Lyrics for Room A Thousand Years Wide as interpreted by jt

Room A Thousand Years Wide Lyrics
Listen, hear, he is inside
One who lives while others lie
I close my eyes and walk a thousand years
A thousand years that aren't mine

It seems he's near me as I walk
One who loved what love denied
He lives these years that I walk blind
All these years cannot be mine

Tomorrow begat tomorrow
Begat tomorrow
Begat tomorrow

A thousand doors a thousand lies
Rooms a thousand years wide
He walks in the cold sun and wind
All these years will not begin

Tomorrow begat tomorrow
Begat tomorrow
Begat tomorrow

Interaction
Mail to a friend Send Lyrics to a Friend
Share on Facebook

Stumble It
Add to Del.icio.us Add to Del.icio.us




  • 17 Comments
  • Printer Friendly Lyrics
oldest first     Expand All
saal
06-11-2002

Rated 0 
will somebody please tell me the meaning of this song?

Log in to reply
sommy
08-29-2002

Rated 0 
No. Go away.

Log in to reply
Oh Pea
07-02-2003

Rated 0 
ha ha ha ha ha. Good one, sommy. This song seems to play with the concepts of onotogical, or our inner experince of time, and 'clock' time. To me this song means a lot. I was bottoming out from a drug addiction and the whole thing about, having something inside you that lives/sees while you are in denial or are dead in some metahporical way really helped me. It was like having a religious experience, listening to those lyrics, cause they really verbalised my 'reality'. It speaks to me of time lost to the addiction "all these years will not begin" and of a tomorrow that never arrives "tomorrow begat! tomorow!". The lies, the false opportunites "a thousand doors, a thousand lies". The grind of addiction, it was a period that seemed to be "a thousand years wide". With no recess! It was like being traped in a big room. And the sense of disbelief as encapsulated by the lines "all these years can not be mine". That's exactly what I used to think while I was in my addiction: this can't be my life. I walked " in the cold sun and rain", that is to say, no matter what my life looked like externally, I was cold, always, because of the addiction. And towards the end of my using, I thought that all my hopes "(would) not begin". Thats what I read into it at the time. Like I said, in the convalesence of withdrawl, a lot of things seem like religious experiences, what I'm saying now, is that this was one of mine, and it was so awesome that I just had to share it with you. Thanks for reading my rave!

Log in to reply
Lepra Messias
04-14-2005

Rated 0 
wow this must be the first entry by Oh_Pea that doesn't look like an utter troll to me. this might have made sense to you at the time, and it still is a viable interpretation, but i don't think that's the only one possible. i don't know what to make of it yet, but maybe some future posts might give me a clue.

Log in to reply
KrisFuckingCrack
06-05-2005

Rated 0 
i know that this song came first but it really reminds me of "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski.

Log in to reply
ktrice1
08-24-2006

Rated 0 
This may be totally off the wall, but I think it's a love song. A guy who truly loves this other girl but gets shot down b/c she's either not interested or she's with someone else. He's a good hearted guy, but a lot of other guys just try to sleep with women and he doesn't.(One who lives while others lie). The other guy "lives these years that I walk blind" by lying and getting the girl when he would never do something like that. "It seems he's near me as I walk" is almost like him being taunted by the cheating or abusive guy. "A thousand doors, a thousand lies" tells me that even if he does manage to find a girl, she just lies to him. There are doors(women), but he is cynical and tired of being kind so he passes them off as lies. Again, this may be wayyyy off the mark, but that's what it's saying to me.

Log in to reply
zaqwert777
06-19-2007

Rated 0 
I don't care what this song is about. It's what's playing in the background that fascinates me. Sounds like a chainsaw on a rope being swung around or one of those model airplanes. I wonder who the genius was who thought of that (I'm not being sarcastic I mean it) who would come up with that? Just amazing. These guys were true musical geniuses.

I hate the sax solo at the end though. Grates on my nerves.

Log in to reply
Negrum
06-12-2008

Rated 0 
this song gives me chills especially the title!!!!idk y and zagwert777 true this is a masterpiece every instruments@@@@@@@@@@

Log in to reply
Vinu91
08-10-2008

Rated 0 
Well my personal meaning of this song is completely off compared to all of yours; although, isn't the beauty of music how the individual sees it? Anyway I thought of this song as someone whom has another side to him/herself like another personality or a dark side.

