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While You Were Sleeping Lyrics
while you were sleeping
the babies grew the stars shined and the shadows moved time flew, the phone rang there was a silence when the kitchen sang its songs competed like kids for space we stared for hours in our maker's face they gave us picks said go mine the sun and go gold and come back when you're done while you were sleeping you tossed, you turned you rolled your eyes as the world burned the heavens fell, the earth quaked i thought you must be, but you weren't awake no, you were sleeping you ignored the sun you grew your power garden for your little ones and you found brides for them on christmas eve they hung young cain from the adam trees and danced while you were sleeping i tossed and i turned til i closed my eyes but the future burned through the planet turned a hair gray as i relived the day while you were sleeping the money died machines were harmless and the earth sighed through the wind you slept sound and gravity caught my love around the ocean rose, sang about decay while witches flew and the mermaids stayed full of dreams, you overslept and keeping with quiet, through the walls i crept i walked on tiptoe, sent darkness swirling over all the kitchen in the early morning i'll never catch up to you who sleeps so sound my arms are useless my heart beats too loud to go to sleep my mind's too proud to bow out while you were sleeping the time changed all your things were rearranged your vampire mirrors face to face they saw forever out into space and found you dreaming in black and white while it rained in all the colors of the night i watched the tvs memories championships vanished to sea could it be, my honey between you and me so i waited for the riddled sky to be solved again by sunrise and i've made a death suit for life for my father's ill widowed wife did you have that strangest dream before you woke cos in your gown you had the butterfly stroke did it escape you like some half told joke? when you reached for your plume of smoke it'll haunt you, my honey bee anyone who is anyone has that same dream were you falling were you flying and were you calling out or were you dying thank god you're up now let's stay that way else there'll be no mornings and no more days cos when we're dreaming our babies grow the sun shines and the shadows flow time flies the phone rings there is a silence and everybody tries to sing |
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03-11-2007
I fuckin love this song, it's so gorgeous.
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03-15-2007
I love this song, since I first heard I'm listening to it almost daily now. The lyrics are amazing.
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03-28-2007
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03-28-2007
I think the person that has gone to sleep is GOD. As in he created this world and then went to sleep. This is sort of a Deist perspective. It seems to me that Deism would be a good rationalization for a writer that has experienced so much pain in his life via his parents.
The verse that made me think of this the most was:
you grew your power garden
for your little ones
and you found brides for them on christmas eve
they hung young cain from the adam trees
and danced
Power Garden = Garden of Eden
Little ones = Adam and Eve
Actually that's the only verse that fits with my theory. Later he actually says "thank god" so maybe I should put some more thought into this.
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04-25-2007
through the planet turned a hair gray
as i relived the day"
no idea, but they're some of my favorite lyrics ever
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06-23-2007
While she was sleeping:
"you (she) rolled your eyes as the world burned"
"the heavens fell, the earth quaked"
"the time changed"
and so forth
He also says "full of dreams, you overslept"...wishing she overslept and missed the flight.
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08-02-2007
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08-27-2007
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09-04-2007
i tossed and i turned
til i closed my eyes
but the future burned
through the planet turned a hair gray
as i relived the day
while you were sleeping
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09-24-2007
ash wednesday is a chronological sequence of songs written before (tracks 1-6) and after (tracks 7-11) the events of 9/11 and his mother's death.
while you were sleeping is the opening song, and thus not about her death.
a very beautiful song, nonetheless
he's great live. go see him if you get a chance. i saw him playing with willy mason, earlier this year.
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09-24-2007
You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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10-07-2007
'the babies grew' ...'you grew your power garden for your little ones'
He seems unable to sleep - hence the creeping round the flat, watching TV, thinking too much. As far as i can work out, its about loss - or fear of loss - and his relief at finding his partner alive and awake with him (the last verse in particular). This theme is not suprising, given his life up to this point. It's a song of hope.
However you interpret it, there's no denying it is a beautiful song. The tension in the music and lyrics is perfect. The fact it can mean so many different things to different people is a testament to his writing.
One of the finest opening tracks of any album - and very hard act to follow.
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10-09-2007
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11-02-2007
i recently started at uni, and so all my old friends are all over the country, and last night, a good friend of mine stayed over, cos she was down in london to visit me and a couple of other people.
anyway, i'm completely in love with her, but haven't told her yet, cos i dunno if it would work out with being so far away from each other, or whether it'd make things awkward between us.
but i couldn't sleep last night, when she was staying over, so i spent half the night lying awake, and watching her sleep, and thinking how beautiful she looked when she was sleeping.
and it made me think of this song.
and now this song reminds me of her.
not technically anything to do with what the song means, but thats what it means to me.
i'm seeing elvis perkins in deerland on tuesday night in shephered's bush, and will almost certainly cry when he plays this song.
it's a beautiful piece of music and writing, which now holds nice memories.
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12-03-2007
Just the image is so peaceful and beautiful
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12-09-2007
although the little tune at the beginning of this song reminds me of the tune of "Caroline" by John Butler Trio... hmm.
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12-20-2007
Such a sad and beautiful line.
God bless you, Elvis Perkins.
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04-29-2008
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07-16-2008
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12-08-2009
Regardless, this is a beautiful and well written song. I still remember the first time I heard this song, and think about it everytime I hear it.
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01-20-2010
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