This song recounts a short visit to Bixby Canyon in Big Sur, California. In the summer of 1960, nearing the end of his career as a Roman candle, Jack Kerouac, poet-hero of the Beat...
I descended a dusty gravel ridge
Beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge
Until I eventually arrived
At the place where your soul had died
Barefoot in the shallow creek,
I grabbed some stones from underneath
And waited for you to speak to me
And the silence; it became so very clear
That you had long ago disappeared
I cursed myself for being surprised
That this didn't play like it did in my mind
All the way from San Francisco
As I chased the end of your road
Cause I've still got miles to go
And I want to know my fate
If I keep up this way
And it's hard to want to stay awake
When everyone you need, they all seem to be asleep
And you wonder if you missed your dream
You can't see a dream
You can't see a dream
You just can't see a dream
And then it started getting dark
I truged back to where the car was parked
No closer to any kind of truth
Beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge
Until I eventually arrived
At the place where your soul had died
Barefoot in the shallow creek,
I grabbed some stones from underneath
And waited for you to speak to me
And the silence; it became so very clear
That you had long ago disappeared
I cursed myself for being surprised
That this didn't play like it did in my mind
All the way from San Francisco
As I chased the end of your road
Cause I've still got miles to go
And I want to know my fate
If I keep up this way
And it's hard to want to stay awake
When everyone you need, they all seem to be asleep
And you wonder if you missed your dream
You can't see a dream
You can't see a dream
You just can't see a dream
And then it started getting dark
I truged back to where the car was parked
No closer to any kind of truth
Lyrics submitted by TDDx8, edited by kylebenjam, justgraceful14, indierox
Track duration: 05:15
"Bixby Canyon Bridge" as written by Benjamin Gibbard
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Did any one else find it interesting that he said "soul had died" ? when people die, their bodies die, and supposedly their souls live on. kinda curious...
suicide.
There is a bridge over a small river in Colorado which these lyrics evoke in me. It's a shallow and rocky creek. A guy's brother I knew committed suicide in that river. I picture myself walking down to the river bed, stepping out into it, barefooted. It's around dusk. What was this young man feeling when he took his life -- the end of his road, the place where his soul had died? Could he not see a dream? Had we no reason to live? Maybe I could derive his sentiment. What should be my fate? I too felt listless; we all have trouble staying awake. You/I just can't see a dream. So should we end our lives, or keep up the pace. I just can't see the truth, as I must assume was the case with you.
I descended a dusty gravel ridge
Beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge
Until I eventually arrived
At the place where your soul had died
He decided to visit the place they died to try and understand why they did it.
Barefoot in the shallow creek
I grabbed some stones from underneath
And waited for you to speak to me
Wishing they were still alive to explain why they took their life
And the silence, it became so very clear
That you had long ago disappeared
I cursed myself for being surprised
That this didn't play like it did in my mind
Feeling foolish for thinking that coming here would make him understand why that person took their life.
This song opens up the story where a young man, who has obviously loved and lost, begins his tale. I don't think his other love died. Maybe she left him or their love just faded. Whatever the case, he's lost love somehow. This is where he begins telling us about the state he's in. There are some lines foreshadowing what we are going to learn in the next song, such as "I grab some stones from underneath, and waited for you to speak to me." He's lost love, but he wants another girl who he knows is out of his league and he can't have her. And so he waits for his chance to finally speak to her.
And thus, a very sad and lonesome tale begins. See the next song on the album for another interpretation.
When everyone you meet they all seem to be asleep
And you wonder if you're missing your dream
You can't see your dream
You can't see your dream
You just can't see your dream
refer to ignorance. Everyone he knows is ignorant. By "being asleep", they close their eyes to the world around them and live in their fantasy world (the "dream"). I think he notices that they are happy. I think he compares his happiness to theirs, and realizes that they don't suffer nearly as much as he does. He wants to know if he should close his eyes too, and live in a dream. He wants to know whether or not living his life away from reality will make it better. This brings about the cliche and question I know I ask myself all the time: is ignorance bliss?
Just my interpretation on a beautiful song.
This is the question he was looking for Kerouac to answer.
It's hard to want to stay awake
When everyone you meet they all seem to be asleep
To put it very simply, he's saying that people are ignorant, and he finds it hard to deal with. Sometimes he feels cursed by his refusal to ignore his surroundings.
And you wonder if you're missing your dream
You can't see your dream
You can't see your dream
You just can't see your dream
Since he's "awake", he's well aware of all the troubles in the world, and the people who are "asleep" are oblivious. He wonders if he's missing out, because the people who are unaware seem to be leading much happier lives. They aren't bothered by what he sees. They're living out their "dreams", and he can't see his, because he's still "awake".
yes it is about Jack Kerouac but earlier it was said that Ben went there to write Narrow Stairs but failed in the inpiration department, maybe "truth" refers to inspiration in this song.
i.e: Ben went there because he thought it would be a great place to try to write something meaningful because of the place's history but when he got there he found that things "didn't play like they did in his mind" because the place and indeed Jack Kerouac didn't offer any spurs of genius, so at the end of it all he decided to leave, no closer to any kind of "truth"
"as i must assume was the case with you"
i kind of relate to it. i met this guy who was very anti-social and didn't talk much and that sort of intrigued me about him so i kept trying to talk to him, but each time, he would give me short-ended answers. so i developed a crush on him, a pretty stupid thing to do, but i kept trying to figure him out. no matter how much emotional damage i recieved. i tried really hard to become friends with him but he just wouldn't budge, so i decided to give up. it was very hard to do, but i had to move on.
the part that touched me the most was: "And the silence, it became so very clear, that you had long ago disappeared. I cursed myself for being surprised that this didn't play like it did in my mind." because it just sums up so much of how i felt. i had pretty much imagined how everything was going to turn out in the end and that i would be happy, but nothing turned out to be true. so when i gave up, i cursed myself for being surprised.
i absolutely adore this song. death cab is such an amazing group and they have absolutely stunning songs.