This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Disappear from your home town
Go and find the people that you know
Show them all of your good parts
Leave town when the bad ones start to show
Going with a woman
A pretty girl that you never met
Make sure she knows you love her well
But don't make any other promises
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
When you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you anywhere
I once heard the worse thing a man can do is draw a hungry crowd
Tell everyone his name in pride and confidence
But leaving out his doubts
I'm not sure I bought those words
When I was young I knew most everything
These words have never meant as much to anyone
As they now mean to me
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
When you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you down
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
So when you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you anywhere
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
So when you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you down
Go and find the people that you know
Show them all of your good parts
Leave town when the bad ones start to show
Going with a woman
A pretty girl that you never met
Make sure she knows you love her well
But don't make any other promises
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
When you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you anywhere
I once heard the worse thing a man can do is draw a hungry crowd
Tell everyone his name in pride and confidence
But leaving out his doubts
I'm not sure I bought those words
When I was young I knew most everything
These words have never meant as much to anyone
As they now mean to me
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
When you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you down
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
So when you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you anywhere
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
So when you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you down
Lyrics submitted by Thrilliam, edited by Mellow_Harsher
The Weight of Lies Lyrics as written by Scott Avett Robert Crawford
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song is about not being able to escape your problems by moving towns, changing friends. "Lies dont need an airplane to chase you down". They will eventually catch up with you where ever you go if you are just running from them. You need to deal with them before they drag you down. To fix your problems you need to change, because people are going to be the same everywhere that you go. Basically its about dealing with your problems instead of trying to run from them.
Amazing band amazing song, cant wait till they come back to NY
@dan356: After reading your comment a few months ago I haven't been able to listen to this song from any perspective but that of a gay fellow. I don't think it was intended, but it fits really well.
Does anyone have an interpretation on the following?:
I once heard the worse thing A man could do is draw a hungry crowd Tell everyone his name, pride, and confidence But leaving out his doubt
It seems to be saying that one should admit to their bad qualities as well as the good, but I think there's more to it that I'm not picking up on.
I think you've got the gist of it.<br /> I think it's just someone not questioning themselves and being close-minded. The "hungry crowd" is what confuses me a bit; maybe they're willing to believe and eat up whatever someone has to say, no matter how absurd it is. Like corruption, yet unintentionally harmful because the man's ignorance cancels out the sly characteristics of a corrupter.
I think he is talking about faith and Jesus' teaching. In school and church you hear about Jesus' preaching to the hungry crowds. When he was young he didn't buy into all those stories and their lessons but now sees value into what was being taught.
The third and fourth lines of the second verse explain the meaning of "draw a hungry crowd." <br /> I once heard the worse thing <br /> A man could do is draw a hungry crowd<br /> Tell everyone his name, pride, and confidence<br /> But leaving out his doubt<br /> It simply means that you shouldn't build undue expectations in people. Everyone sells themselves by trying to impress other people with their accomplishments and personality, intelligence, et cetera. I think they are trying to say that you should be yourself, and don't lie about how awesome you are or all the cool things you've done; be yourself, be proud of your accomplishments but also be modest and be forthcoming about what you would have done differently and the times that you weren't quite so awesome. Don't build a fictional narrative about yourself that leaves out all of the failings. We're all human, right?
HOW HAS NO ONE COMMENTED ON THIS SONG?!
i saw them last night, they sound even more amazing live!
"The weight of lies will bring you down And follow you to every town Cause nothing happens here that doesn’t happen there So when you run make sure you run To something and not away from Cause lies don’t need an aeroplane to chase you down "
so great. all of their songs are incredible.
this is such an amazing song, i could listen to it all day
Until reading this comments I never considered it was about a gay man... but now I am listen to it again, I can't deny thats what it is about.
I just morphed the lyrics to fit my own life and that I can not run from my own personal problems and that helped me with some things that I need to deal with.
I love this song... Its one of those songs that comfort me within a few notes...
I think the stanza containing "A man could do is draw a hungry crowd" is in regards to empty promises, like stanza 1. For instance, with regards to leaders, Bush's warmaking in Iraq, ignoring the detractors and ignoring the consequences of removing Saddam from power. Another instance, Obama's social agenda marketing blitz ignoring the costs and consequences and possible unconstitutionality. As a universal statement to boil it down to, "don't oversell & underdeliver."
Moving will not create some dimension where all your problems diminish. So make sure that you're moving to better yourself rather than hide from your old self.
I think it's easy to interpret the surface meaning here that running away will never solve your problems. You need to face them head on and deal with them, because it's impossible to outrun them. It's also saying that you need to be honest, not just with others, but with yourself. People are the same everywhere you go. That's very clear just from the chorus.
The whole song is revolving around human relationships.
The interpretation I get is that you need to be able to share your insecurities, doubts, negative thoughts and feelings, etc. as well as all the good ones. You will never have a meaningful relationship with anyone if all you ever share are the good parts of yourself. You aren't being honest with others, and you aren't being true to yourself if you just push away all your bad feelings and skip town as soon as your doubts start to show.
Marrying someone you barely know and swearing your love isn't going to do any good if you don't make any other promises; if you don't confide in that person, tell them your deepest and darkest.
I think so far most people have nailed that part on the head, but let's go a little deeper than that....
The real question to be answered here is:
WHY WOULD SOMEONE RUN AWAY AS SOON AS THEIR DOUBTS BEGIN TO SHOW??
I don't think this is just about running away from problems... but it's about the fear of getting hurt by others; the fear of letting other people get too close. It's a story about shutting people out, because you're so afraid that if they get to know you to your core, they will use your weaknesses against you. So as soon as you feel like you've slipped up and your doubts have shown through despite your efforts to keep someone at a distance, you split town so as not to get hurt. It's like when you hear a rumor that you're significant other is going to break up with you, so you protect yourself by making sure you break up with them first.
Option one is to be closed off and run away to protect yourself from getting hurt when your weaknesses show. You will never be happy this way.
Option two is to be honest, and show your doubts to others. You could and probably will make some amazing friends, lovers, a second family if you will. Yes, you will get hurt in that process. However, it is better to be hurt and run to someone you can trust for comfort, than it is to never let yourself have the opportunity to make meaningful relationships.
The moral of the story here is that if you are constantly on the defense, you are never going to be happy. You will keep pushing people away, and continue to run. But if you let your guard down, there is a chance you might get hurt, but it is totally worth the possibility that you might make some of the best friendships and loves that you could never even imagine.
"'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all" -Alfred Lord Tennyson
Amazing band amazing song, cant wait till they come back to NY