Like Miles Davis, I've been swayed by the cool
There's just something 'bout the summertime, there's just something 'bout the moon
So I laid a kiss on a stone, tossed it upside your window by the roof
Before you change your mind, Miles, bring in the cool

Honey, put on your red dress and your diamond-soled shoes
Climb on out from that window, climb on out of your room
'Cause I never had a good thing and I always had the blues
But I heard that you always kinda wondered, Miles, strike up the cool

Don't wait too long to come home
My, how the years and our youth passed on
Don't wait too long to come home
I will leave the front light on
And the night is our own
Don't wait too long

Like poor Mr. Pitiful, I can't turn you loose
You move like a dream I had, I woke up sweating in my room
But your mama's got plans and your daddy's aim is true
She never understood that it ain't no good, papa never heard the cool

So now I've got up my nerve and found me a stone
With a flick of the wrist and a turn of the key, you'll just fall in my arms

And don't wait too long to come home
My, how the years and our youth passed on
Don't wait too long to come home
I will leave the front light on
And the night is our own
Don't wait too long

So why don't you sing to me on this long drive home
And let the sound of your voice sway sweet and slow
As we go down, down, down from our youth to the ground
Down, down, down from our youth to the ground

We might always be blue
Jackson

Don't wait too long to come home
My, how the years and our youth passed on
Don't wait too long to come home
I will leave the front light on

No, don't wait too long to come home
My, how the years and our youth passed on
Don't wait too long to come home
I will leave the front light on

As we go down, down, down from our youth to the ground
Down, down, down from our youth to the ground
Down, down, down from our youth to the ground
Down, down, down, down, down



Lyrics submitted by lowapr

Track duration: 04:16

"Miles Davis & The Cool" as written by Brian Fallon

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Miles Davis and the Cool song meanings
Add your thoughts

18 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment:To me, this song seems sort of him saying that he loves this girl but she wants to go out and experience new things, and he's saying he'll let her go off and do her own thing, but he'll wait for her to come back to him. The verses seem sort of reminiscent of memories he has of her and he's trying to remind her of those when he throws the stones at her window to make her stay with him. When the part about what the girls parents want, perhaps they're influencing the girl to go off or stay away from what she loves (music maybe?) but the boy is telling her that it shouldn't matter what they want. This could be similar to where it says 'as we go down from our youth to the ground', saying that your youth is the best time of your life, it's the best chance you have to do what you want to with your life, and if you don't go for it then, you'll never get the life that you want.
    Flag emma97on May 07, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I do love this song my fav song from this album!!!

    i have to kind of agree with Desaparecida that i belive it is of him liking this girl all trough out high school and then one night he takes a chance gooes to her house late at night and tries to be a old romantic possibly in a song from the old jazz musicial Miles Davis (who i guess the title of this song is about) but back to my point, i belive it is about a girl that you like and tries to be a old romantic by going to her house then kissing the stone for luck and throwing it up at her window to get her attention and then time passes and the part about the red dress and diamon soled shoes could be a part about after graduation like prom or something (i am english so i don't know what happens) and he asks to her prom or something and she wears this stunning red dress and he falls inlove with her more, then time passes and they get married or live together about coming home and not waiting to long then "down from our youth to the ground" could be that saying that they have gone from their youth to death together

    i don't know if that is true or not but i feel like it could be like that to me
    Flag Ril3yon October 18, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I love this song. If I had to pick one favorite song from these guys, it'd probably be this one.

    I really like the little story it tells... or the one I imagine when I hear it, anyway. I see it from the POV of this high-school age guy, probably shy and unpopular. He likes this girl but has always been too afraid to say anything to her all throughout high school. I imagine this taking place during the spring, they're seniors now, graduation is quickly approaching. It's now or never. So he goes to her house late at night. He stands under her bedroom window, looks up. He takes a deep breath, finds a stone, and hopes or prays or wishes that this will work. The stone hits the window and he talks her into coming out with him. She puts on a red dress, climbs out of her bedroom window, and they run out into the night to dance and have fun before they graduate and have to become responsible adults.

    Alternatively, the whole middle part of the song -- "Honey, put on your red dress" to "So I found me a stone" -- could be him imagining the best possible scenario, and then he throws the rock at her window. And we don't know how it turns out for him.

    In any case... this song just makes me feel hopeful. It's weird. It says to me "Have hope. Be brave. Throw a stone. You don't know how it could turn out. It could turn out great."

    And the chorus... "So don't wait too long to come home. My, how the years and our youth pass on. Don't wait too long to come home, I will leave the front light on. The night is our own... don't wait too long." kind of reinforces this idea that I have. Don't wait too long, don't wait for later, do it now, do it while we're young, son.

    So there's my $.02. =]
    Flag Desaparecidaon January 20, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"She never understood that it ain't no good" is a reference to Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone": "You never understood that it ain't no good. You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you." That might tie into that song's idea of having "no direction home", given the repeated references here of returning home after a long time, from far away.
    Flag goodreverendon January 08, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Great analysis g4dget.

    This is one of my favourites by the Gaslight Anthem. It's epic, and full of wonderful little melodies and phrases and references, most of which have been pointed out...

    The Cool was an era or style of Miles Davis the jazz musician (although brian fallon doesn't like to call him Jazz and considers him to be soul - pastepunk.com/…

    Flag lrb85on December 29, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The line is "So I got up my nerve", not "So I got out my map".
    Flag PoorMrPitifulon December 18, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:"Your daddy's aim is true" is probably a reference to Elvis Costello's My Aim is True.
    The rest of the lyric borrows heavily from Bruce Springsteen's "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", when Bruce sings "Now I know your mama she don't like me 'cause I play in a rock and roll band/And I know your daddy he don't dig me but he never did understand".
    Also, "we might always be blue" could be in reference to Miles's classic Kind of Blue.
    Flag ryan345on December 06, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The first chorus cites a lot of jazz songs. Summertime is a jazz standard and when he sings "moon" he's using the melody to Ella Fitzgerald's How High the Moon
    Flag rceramion December 05, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The diamond soled shoes line is another reference, this time to Paul Simon's "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes", continuing the habit Brian has of referencing his favourite artists
    Flag SamuelHWon August 14, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:The first line of the fourth verse is a reference to Otis Redding ('Mr. Pitiful' and 'I Can't Turn You Loose' are two of his most famous songs), which would tie in to the idea of music-fueled nostalgia for their youth...does anyone see any other references like that in this song?

    There are the lines "there's just something about the moon" and "you move like a dream I had", which could connect to 'Moon Dreams' and 'Darn that Dream' off of Birth of the Cool, but that's kind of tenuous. I don't see anything else as obvious as the Otis Redding thing, but I could be missing something.
    Flag ReverseArchaeologiston July 25, 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