Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
Where can a sick man go
When he can't choke down the medicine the old doc knows
A specialist came to town
But he stays at home
Saying no one knows so I don't
Honey when in Rome
Where can a teacher go
Wherever she thinks people need the things she knows
Hey those books you gave us look good on the shelves at home
And they'll burn warm in the fireplace teacher
When in Rome
Grab a blanket sister
We'll make smoke signals
Bring in some new blood
It feels like we're alone
Grab a blanket brother
So we don't catch cold
From one another
I wonder if we're stuck in Rome
Where can a dead man go?
A question with an answer only dead men know
But I'm gonna bet they never really feel at home
It they spent a lifetime learning how to live in Rome
When he can't choke down the medicine the old doc knows
A specialist came to town
But he stays at home
Saying no one knows so I don't
Honey when in Rome
Where can a teacher go
Wherever she thinks people need the things she knows
Hey those books you gave us look good on the shelves at home
And they'll burn warm in the fireplace teacher
When in Rome
Grab a blanket sister
We'll make smoke signals
Bring in some new blood
It feels like we're alone
Grab a blanket brother
So we don't catch cold
From one another
I wonder if we're stuck in Rome
Where can a dead man go?
A question with an answer only dead men know
But I'm gonna bet they never really feel at home
It they spent a lifetime learning how to live in Rome
Lyrics submitted by yamahasixstring
Track duration: 04:16
"When in Rome" as written by Chris Thile
Lyrics © BUG MUSIC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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!
Anyway.
This song is about Nickel Creek's move away from more traditional bluegrass & folk music into the rock (and other) influenced sound, and the backlash they received from the bluegrass community.
"Bring in some new blood/it feels like we're alone" speaks to the alienation from much of the more traditional community. The end of their production relationship with Alison Krauss was a first step, and the eevolution of their music continued down that road.
Too bad they split up - they were phenomenal, inventive, and original.
This song takes that idea and applies it to modern life. Rome is this world as a whole. The song touches on how we don't make wise decisions, how we burn knowledge for a bonfire party, and how we make each other sick by our own bad habits.
Then it poses the question about the afterlife. If we spent all our life learning how to live in in this world ( aka rome ) for our entire lives, will we fit in with those in the afterlife? Will we be worthy of what is on the other side when we act the way we do?
It's obvious it's playing off the cliche of "When in Rome do as the Romans" and not "do as the Catholics". The commentary that they focus on are values that have begun to fade such as education: "those books you gave us look good on the shelves at home, and they'll burn well in the fireplace teacher when in Rome".
The thing that really grabs my attention and make me think that it's actually speaking towards Christianity in a positive way is the last verse: "Where can a dead man go... when he spent a lifetime learning to live in Rome?" This is speaking to the knowledge that Christians shouldn't consider this world their home and understand that we are set apart as the bible says. If you conformed to the sinful nature of this world, where do you go when you die? How would you function after learning to live sinfully and then be presented in death with an eternity of living selflessly, serving God.
If you get too caught up in this, though, you lose your individuality, and so you wonder if you're "stuck in Rome."