The times we had
Oh, when the wind would blow with rain and snow
Were not all bad
We put our feet just where they had, had to go
Never to go

The shattered soul
Following close but nearly twice as slow
In my good times
There were always golden rocks to throw
At those who admit defeat too late
Those were our times, those were our times

And I will love to see that day
That day is mine
When she will marry me outside with the willow trees
And play the songs we made
They made me so
And I would love to see that day
Her day was mine



Lyrics submitted by SphagnumEsplanade

Track duration: 04:17

"Postcards from Italy" as written by Zach Condon

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

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Postcards from Italy song meanings
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58 Comments

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  • +1
    My Interpretation:Personalmente creo que habla de un amor, un amor que llegó a su fin y él simplemente lo recuerda y la recuerda a ella. Recuerda los buenos momentos que vivieron
    "We put our feet just where they had, had to go
    Never to go" para mi hace referencia a que en su momento ambos creyeron ir bien encaminados, que ambos tenían su futuro planeado juntos pero que finalmente nunca se logró, nunca pudieron caminar por donde querían por donde soñaban.
    "The shattered soul
    Following close but nearly twice as slow" es como si quisiera decir que el triste final que destrozaría su alma siempre estuvo, pero su relación fue duradera (but nearly twice as slow)
    Y en la última estrofa es, personalmente, algo que él sabe que no pasará pero si fue algo que estuvo en sus planes y que le gustaría ver como las proyecciones de ambos se hacen realidad.
    Flag unpocomason May 14, 2013   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction:The line is "When she will bury me outside with the willow trees"
    If you watch live performances, you can hear it very clearly and you can see that Condon's mouth is forming an explosive on the word 'bury'
    Flag Sm0k3ron July 06, 2012   Link
  • -1
    Memory:As everybody has said: I want this song to be play in my weeding,
    if you change the title to "postcards from France" it could be the song about my life
    I miss my love on France, so, i can feel the nostalgia in this song
    Bravo! <3 Beirut
    Flag J25code2on February 04, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Unless the words are "bury me" instead of "marry me"
    then I have to look at it different.
    Then maybe he has come to terms with it; that there relationship helped form who he is, "made" him.
    Then she can "bury" him. an analogy to life. It brings you experiences that form you then it "takes you back" but its not a bad thing. He gets to die knowing that he was lucky that she could be a huge part of what formed him.
    All of a sudden I love poetry:)
    Flag ramroidon July 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:This poem is the first one that I've appreciated. It's sad but I well up with the layers of meaning and could discuss it for hours. First off I take the word to be "shattered".
    I feel like it means he was dumped by this woman and when he looks back he feels that not just regret or longing which is good.
    He also seems to be reflective when he states that when he was together with her they would mock people that they saw who were busted up by loss and couldn't let go "people that give up to late". When you are with someone it is easy to say to others "get over it". It seems like he realizes it now.
    But after the music and the new theme kicks in you realize that he doesn't!
    He IS one of those people and probably like them don't realize the unrealistic goal that they may still get back together. HE'S not letting it go. He still waits for the day she'll come back to him. It's crazy what it says about human nature, and the irony is incredible.
    I can't even believe it.
    3 stanzas to describe something with so much meaning. Genius.
    That's at least how I see it. If anyone agrees please let me know.
    Flag ramroidon July 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:ahh how i love this song, ive been learning to play it on my ukulele, sounds gorgeous.
    And yeahh i think this song is about a guy who was in love with a girl - from italy- and they kept a long distance relationship, but it didn't work out and now she's moved on and he's remembering the times they had together. I will never get tired of this song and i know that loads of people have already said this but i want to have this song playing at my wedding. : )
    Flag BabyOliveTreeon June 20, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The instruments in this song are just too awesome, but I sort of prefer Florence Welch's voice in her cover... So I made a mashup of the cover plus the original by Beirut: youtube.com/…
    Flag olubunmion April 18, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I'm going to take a stab at it. I know that he moved to Europe after he dropped out of school. So maybe HE was the one in Italy writing about a girl back in the states?
    Flag ohsecretwhoon February 11, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:If you take a look at the video clip it clearly demonstrates that it's a wedding and therefore would be Marry Me. It also makes scene contextually if you think she has gone away and married someone else and "that day was mine".
    Flag carnivalon October 23, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Okay this song and Beirut altogether is absolutely amazing. I have never heard a unique sound such as this so beautiful and complex, yet so simple and amazing. I am not exactly sure what this song means, but to me personally it almost feels like a free call of someone just taking every step in life with no exact direction. Almost like a vagrant free travelling to every country and city across the world, it's so amazingly inspiring and free sounding. Then I love at the end where the song just starts to soften and the trumpets lift the melody to almost like a high and it's just has this absolutely beautiful sound to me. I really love Beirut, I am truly so glad I found this wonderful music.
    Flag Kanyeezywantsmypralenebarson July 24, 2009   Link

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