Switchfoot – Twenty-Four

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Twenty four oceans
Twenty four skies
Twenty four failures
Twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
Twenty four drop outs
At the end of the day
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty four hours ago

Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And I'm not who I thought I was twenty four hours ago
Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You

Twenty four reasons to admit that I'm wrong
With all my excuses still twenty four strong

See I'm not copping out not copping out not copping out
When You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now

And You're raising these twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts
But I want to be one today
Centered and true

I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now
And You're raising the dead in me

I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And You're raising the dead in me
Twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts.
I'm not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out.

Send "Twenty-Four" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by rjbucs28, edited by JuliaWiersum

Track duration: 04:51


Twenty-Four song meanings
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59 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:hi ive never done this before
    Flag Stevenk13on March 10, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i've always loved this song. switchfoot is my favorite band and the lyrics are beautiful. but a little over a year ago it gained so much more significance to me. i was driving alone at night when i lost control of my car on a country road... it ended up flipping and as it was happening i just remember praying to god to be with me and protect me. i was so scared. i honestly thought i was going to die. at 17 years old.
    well..i was listening to twenty-four when i crashed. the ipod stopped playing during the crash. later on after i found my ipod i played the rest of it from where it had stopped..the point in the song was

    "Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You..

    See I'm not copping out not copping out not copping out
    When You're raising the dead in me
    Oh, oh I am the second man
    Oh, oh I am the second man now.."
    Flag likeyesterdayon July 02, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Oh, oh I am the second man now
    And You're raising the dead in me

    i love this song :>
    Flag mekon May 20, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Jon writes this reminiscing of 24 years of his time past the good ('24 oceans,24 skies'), the bad(24 failures,24 tries), and the ugly('24th place,24 dropouts').He finds himself in the revelation that 'life is not what' he 'though it was' in the beginning now he wants to be new-born in spirit as a 'second man'.He also says that that they are so many 'voices' (like several different people each a part of him) he hears divided in himself but he ignores it all to be 'centered and true' for the purpose of being focussed on second goal- 'raising the dead' desires - which are to 'see the world change'. Unlike before he is a 'second man' a dormant person within him has been raised from the dead in the spirits arms, instead of being set on petty 'feelings' or 'causes' he set to see 'the world change'
    Flag dylanmikelrdon November 22, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i saw these guys prob 7 years ago at Central Michigan University wen my sister brought me up for siblings weekend. Switchfoot performed live, i dont remember the message to this song and thats a shame cause it was really deep.
    Flag FallenSaint97on October 15, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The whole essense of this song is powerful and spiritual I love "for more than a feeling, for more than a cause" because sometimes it seems like our motivations seem like a small push for something trivial and substantial when we should reach for more than that God should be in our core
    Flag unencumberedwords10on August 03, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I recently heard this song and it has really grew on me.. Reading everyone else's meanings, I think I understand the song better and I think the song has a really good meaning behind it. It's a chill and calm song too, and that's partly why it's so good, after the lyrics.
    Flag jadore musicon December 01, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i love this song...the first time i heard it was at a jonas brothers ama after party free concert-and I started crying...not because "joe jonas is so sexy when he sings twenty four" or because "nick's curls were sooo cute"...but because of the emotion evoked when you sing these words. i went directly home and gushed about the concert, then ran upstairs and downloaded it off itunes...it's an essential growing up anthem-ballad. For me, it brings tears to my eyes because...it's so beautifully written and crafted, and it represents looking back at your life and realizing that you have nothing to show for it and all the success that you thought you had, well...theres really nothing to show for it. I love this song, its easily one of my favorites. and i compared the two versions-and the jb version wasn't bad, but i prefer the switchfoot live version.
    Flag fhcxc2010on November 26, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think its trying to symbolise the Second Coming of Jesus, is a metaphor for ourselves becoming that second man.
    Flag AlienC123on October 08, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Terrific Song

    Does anyone know what the part means at "I am the second man?"
    Flag dajohnnyon October 07, 2008   Link

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