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I don't feel the suns comin' out today
Its staying in, its gonna find another way.
As I sit here in this misery, I don't
Think I'll ever see the sun from here.
And oh as I fade away,
They'll all look at me and say, and they'll say,
Hey look at him! I'll never live that way.
But that's okay
They're just afraid to change.
When you feel your life ain't worth living
You've got to stand up and
Take a look around you then a look way up to the sky.
And when your deepest thoughts are broken,
Keep on dreaming boy, cause when you stop dreamin' it's time to die.
And as we all play parts of tomorrow,
Some ways will work and other ways we'll play.
But I know we all can't stay here forever,
So I want to write my words on the face of today.
And then they'll paint it
And oh as I fade away,
They'll all look at me and they'll say,
Hey look at him and where he is these days.
When life is hard, you have to change.
Its staying in, its gonna find another way.
As I sit here in this misery, I don't
Think I'll ever see the sun from here.
And oh as I fade away,
They'll all look at me and say, and they'll say,
Hey look at him! I'll never live that way.
But that's okay
They're just afraid to change.
When you feel your life ain't worth living
You've got to stand up and
Take a look around you then a look way up to the sky.
And when your deepest thoughts are broken,
Keep on dreaming boy, cause when you stop dreamin' it's time to die.
And as we all play parts of tomorrow,
Some ways will work and other ways we'll play.
But I know we all can't stay here forever,
So I want to write my words on the face of today.
And then they'll paint it
And oh as I fade away,
They'll all look at me and they'll say,
Hey look at him and where he is these days.
When life is hard, you have to change.
Lyrics submitted by bubbrock316
Track duration: 03:42
"Change" as written by Adam Coltman, Jason Fonfe, Molly Johnson, Leigh Smith
Lyrics © Royalty Network, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., EMI Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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People are very critical when I tell them these things. They think it's comical, and sometimes even dont believe me. But more often, they question it, and say things like "how can you live like that?" well it's a fact that no two people live the same way. I wish everyone happiness, fulfillment, longevity and companionship for everyone, no matter how they find it. But people need to realize that the life they lead, that's right for them, isnt right for me. I dont ask anyone to conform to my life, and they shouldnt do the same for me. How I choose to live isnt superior in any way to anyone else, nor is theirs.
So for everyone out there, live long, take care of yourselves and those you love, smoke the occasional joint, find fulfullment and hapiness in nature, in those you care about, in (safe) drugs... in whatever. Fall in love, have your heart broken, see the world, and remember, you only have yourself to fear.
And never be afraid to change.
Oh, and never, ever, stop rockin'. RIP Shannon \m/
~Know as I fade away, they'll all look at me and say,
and they'll say
"Hey look at him, I'll never live that way",
but that's okay,
they couldnt anyway...~
This was the first song Shannon wrote as a whole, and the verse "And I know we cant all stay here forever, so I'm gonna write my words on the face of today, and they'll paint it..." is written on Shannon Hoon's tombstone.
I love the version Blind Melon played on Letterman on April 8th, 1994. If you are into 90's alternative rock you know this is the day Kurt Cobain was found dead in his apartment of what was, at the time, believed to be a suicide. Shan loved Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, all those Seattle rock bands, and even though they came around at around the same time, I think Shannon looked up to them a bit, especially Kurt and Eddie Vedder. On the night of the day Kurt was found, Shannon sharpie'd a ? on his forehead and played this song, and some extra intensity came out of him, as well as a bit of flare and anger. "Know as I fade away, they'll all look at me and say, hey look at him, I'll never live that way... but that's okay, they couldnt anyway".
Love these guys, and their debut album is one of my favorites. They have a way of capturing human psyche as a whole in ways that other bands, even bands I listen to more extensively, cant. When life sucks and I dont know why, I just throw on No Rain. It's not particularly specific in its meaning or the issue that Shannon is writing about, but it makes me just throw up my hands and go "such is life, being confused is okay sometimes..."
