How many times have you been pushed around
Is anybody there, does anybody care
And how many times have your friends let you down
Is anybody there, did anybody stare, oh
And how many times have your friends let you down
Just open up your heart
Just open up your mind
And how many times has your faith slipped away
Well is anybody safe, does anybody pray

[Chorus]

Oh, life is waiting for you
It's all messed up, but we're alive
Oh, life is waiting for you
It's all messed up, but we'll survive

And how many days have you just slept away
Is everybody high, is everyone afraid
And how many times have you wished you were strong
Have they ever seen your heart
Have they ever seen your pain

[Chorus]

She gets high, she gets lost
She gets drowned by the cost
Twice a day, every week, and all her life
She gets high, she gets lost
She gets drowned by the cost
Twice a day, every week, and all her life

[Chorus]

Oh, life is waiting for you
It's all messed up but we're alive
Oh, life is waiting for you, oh
It's all messed up but we're alive
It's all messed up but we'll survive
It's all messed up but we're alive
It's all messed up but we'll, but we'll survive



Lyrics submitted by dsfire

Track duration: 03:49

"Life" as written by Dee Dee Halligan, Junior Torello

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Life song meanings
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55 Comments

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  • 0
    Song Meaning:Everyone who thinks they could write a more meaningful song when they were 12 are completely ignorant.

    Considering the whole album is a concept album based off the book "The Age of Spiritual Machines" , (the R.K. readings between the songs are form this book), and where this song is placed in the album, the song is comparing humans to machines. Basically the song is saying that humans are resilient creatures, and that our ability to persevere and recover, and our spiritual capacity sets us high above Artificial Intelligence. "It's all messed up but we're alive/we'll survive" fits well into this interpretation.
    At the end, the "she gets high she gets lost" is talking about a girl with a disease, probably cancer, who is able to recover her body and work through the suffering. That is something machines aren't able to do.

    This is only understood if you listen to the rest of the album and do some research into the book. Without knowing this it can be interpreted just that life sucks sometimes but the human spirit is capable of persevering through anything.
    Flag SquidPiloton December 10, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:I hadn't heard this song in years and then my iPod brought it up in a 'genius' playlist; I have now rediscovered my love forthis song and for Our Lady Peace in general.

    I'm at a great place in my life but that doesn't mean that the external bulls**t in the world doesn't bring you down on occasion. Just knowing that things do get better gives hope and what is life without a hope for a better future, in world where an individual matters but realizes it's important to undertsand your own self worth first and regain your own being of self-consciousness. Individualism is becoming lost in everyday life and ones self needs to regain their own worth before looking on others to find that worth.
    Flag aaronosufanon August 12, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:the first OLP song I ever heard, and still my favorite
    Flag rockerpoeton February 13, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think the songs about being stuck in something and how you need to let go of what ever is keeping you stuck.

    Your stuck in this. and its not the first time you've been suck here. (what ever it is your stuck in)

    The line "life is wating for you" means that
    there is a better way to live. And the better world is wating for you. So go out and enjoy it.
    Flag ajslikes2argueon February 12, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think a lot of the lyrics are about how people don't really care about each other anymore, and often forget how amazing and mysterious it is that themselves and the universe exist in the first place.

    The real meaning behind this song is that, even though it seems like most people are spiritually/emotionally void and disconnected, that doesn't mean that YOU have to be. You have a mind of your own, and the whole world is out there for you to take in, so there is no reason to fall prey to the emptiness of modern life.

    I think "Just open up your heart, just open up your mind. How many times has your faith slipped away? Is anybody safe? Does anybody pray?" sums that message up perfectly.

    A lot of what Our Lady Peace writes seems to be about appreciating life and feeling alive in an increasingly fast-paced and sterile world.
    Flag Atagamay41on November 03, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:No. The lyrics aren't amazing. It's basic English, with basic rhyming. It's like rhyming 'sorrow' with 'tomorrow', there's no thought behind them. I'd have wrote something like this when I was 12.
    Flag jamesdelveon September 25, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:its about a girl he fancies who likes drugs and wasting time
    Flag something0cleveron August 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love this sond because it seems to me that they are giving the message "when your low in life because of your own mistakes, you can still bring yourself back up. Don't end your life, just keep going". It's mainly just an anti-suicide song.
    Flag tprateron June 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i LOVE this song...it is basically the anthem for: 'yeah, life can be really crappy, but keep surviving'
    i remember the first time i heard it...
    i was DEFINITELY having one of those days, and everytime he said: 'how many times...' he totally hit the nail on the head.
    this song is #1 on the list of what I'd turn to when I need a pick-me-up or inspiration...
    it's THE song for that.
    Flag severalwayson June 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The anthem for people with problems! I don't mean to make it sound so bad, but it sorta is. How many times have you been betrayed, forgotten, ignored, stared at, let down, felt weak, hurt? We all feel like this, at various times. But as bad as it gets, as messed up as it gets--we're alive.

    The end is the part that really gets to me. It's like this girl who, instead of embracing life and accepting it, seems to turn to drugs. "She gets high, she gets lost
    She gets drowned by the cost, Twice a day, every week." But she's still alive, and it's like he's telling her that life is still there, waiting for her. That things can get better. It's sad and yet so hopeful that it tears my heart every time. Your life can suck so bad it makes vacuums blush. But you're still alive.
    Flag adrian_lavanon June 19, 2007   Link

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