just_old_lighton August 27, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this is about Laramie Wyoming. Hence the mention of a Matthew(Matthew Shepard). I think this album was made about the same time as the tragedy in Laramie.
    Flag pmac52188on August 13, 2007   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:This song is such a fucking rip-off of the far superior Leonard Cohen song "Suzanne".
    Flag Sempreon April 25, 2007   Link

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