Right outside this lazy summer home
you ain't got time to call your soul a critic no.
Right outside the lazy gate of winter's summer home,
wond'rin' where the nut-thatch winters,
wings a mile long just carried the bird away.
Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world,
the heart has it's beaches, it's homeland and thoughts of it's own.
Wake now, discover that you are the song that the mornin' brings,
But the heart has it's seasons, it's evenin's and songs of it's own.
There comes a redeemer, and he slowly too fades away,
And there follows his wagon behind him that's loaded with clay.
And the seeds that were silent all burst into bloom, and decay,
and night comes so quiet, it's close on the heels of the day.
Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world,
the heart has it's beaches, it's homeland and thoughts of it's own.
Wake now, discover that you are the song that the mornin' brings,
But the heart has it's seasons, it's evenin's and songs of it's own.
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own,
And sometimes we visit your country and live in your home,
sometimes we ride on your horses, sometimes we walk alone,
sometimes the songs that we hear are just songs of our own.
Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world,
the heart has it's beaches, it's homeland and thoughts of it's own.
Wake now, discover that you are the song that the mornin' brings,
But the heart has it's seasons, it's evenin's and songs of it's own.



Lyrics submitted by itsmyownmind

Track duration: 05:17


Eyes Of The World song meanings
Add your thoughts

20 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I've always interpreted as the famous Alan Watts quote goes, "You are the universe experiencing itself." I remember when i truly got this. REALLY got it. I felt it in the sky and the wind of my breath.....and it rained.
    Flag ChemicalBagSonon April 04, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I 1st heard this song from a boot leg tape in 1981 of the Dead at Berkeley Greek in Sep.81.....I had always felt it described the entry into an acid trip ( Right outside this lazy summer home, you ain't got time to call your soul a critic)...".Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world", is pretty much what happens after the initial drowsy 1st phase of tripping.....Also, "There comes a redeemer and he slowly too fades away", to me means the realization of the escence of things and understanding without words, that occurs on hallucinagenics....The " He slowly too fades away" part describes the fact that this LSD wisdom eventually fades to normal awareness......." And night comes so quiet its close on the heals of the day" is the comment about how a whole day can go by in the blink of an eye, while on hallucinagens..........Just my 2 cents.....The Dead alludes to trips all the time...........
    Flag Therichmanon March 02, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I've always believed this song is about evolution and life's attempt to evolve towards self awareness. Humans represent the pinnacle, the "Crown of Creation" and have just reached a moment when we can "see" for the planet and for all life.

    Now we are the stewards.

    "There comes a redeemer and he slowly to fades away."

    This hints at the way certain prophets are born who are more highly evolved than the rest of us. They live and attempt to drag the rest of us up out of the mud, or "clay." Yet, these people are still ephemeral. They die and leave behind ideas and followers "follows behind them a wagon that's loaded with clay." These followers are potentially transformed "shaped" by the teachings of the prophet, yet they still remain a work in progress. Only by lifetimes of work can we hope to continue evolving towards our potential.

    Yet, in the end, despite the gains we as individuals make, we will die. Hopefully our efforts in life make a difference and we progress. The allusions to death in the song are a gentle reminder that we have no time to waste.
    Flag FeyCheshiron November 03, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love this song because it actually DESCRIBES the process of projection that Hunter and Garcia relied upon to simultaneously tap into the depths of the individual psyches of everybody listening with "open" ears AND create a synergistic focus of energy among the collective. The title says it all, "you are the eyes of the world". What you perceive, creates your own reality (certainly), but also contributes to the creation of the socially constructed reality we all live in.

    Robert Hunter intentionally used symbolic images in his lyrics so that they could be interpreted on many different levels. Eyes reminds us that even our individual interpretations of the song rely on the individual "Eyes" (really all levels of perception) that we use to perceive the song in the moment. There is also an implication in the song that there are natural cycles to creative energy and that we should be accepting and sharing of each other's perceptions of reality, aka, their "countries" and "homes". I also think the song is intended to be reassuring in a way, a reminder that we CAN manifest what we believe, that we CAN achieve our dreams.
    Flag trpnstn1on May 27, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I'm amazed that people find this song difficult to interpret. Its basically about life and nature. Its about how without us (or life in general) being able to see the world, there wouldn't be any world. Additionally, it covers the topic of death and how all things have to die. The line 'there comes a redeemer but he slowly too fades away' is just making a point of the fact that even prophets will be forgotten eventually. The line 'wings a mile long carry the bird away' is about how the world we individually perceive is unique, our own world, which we are the only eyes of. Also its about how within nature everything is similar and share patterns no matter what the scale or relevance, so even the mind has its similarities to the outer-world, because nature and the universe is one. Its clearly influenced by Zen. This is just my interpretation of it of course, but I think its pretty simple.

    Fantastic lyrics though, the work of a true poet.
    Flag ArthBHon March 21, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The song is a nudge, a melodic jolt, to wake up and realize that yep, you (& all the rest of the universe) are here to witness, enjoy and be here. To realize our true nature. Contemplating one's navel would be an analogy. A spiritual message that is becoming more popular: All is God/Universe, we are here to see it from the billions of viewpoints of creation. Older versions of the same story eventually are replaced by the ones that connect now.
    Flag jasjbon February 04, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Personally i love the 14 min Great American Music Hall version. August 13th 1975.

    This is also the song that turned me into a deadhead. As someone born and raised in the hood on R&B and Hip Hop, no small task. :)
    But of course this song also typifies one of the key thing s i love about music. How it speaks to the soul. Especially when improvisation comes into play when they're just jammin'. So maybe not such a huge leap for me to go from Jazz- to hip hop - to saSonic Youth (masters of the Jam and improv themselves) to The Dead etc etc.

    This song is instant energy boost, chicken soup for the soul, Popeye's shot of spinach in the nick of time. Once in college i saw a stranger on campus looking particularly bummed. I handed my walkmen to him (dating myself here, Im 33 now) and he was shocked to discover that it was playing the Dead... and in particular the '75 American Music Hall version of Eyes. He was instantly cheered. We remain homies to this day....
    Flag eddiebon October 19, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:verse one escapes me, but 2 and 3 seem (to me) to be about birth/death/life in general.

    verse 2 - "there comes a redeemer and he slowly too fades away. follows a wagon behind him thats loaded with clay" try to amagine building. building your life or even building your home (clay to build). then, the seeds that were silent all burst into bloom, then decay. that (again, to me) is a metephor for life. the seeds of life. we all start out as a seed. then we grow, then we decay/die. and the last part "the night comes so quiet, close on the heals of the day" is similar to the ripple metaphor about night/day = life/death. our death comes so quiet on the heels of our lives. hopefully, peacefully.

    verse 3 - a much easier verse to decipher. we live our lfe the way we see it/create it. we share the world (our homes, our horses) but more often, we're alone in ourselves/our minds.
    Flag CozmicChuckon September 17, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:6/10/1973 RFK Stadium
    check out the eyes of the world
    Flag OliveKushon January 21, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:My favorite song in the world...

    The world is what you make of it and the perception you take on things.. It's your choice of how to look at things.. why not make them positive??
    Flag duds11on December 15, 2007   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!

Back to top
explain