Listen, hear, he is inside: I thought of this as if this thing is inside of him, but the thing itself can make noise as if it were speaking.

One who lives while others lie: The protagonist or the singer lies to him/herself saying that he is just imagining this all. Also as in a way that he is in denial.

I close my eyes and walk a thousand years: I thought this as of when he/she closes his eyes, as if he were sleeping, the other being is then dominant. Also he might think that he is just sleep walking.

One who loved what love denied: I considered this as if this other being is the protagonist's polar opposite, and his love is what he likes...as of where the other being likes the other.

He lives these years that I walk blind: This is just like what I spoke of earlier, and to me it seem to fit. When the protagonist is asleep, blind to what is occuring, that is when this being is active. [Or when he is unaware of it.]

Also one more thing when he is talking about thousands of doors I had this mental image like a labrynth of some sort, and if you think about it the mind is something very complex like a maze.

Then again this is just what I thought the song was about, and I am certain most of you won't agree with me.

Log in to reply
Vinu91
08-10-2008

Rated 0 
Well my personal meaning of this song is completely off compared to all of yours; although, isn't the beauty of music how the individual sees it? Anyway I thought of this song as someone whom has another side to him/herself like another personality or a dark side.

Listen, hear, he is inside: I thought of this as if this thing is inside of him, but the thing itself can make noise as if it were speaking.

One who lives while others lie: The protagonist or the singer lies to him/herself saying that he is just imagining this all. Also as in a way that he is in denial.

I close my eyes and walk a thousand years: I thought this as of when he/she closes his eyes, as if he were sleeping, the other being is then dominant. Also he might think that he is just sleep walking.

One who loved what love denied: I considered this as if this other being is the protagonist's polar opposite, and his love is what he likes...as of where the other being likes the other.

He lives these years that I walk blind: This is just like what I spoke of earlier, and to me it seem to fit. When the protagonist is asleep, blind to what is occuring, that is when this being is active. [Or when he is unaware of it.]

Also one more thing when he is talking about thousands of doors I had this mental image like a labrynth of some sort, and if you think about it the mind is something very complex like a maze.

Then again this is just what I thought the song was about, and I am certain most of you won't agree with me.

Log in to reply
irishguy977
12-02-2008

Rated 0 
Kim Thayil wrote the lyrics to this song. It is about his life experiences.

Log in to reply
guitardude00013
01-28-2009

Rated 0 
In this song soundgarden is talking about a dimension in heaven a "room a thousand years wide" Begat means lord refering to god he is telling god tomorrow that he has to ride out the course of his life and hes not ready to face death. a in a single dimension there will be people on there ranging from the courses of years and years people who cant relate to him because they are from the past and he walked the world through his own eyes and life experiences its something people from the past cant comprehend and he dont fit in this place

Log in to reply
Tiny_Tank
01-30-2009

Rated 0 
This is my 2nd favorite song off of Badmotorfinger! (2nd only to a tie between Slaves & Bulldozers and New Damage) But I dont think this song is about anything that has been mentioned here really, which is why everyone has their own personal interpretations. And given the fact that Kim has a Philosphy degree, and what he has said in interviews etc I think its fair enough to see that he has a more philisophical approach to songwriting. Which is why even though not complete I think "Oh Pea"s opening statement about our onotological experience of time and the passage of time is more inline with the songs theme.

Log in to reply
DJgif
02-16-2009

Rated 0 
vinu has it. He walks in the cold sun and wind = no stopping him? All these years will not begin = denial

Log in to reply
KillViacom
11-17-2009

Rated +1 
Room A Thousand Years Wide = Best Soundgarden Song Ever

Log in to reply
RazorDog
12-13-2009

Rated 0 
as IrishGuy said above - Kim Thayil wrote this song about himself

he sounds kind of like he does not want to share his meaning behind the song

Log in to reply
SludgeGarden13
12-18-2009

Rated 0 
to me its just about that horrible feeling of wasting time. watching others make something of their lives while youre just waiting for something to happen to you. he feels like he closes his eyes to blink or go to sleep and a thousand years pass before he opens them. i think its all just a metaphor for wasted time and regret for not making more of your life.

Log in to reply




  • Add Your Comments
What does this song mean to you?

You must be logged in to post your comments.

Feel free to create an account with us, or log in with your existing account, to start adding your comments to songs.





Popular
Top:   Lyrics, Artists, Albums
Random:   Lyric, Artist, Album

Your Ad Here