Take what you need while there's time
The city will be earth in a short while
If I'm not mistaken it's been in flames
You and I will escape to the seaside

There is a storm in the distance
The wind breathing warning of its imminence
There is a lighthouse five hundred yards down
You and I will be safe there

There is a girl who haunts that lighthouse
She saved me, I was swimming
So young I almost drowned
Under the water she sang a story
Of losing her lover
She calls a warning

Love, you are foolish, you're tired
Your sleeplessness makes you a liar
The city is burning
The ocean is turning
Our only chance is the lighthouse

Her lover was a sailor
She went and she waited there
The door locked from the outside
Lover never arrived so she sings there
Soft as a siren luring the ships off their course, how alarming

We went in, we climbed up and looked out
The door locked from the outside
Three ghosts in a lighthouse



Lyrics submitted by kasandra

Track duration: 02:59

"Lighthouse" as written by Tim Bowness, Steven Wilson

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Lighthouse song meanings
Add your thoughts

44 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment:I think some people read into this song way too much. The Hush Sound (THS) has admitted to not really having a clue what they meant by a lot of the songs in Like Vines and So Sudden. They said (and I am paraphrasing) that most of those songs lacked life experiences and were mostly just little whimsical stories. It's what makes most of THS's songs so open to interpretation. There just isn't that much they explicitly mean with their lyrics.

    Lighthouse is beautiful because it is a love ballad that is both lovely and haunting. It's just a quirky little romantic story (also quite creepy) that can mean whatever you want it to mean.
    Flag DrNHandon December 16, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is so haunting and sad.
    Flag luckybutterflyon March 31, 2010   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:i was thinking that the two other ghosts were the lovers seeking shelter in the lighthouse and the ghost girl became jealous in seeing that this girl had a love that she had lost so she thought they should suffer in the same way she has
    Flag karbug94on December 01, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:ok everybody. when have you ever known the hush sound to not say one thing and mean another. we can all guess at what the STORY is about, but what about what it really relates to? i believe squirrelchild was spot on in their analysis.
    Flag silversunloveon November 04, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think, as a few people have said before, that this is a two person dialogue. The story woven into the lyrics seems to be that a city is burning and two people are trying to escape. One suggests they find safety in the lighthouse a little while away, but the other protests, saying that there is a ghost in the lighthouse.

    The first person tells the second person how silly this is, and that they are just tired and are making things up. From the 'love' bit, I am assuming they are lovers. The second speaker tells the first speaker of the end of the ghosts life, and how she was locked inside the lighthouse.

    Presumably, the first speaker doesn't listen, they go to the lighthouse and meet the same fate as the ghost, leaving three ghosts in the lighthouse.

    To me, this song speaks of how you should always trust the words of those close to you or face the consequences.
    Flag MsToastHeadon July 19, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"Lover never arrived so she sings there
    Soft as a siren, luring the ships off their course"

    I think "siren" should be capitalized. The Sirens were mythical creatures that sang a song to lure sailors into the deptsh of the ocean until they drowned. The song was usually said to be soft a beautiful (coincidentally like this one), but sometimes said to be unkown since the people that heard it died.
    Flag FunerealNutellaon June 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:the widow sits in the lighthouse luring in ships with her siren in hopes of catching her returning lover
    Flag swordlord385on June 01, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:what i think that this song means is complicated in the start.
    The first and second stanzas suggest an apocolypse of some sort and that her lover and her must escape to the ligh house
    Now the next part is a different story of a sailors widow who haunts the lighthouse waiting for him to return.
    The narrator tells us that the ghost saved her as a child, possibly by luring with her, with her siren
    Now as the couple reaches the lighthouse and enter, the door locks them in, they die, and become the other 2 ghosts
    Flag swordlord385on June 01, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I just love this song. I really like the minor chord used to make the story of the girl more tragic and frightening. It also makes me think (oddly) of the Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker
    Flag miserypuppeton April 27, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Greta wrote this on the band's old FAQ about the song: "Lighthouse is an allegory to represent how it feels when one has nowhere to turn for support. I developed images and a narrative to explain how it feels when one is walking from one disaster to find shelter, only to find nothing. I was actually hesitant to release that song on the record since it is such a sad song to me, but fortunately the boys and our producer, Sean, convinced me to release it. Now, I am greatful of their persuasion."
    Flag brunetttieon March 18, 2009   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!

Back to top
explain