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I was walking far from home
Where the names were not burned along the wall
Saw a building high as heaven
But the door was so small, door was so small
I saw rainclouds, little babies
And a bridge that had tumbled to the ground
I saw sinners making music
I've dreamt of that sound, dreamt of that sound
I was walking far from home
But I carried your letters all the while
I saw lovers in a window
Whisper, "Want me like time, want me like time"
I saw sickness, blooming fruit trees
I saw blood and a bit of it was mine
I saw children in a river
But their lips were still dry, lips were still dry
I was walking far from home
And I found your face mingled in the crowd
Saw a boatful of believers sail off
Talking too loud, talking too loud
I saw sunlight on the water
Saw a bird fall like a hammer from the sky
Saw an old woman on the speed train
She was closing her eyes, closing her eyes
I saw flowers on the hillside
And a millionaire pissing on the lawn
Saw a prisoner take a pistol
And say, "Join me in song, join me in song"
Saw a car crash in the country
Where the prayers run like weeds along the road
I saw strangers stealing kisses
Giving only their clothes, only their clothes
Saw a white dog chase its tail
And a pair of hearts carved into a stone
I saw kindness and an angel
Crying, "Take me back home, take me back home"
Saw a highway, saw an ocean
I saw widows in the temple to the law
Naked dancers in the city
How they spoke for us all, spoke for us all
Saw loaded linen tables
And a motherless colt, then it was gone
I saw hungry brothers waiting
With a radio on, radio on
I was walking far from home
Where the names were not burned along the wall
Saw a wet road form a circle
And it came like a call, came like a call
From the Lord
Where the names were not burned along the wall
Saw a building high as heaven
But the door was so small, door was so small
I saw rainclouds, little babies
And a bridge that had tumbled to the ground
I saw sinners making music
I've dreamt of that sound, dreamt of that sound
I was walking far from home
But I carried your letters all the while
I saw lovers in a window
Whisper, "Want me like time, want me like time"
I saw sickness, blooming fruit trees
I saw blood and a bit of it was mine
I saw children in a river
But their lips were still dry, lips were still dry
I was walking far from home
And I found your face mingled in the crowd
Saw a boatful of believers sail off
Talking too loud, talking too loud
I saw sunlight on the water
Saw a bird fall like a hammer from the sky
Saw an old woman on the speed train
She was closing her eyes, closing her eyes
I saw flowers on the hillside
And a millionaire pissing on the lawn
Saw a prisoner take a pistol
And say, "Join me in song, join me in song"
Saw a car crash in the country
Where the prayers run like weeds along the road
I saw strangers stealing kisses
Giving only their clothes, only their clothes
Saw a white dog chase its tail
And a pair of hearts carved into a stone
I saw kindness and an angel
Crying, "Take me back home, take me back home"
Saw a highway, saw an ocean
I saw widows in the temple to the law
Naked dancers in the city
How they spoke for us all, spoke for us all
Saw loaded linen tables
And a motherless colt, then it was gone
I saw hungry brothers waiting
With a radio on, radio on
I was walking far from home
Where the names were not burned along the wall
Saw a wet road form a circle
And it came like a call, came like a call
From the Lord
Lyrics submitted by smallwonderrobot
Track duration: 04:46
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Lots of religious undertones, usual for what you'll find if you're wandering the Bible belt. The believers are talking too loud, meaning they've lost the message.
At the end he realizes he is walking in a circle, meaning the place he is is stuck in time hence why the song has been describing a wasteland. To me it just means that he realized certain places will never change.
Lots of great individual lines here, don't think the song is particularly meaningful though.
Lots of love, religion, sex, sadness, animals, nature. Normal for Sam Beam.
The things we saw cannot be compared to the original meaning of this song, I'd just like to compare what and how it impacted me.
Walking far from home with their names were all burned along the wall = the streets we patrolled were paved with the blood of soldiers that had been killed before
I saw sinners making music, and I dreamt of that sound = the local drug dealers in a blissful existence with the local opiate induced musicians, I wished I was in a normal club listening to music that we could all dance to with only joy in our hearts
I carried all your letters all the while = I kept letter from my girlfriend to remind that someone, somewhere, still loved me
I saw blood and a bit of it was mine = after an explosion I looked down and saw I was bleeding from my mouth, when I thought it was local civilian casualties' blood
I saw flowers on a hillside = all the poppy flowers we would patrol through (they're beautiful, goolge them)
Saw a prisoner take a pistol = We had a detainee try to overtake us
"Saw a boatful of believers sail off
Talking too loud, talking too loud"
Could also be:
"Saw a boatful of believers say I was
Talking too loud, talking too loud"
That's what I thought it was at first, and it seemed appropriate to give meaning to the idea of believers suffocating the words of others.
What I hear when I listen to it is a description of someone's life "flashing before their eyes". He's walking far from home, not quite in this life, nor in the next. He sees again things that he has seen. The last few lines stick with me particularly, because he speaks of a circular road. To me, it means that he finally realizes, after seeing all this, that life does not end - it continues on and on, and he hears the call from the lord and finally lets go of the life he was leaving and moves on to continue his being.
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It really seems to me like it's just about a man's experiences in a foreign (and probably poverty-ridden) land. My favorite lines?
"Saw a prisoner take a pistol
And say, 'Join me in song, join me in song' "
"I saw hungry brothers waiting
With a radio on, radio on."
I take that to be loveless kisses. Just something people do. People going through the motions. People involved in relationships where they aren't giving any of themselves. Just their clothes. Nothing meaningful. Just material.
But the door was so small, door was so small.......Biblical reference,But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Where the names were not burned along the walls.....unnamed cities/towns???