One of the greatest songwriters of his day, and one of the many fallen rock and roll heroes of the 90's. I like to think that Layne, Kurt, and Shannon are on a desolate island in the South Pacific right now with John Lennon, George Harrison, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Danny Federici, Dimebag Abbot, Jimi Hendrix, Ronnie Dio, and Syd Barrett, with nothing but nature, a few guitars, drum kits, basses, amps, etc, a life supply of pot, shrooms, and acid, and eachother.
My Dad (a huge Neil Young fan) was an alcoholic and cocaine addict turned opiate addict and in the end opiates took his life. He finally got tired of the junkie life I guess because one day he told me that he'd rather die coming off of it than live that way and he didn't want his kids to have to bury a junkie for a dad. Coming off the opiates killed him and he spent the last few months of his life so sick he looked like a corpse but for the first time ever he was someone I was really proud of, still is.
My favorite version of Change was on Letterman when Shannon changed it to say
"Oh as I fade away they'll all look at me and say
hey look at him I'll never live that way
and that's ok they couldn't anyway
When life is hard you know you gotta change"
That's always reminded me of the way people in my Dad's life reacted, they all watched him dying and wanted to sell him more dope or just said he was crazy or they'd never live that way, but I think it takes strength to want something bad enough to be willing to die for it.
I'm getting ready to have a tattoo done with that verse and my Dad's date of death.
Talent like Shannon Hoon had is SO rare! His music still gets me through so much!
When you feel your life ain't worth living
you've got to stand up and
take a look around you then a look way up to the sky.
And when your deepest thoughts are broken,
(these lyrics especially ----> keep on dreaming boy,
cause when you stop dreamin' it's time to die
when i had nothing to believe in, i've heard this. then i decided, whatever happens, i'll never loose my faith. i will always have my dreams. Who can take them away? I will always hope there's sumthing better waiting for me.
I wanted to get back what i've lost, but then realised i can do even better, so...i've changed. Shannon said, when life is hard u have 2 change. this guy is just so wise, isn't he? =) you just have to listen to him. he's always right.
I know the term "favorite song" get's thrown around a lot, but in all seriousness this is my all time favorite song. When I first started binging on cocaine this song got me through the come down many times, and it's ironic how this song was formed by Shannon Hoon. I just think his vocals are amazing in every song, but particularly this song along with the acoustic guitar....It just really speaks to me and sets me in a specific mood each and every time and I've never come across another song that can do that for me.
The opening of the song speaks to me from the point of view of a person dealing with some form of depression whether it be from drugs, or just in general. You live with a black cloud over your head and carry that mentality with you everywhere in all aspects of life. So you need to find that hint of light within the darkness in order to get out of that state of mind. Positive thinking is the first step out of your bad situation, always.
When you're depressed or strung out on drugs positive people don;t want to associate with you, as you will bring them down. So they look at you in pity, and use you as an example of what not to become. But as we transition in life it's part of the process, so usually those people are comfortable with their same boring daily routine in their safe little world. Experiences through depression can be positive in a sense of self realization, a time of gathering your thoughts and ambitions....Recognizing negativity.
Dealing with drug issues or depression can really be tough, as when you start to dream about what you want in life and try to think positive thoughts will creep into your mind and infest trying to bring you back down again.....It's like a self inflicting psychological disease, I can tell you from first hand experience it's not easy to deal with in the slightest. But you have to keep on trying, because once you give up your spirit will die and not get you out of the darkness and eventually it will consume you and you will either die or be dead inside.
Tomorrow is a new day to work on advancing your situation in life, some of it will be fun and some of it will be work but both are essential. In the end we're not here on earth for a very long time, so we might as well make the best of it or just give up and leave....the second makes no sense if we're going there eventually anyways. Happiness is a state of mind, as long as you can live with yourself that's all that matters.
Change is part of progression, if you're not happy and are a negative person chances are you need to change things in your life. You can still be yourself, but you need to change specific actions and characteristics.
"Hey look at him, and where he is these days; When life is hard you have to change"