Come on baby, hold me close
Let me do my best to both,
let me ride, let it roll

I was there to catch a man
I thought I had him by the hand
I only had him by the glove


Come on baby, let me in
You can show yourself to him
You can show me through the doors

And I was there, catching air
Thought I had him by the hand
I only had him by the glove

We was there, in the road
Picking diamonds from a tree
Heard a wolf coming through

Coming through and coming hard,
Tried to leave the heat and gone
Tried to lean against the wall


I'll be there, coming clean
Like a runner in the wind
Coming through the morning light

Rising in, in the stone
Tried to leave the heat at home
Running through the morning dim

And I was there to catch a man,
I thought I had him by the hand
I only had him by the glove

Come on baby, let me close
Let me do my best to both
Run through but cut close


Come on baby, let me in
You can show yourself to him
Ride the road, ride it rough

Yeah in the day I was gone,
Tried to leave the heat at home
Run through and run the road

I was there, coming clean
Like a runner in the wind
Coming through the morning light

You'll be there, on the floor
Picking diamonds from a stone
Looking through the totem pole


Lyrics submitted by iselluxerox

I Was There Lyrics as written by Adam Granofsky

Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

I Was There song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

4 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    I couldn't find these lyrics anywhere, so I did my best to transcribe them--I know some of them are probably wrong, but that guy's pretty hard to understand sometimes!

    Corrections are welcome. One of the big ones I wasn't sure about was the second line, which I ended up putting as "let me do my best at both," but I'm really not sure about.

    Really cool song that gets stuck in my head a lot. It seems to be a combination of a fugitive-type story plus a psychedelic love song. Love this album!

    iselluxeroxon September 22, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    That's great! I can hardly wait for Baby Missiles.

    TrainStationEnthusiaston September 23, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    great post xerox guy yeh its a tough one i couldnt make out any corrections this sung snuk up on me and i find myself humming it all the time these guys are really good not sure what it means i thought the part with the golve meant hes trying to catch someone he loves and when he thinks he got her turns out he wasnt really holding her but thats just my brain and whats going on in my life

    joninowon December 15, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Just viewed a live video, where the second line appears to be "let me do my best to boast". Also, he says "let it rise, watch it fall" instead of "let me ride, let it roll". Seems like he changes the words depending on what he feels like saying at the time. That's cool with me

    d3zzaon December 29, 2013   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!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.