I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's only me, and I walk alone

I walk this empty street
On the boulevard of broken dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one, and I walk alone

I walk alone, I walk alone
I walk alone, and I walk a

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone

Ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah

I'm walking down the line
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line of the edge
And where I walk alone

Read between the lines
What's fucked up and every thing's all right
Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive
And I walk alone

I walk alone, I walk alone
I walk alone and I walk a

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone

Ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah

I walk alone, and I walk a

I walk this empty street
On the boulevard of broken dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one, and I walk a

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone


Lyrics submitted by da_coolio, edited by Mellow_Harsher, bobbybmth

Boulevard of Broken Dreams Lyrics as written by Frank E. Wright Iii Michael Pritchard

Lyrics © Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Boulevard of Broken Dreams song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

756 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +23
    General Comment

    This song is kind of depressing, but at the same time peaceful. Its sad because no one wants to be alone all the time, everyone wants to be understood. But at the same time, realizing that theres many things about this world that are fucked up and choosing solitude over conforming is a powerful notion. |The sense of peacefulness comes from the fact that its only sometimes he wishes someone would find him, for the most part he's accepted and learned not to fear being alone. But then again, sometimes being on your own that much does start to make you wonder if your crazy for what your doing, so that you have to check to make sure you're still alive

    serenity23on October 06, 2007   Link
  • +14
    General Comment

    Well, during the first part of the song(I walk a lonely road, it's the only one I've ever known. Don't know where it goes...) seems to me like he's talking about addiction or an extremely hard time in life. (I've only ever heard this song by itself, I plan to buy the CD sometime in the future...) The words make it seem like he's been on this road for so long that he's gotten used to it, and it's just a part of him now.

    The next line just expresses a feeling of, you guessed it, utter and complete loneliness, but that's not all. It also conveys that nobody cares that he's alone and that he'll never fix anything(hence the Broken Dreams).

    Chorus is just restating that he's lonely and he wishes someone would help him out of his hole, but until he gets intervention he's stuck alone.

    The third line sounds like he's attempting to quit, or he's been on it too long and he's on the line between going insane/dying, or staying to his addiction.

    Chrous again, just underlining the previous one...

    Again with the second line, simply restating that he's still "helpless" and alone and such.

    Again with the Chorus...

    Anyhoo, this has been one hell of a long meaning, and I enjoyed writing it almost as much as I enjoyed listening to the song itself. I could put it on a CD and listen to it for weeks at a time. Very well-written and thought-out. I hope you don't flame my understanding of the song, it's just what I think it could mean.

    Cirelon June 19, 2005   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    You know you're an American Idiot when you only like a band when they first start out, but start to loathe them primarily because they're becoming really popular. That's so stupid. Why does it matter? If Beethoven's Midnight Sonata was an obscure song, would it be any more beautiful? No, BECAUSE IT WOULD STILL BE THE SAME DAMN SONG.

    Some of you stupid kids need to pull your heads out of your asses, go to college, and realize there's much more important things about a person's music other than how many people like it. Judge it based on how you feel about the song, and not how anyone else feels. Stupid pseudo-intellectuals.

    idungotnosnon May 03, 2007   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    Well, what this song really means is that the narrator is depressed due to his failures (or maybe he's just hard on himself), and he wants someone to break him out of this. It is a song I can relate to. In relation to the album, this song describes Jesus of Suburbia's state of mind while he is leaving his home town.

    JTHMBirdGuy777on June 18, 2009   Link
  • +7
    My Opinion

    I love this song. The music is just pure bloody brilliant. I can relate to the lyrics...often I've found it so hard with people, that I've just decided to "walk alone", and hope that someday "someone finds me". :/ It does get lonely. When I got stabbed in the back by someone who I thought actually cared about me (as a close friend), I felt so awful. This song...I don't know. Damn, it just has so much meaning.

    Teamhairon November 27, 2012   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    I think that Archie did a really good job at taking in the meanings of these lyrics. I agree with everything that he said.

    "I'm walking down the line that divides me somewhere in my mind," I think what he was portraying there was that he thinks someone that finally understands him and how he feels is gonna come along soon and he isn't going to be alone. And for once he is gonna know how it feels to not be alone. I don't know if any of you felt that way, but that is how I interpreted it.

    cliv22on January 16, 2005   Link
  • +3
    My Interpretation

    I don't know the song's official meaning, but last night I was walking home from work. It was midnight, rain was pouring down, and the streets were deserted. When Boulevard of Broken Dreams started playing on my phone, I couldn't help but smile and start singing along.

    Walking down that empty midnight street, it felt like the song just "fit."

    The truth is, I am alone. I have a bad habit of pushing people away and hiding my emotions. I've been called an asshole, cold-hearted, and similar by the masses that don't know me.

    Sometimes I wish someone would find me, but until then I walk alone.

    ShiroLion March 10, 2015   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    This song ROCKS....maybe this song is a bit different from the rest, but what's wrong with that? artists are and SHOULD try out different directions, you guys shouldn't just immediately diss them or anything..and they are not sell outs just because more people listen to them....i'm sure someone already said this but you should be happy that green day is getting more exposure.

    _nicki_on December 01, 2004   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    its a good song

    upsett6on October 25, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Hey has anyone seen the vid.? it says "Read between the lines What's Snuffed up and everythings all right" instead of "Read between the lines What's fucked up and everythings all right" that kinda got me madbut then again they really can't cuss in their videos, can they?

    Padfoot1516on November 20, 2004   Link

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

Album art
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
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”
Album art
Mountain Song
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."
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.