1
I find the map and draw a straight line
Over rivers, farms, and state lines
The distance from 'here' to where you'd be
It's only finger-lengths that I see
I touch the place where I'd find your face
My fingers in creases of distant dark places
I hang my coat up in the first bar
There is no peace that I've found so far
The laughter penetrates my silence
As drunken men find flaws in science
Their words mostly noises
Ghosts with just voices
Your words in my memory
Are like music to me
I'm miles from where you are
I lay down on the cold ground
And I pray that something picks me up
And sets me down in your warm arms
After I have traveled so far
We'd set the fire to the third bar
We'd share each other like an island
Until exhausted, close our eyelids
And dreaming, pick up from
The last place we left off
Your soft skin is weeping
A joy you can't keep in
I'm miles from where you are
I lay down on the cold ground
And I pray that something picks me up
And sets me down in your warm arms
I'm miles from where you are
I lay down on the cold ground
And I pray that something picks me up
And sets me down in your warm arms
Over rivers, farms, and state lines
The distance from 'here' to where you'd be
It's only finger-lengths that I see
I touch the place where I'd find your face
My fingers in creases of distant dark places
I hang my coat up in the first bar
There is no peace that I've found so far
The laughter penetrates my silence
As drunken men find flaws in science
Their words mostly noises
Ghosts with just voices
Your words in my memory
Are like music to me
I'm miles from where you are
I lay down on the cold ground
And I pray that something picks me up
And sets me down in your warm arms
After I have traveled so far
We'd set the fire to the third bar
We'd share each other like an island
Until exhausted, close our eyelids
And dreaming, pick up from
The last place we left off
Your soft skin is weeping
A joy you can't keep in
I'm miles from where you are
I lay down on the cold ground
And I pray that something picks me up
And sets me down in your warm arms
I'm miles from where you are
I lay down on the cold ground
And I pray that something picks me up
And sets me down in your warm arms
Lyrics submitted by blinxbcr, edited by TokyoKitten
Set the Fire to the Third Bar Lyrics as written by Gary Lightbody Nathan Connolly
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I love this track: it's so haunting, so desperate.
For me, it's about trying to find a replacement for your true love. You go from bar to bar hoping to meet someone special, ultimately getting frustrated. And when you can't find that same warmth you once had, you try and force it by manufacturing a destructive fire. Subconsciously, you're pretending it's her that you're with. Secretly, your brain is trying to find a way back into her arms.
The line, "until exhausted, close our eyelids" is telling about how he wishes he could go back to the naive fun of Shut Your Eyes. It's all very dream-like and surreal. Because it's times like these that the brain will do anything to not have to face the cold reality of being alone.
I haven't thought of it that way. That's very interesting, but for the line, "until exhausted, close our eyelids," I think that means that they will look for each other until they die.