Saw a girl that I used to know
I was deep in thought at the time
To recognize the face at first
Cause I was probably looking at mine
Well she was the only girl I've ever loved
But my folks didn't dig her so much
I was young
This is serious
To me she was the world (she was my world now)
I thought I'd never live without her,
But I got by in time

Well let me tell you now,
Saw a guy that I used to know
Man he'd changed so much
I think it hurt him to say 'hello,
Cause he hardly opened his mouth
Yeah well he was my best friend a few years ago
Truly inseparable

We were young
We were full of ideals
We were gonna pull this whole world
But something happened
I didn't know why
But that's the way that it goes.

I suppose,
What you say - what you do
Don't mean nothing, nothing at all
And all the bonds you make between ya
Can be broken any time you want now
Please tell me if my philosophy's wrong
I've got to know the truth
I don't mean to offend anyone but,
You know it's something that I do, oh-

So nice to see you tonight,
And I'm so glad that you came
Some of the people standing outside, say
Sure feel the same
Yeah my point is in a round about way
Given time he'll always forget
Cause the memories
That ... me on
To me everything (you're everything now)
And it always will be mine, yeah
And no one can take them away


Lyrics submitted by SmithersJones87

I Got by in Time Lyrics as written by Paul John Weller

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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I Got By In Time song meanings
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    General Comment

    One of my all time favorite Jam songs - the lyrics about something so mundane feel quite profound :)

    kexpseattleon March 24, 2023   Link

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