I am thinking it's a sign
That the freckles in our eyes
Are mirror images
And when we kiss they're perfectly aligned

And I have to speculate
That God Himself did make
Us into corresponding shapes
Like puzzle pieces from the clay

And true it may seem like a stretch
But it's thoughts like this that catch
My troubled head when you're away
And when I am missing you to death

And when you are out there on the road
For several weeks of shows
And when you scan the radio
I hope this song will guide you home

They will see us waving from such great heights
"Come down now" they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
"Come down now" but we'll stay

I tried my best to leave
This all on your machine
But the persistent beat
It sounded thin upon the sending

And that frankly will not fly
You'll hear the shrillest highs
And lowest lows with the windows down
And this is guiding you home

They will see us waving from such great heights
"Come down now" they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
"Come down now" but we'll stay

They will see us waving from such great heights
"Come down now" they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
"Come down now" but we'll stay

(They will see us waving from such great heights)
(Come down now)
They will see us waving from such great heights
(Come down now)



Lyrics submitted by rjbucs28, edited by straightconcrete

Track duration: 04:26

"Such Great Heights" as written by Benjamin D Gibbard James Scott Tamborello

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Such Great Heights song meanings
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256 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:No one has mentioned how The Postal Service got their name and how it relates to this song.

    Ben and James would send each other material via "The Postal Service" and then work on it before sending the results back......

    I tried my best to leave
    This all on your machine
    But the persistent beat
    It sounded thin upon listening
    And that frankly will not fly
    You will hear the shrillest highs
    And lowest lows with the windows down
    When this is guiding you home.


    So there is a parallel story of the song and the creation of the song and of the oneness of the characters in the song and the creators and the narrative tells you how The Postal Service came to be as a sub text.

    The line about the radio reminds me of a guy I knew who's father was a very well know ballad singer in France. They had fallen out with each other and hadn't spoken for years, when he heard his dad's new song on the radio and realized he was singing about him and asking him to leave their issues behind and have a reconciliation.
    Flag watevaon April 28, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I really don't think this song is a normal love song, rather I think it's a song about broken love that fits in better with the rest of "Give Up".
    Most of the song is the singer idealizing this long distance relationship, saying he wants her back, that he misses her so much, and that they're entirely perfect.
    He makes this song for her, and he tries to sing it to her on her answering machine, but he makes the excuse that it won't sound right that way and doesn't want to.
    And then the chorus. "They will see us waving from such great heights" gives the image of two people on separate mountaintops, trying to communicate to each other by waving.
    Everyone else (or at least everyone else in the singers mind, like a pressure from society) thinks they should just get together instead of having this long distance relationship ("'Come down now', they'll say"), but as it goes on "But everything looks perfect from far away/'Come down now' but we'll stay". They know that their love won't meet up to their idealizations, and they'd rather awkwardly keep the fantasy going than find out they're not as in love as they thought they were.
    Flag Ewoon April 21, 2013   Link
  • -3
    General Comment:For the truth about this song, visit: youtube.com/…
    Flagged NewportBreachon February 18, 2012   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction:I always thought:
    I tried my best to leave this all on your machine but the persistent beep sounded thinly condescending. That frankly will not fly, you'll hear the shrillest highs, etc.

    In other words, I couldn't tell you all this in a message because it's too clinical that way; we need to be interacting for real, hearing the emotion that doesn't come out in a recording.
    Flag gadzookon February 02, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It's definitely not about zooey, this was written/released waaaay before her.
    I heard it was about that girl in rilo kiley or whatever the hell that band is called
    but yeah, pretty song, i love ben's voice.
    Flag lolamayon November 23, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:Well here is my go at the song. I've looked over some other interpretations and I agree with some, but this is just my opinion, and what I get out of this song. And I don't want any replies about how I'm being sexist inferring that whoever is telling the "story" is male, I'm just using the gender.

    "I am thinking it's a sign
    That the freckles in our eyes
    Are mirror images and when we kiss
    They're perfectly aligned"----Talking about how he thinks that the relationship he is in is so perfect.

    "And I have to speculate
    That God himself did make us
    Into corresponding shapes
    Like puzzle pieces from the clay"----furthermore talking about the perfection in their love.

    "And true, it may seem like a stretch
    But it's thoughts like this that catch
    My troubled head when you're away
    When I am missing you to death"----could be how while he's at home, and his love is away, no matter what runs through his head, something always seems to reassure him if he's doubting her commitment to him, or any decision she makes will be the right one for THEM, and not just for her own selfish reasons while she's away.

    "When you are out there on the road
    For several weeks of shows
    And when you scan the radio
    I hope this song will guide you home"----well, I take this the literal way. No metaphor in my view here. So as it says, she's out on the road for several weeks, and he writes this song, and hopes that when she hears it, she'll be reminded of him, and everything about them.

    "They will see us waving from such great heights
    "Come down now," they'll say
    But everything looks perfect from far away
    "Come down now," but we'll stay . . ."----personally, I think this is beautiful. I think the lyrics "such great heights" are a reference to the feelings you get when you're in love, as mentioned by one of the fellow users above me. The feelings you get when you are in love are like no other. I have personally been in-love twice, and I'll tell you, the feelings are tremendous and un-like any other. So together, they're at "such great heights". I think when he sings "They will see us waving from such great heights, 'come down now,' they'll say" he is trying to say "friends, family, and everyone else will look at this love and try to tell us it's not good for us, to stop and break up.". But the 2nd part of the chorus says "But everything looks perfect from far away, 'Come down now,' but we'll stay" I think this means that, from afar, just looking at the couple may seem perfect. But everyone that was listed in part 1 of the chorus is trying to break them up, so they're trying to get into the personal shit of it all, and they're starting to see it's not "perfect" as they want it to seem from far away, out of everyones business. "'Come down now,' but we'll stay" . I think the "come down now" this time isn't from everyone in part two. I think it's the couple telling everyone to come down. Kinda telling them to fuck off and get out of their business, that they're in the way of their love for one another, and they'll stay up there in the heavenly high of love with another.

    "I tried my best to leave
    This all on your machine
    But the persistent beat
    It sounded thin upon listening"----I think while she was gone, he really missed her, and called her up to remind her how much he loved her..but she was gone on tour and busy.. so he left a voice mail on her machine.

    "And that frankly will not fly
    You will hear the shrillest highs
    And lowest lows with the windows down
    When this is guiding you home"----he thinks that while she's always busy away and won't be able to talk all the time.. he'll write this song. That way she can listen to it whenever. "You will hear the shrillest highs and lowest lows with the windows down, when this is guiding you home." shrillest highs and lowest lows would be vocals in a song. Hearing the song would be on the radio, as mentioned in verse one. A radio is most commonly found in a car, and a car's window's can be put down, as mentioned in this little second verse. So all in all, I think it's the feeling that he wrote the song to remind her that while she's out on the road doing whatever, know that he'll always love her no matter what comes between them, whether is be people or just life itself.

    They will see us waving from such great heights
    "Come down now," they'll say
    But everything looks perfect from far away
    "Come down now," but we'll stay . . . (chorus is explained above.)


    and that's just my take on it.
    Flagged polyphobiaon May 31, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song takes me back to a time when i was so happy and nothing could bring me down and the girl i was enjoying the journy with was incredible... i remember all the good times we had then the song ends and i realize its over... shes gone. i guess all good things must end... r.i.p. c.c.s.
    Flag back10minuteson March 01, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Does anyone know if Ben wrote this song for Zooey? Since he referred to a lover who's traveling on the road doing shows, I was thinking that he had her in mind.
    Flag goddesscarolineon September 09, 2010   Link
  • 0
    Memory:Amazing song, absolutely amazing. As with every song that i listen too, i try to make a small music video in my head. The thing is, this time the video seems to be damaged, taking an infinite loop in my head.

    I see 2 lovers young and in love, happy to be together, and nothing can bother them, no one. They're waving from such a great height, an airplane, and as the others want them to stop their joyride in the sky, the too say no, not caring what others think, because they are too in love to care..

    I've been seeing this since middle school, and don't think the infinite reel will ever stop, its beautiful. :,)
    Flag RazinRakunon May 05, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:And I have to speculate
    That God himself did make us
    Into corresponding shapes
    Like puzzle pieces from the clay

    This part always reminds me of Paradise Lost (Which I remember only because it's the epigraph to Frankenstein):
    "Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
    To mould man? Did I solicit thee
    From darkness to promote me?"

    This song is perfect!
    Flag greenzobon March 31, 2010   Link

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