Lyrics for Tonight Is The Night I Fell Asleep At Th... as interpreted by ojms

Tonight Is The Night I Fell Asleep At Th... Lyrics
Driving home to be with you
The highway's divided, the city's in view
As usual, I'm almost on time
You're the last thing that's on my mind
I wish I could tell you the way that I feel
But tonight is the night I fell asleep at the wheel

No commotion, no screaming brakes
Most of it's over before I awake
From the ceiling, my coffee cup drips
While out my window, the horizon does flips
The worst part was hitting the ground -
Not the feeling so much as the sound
Can't help but wonder if all this is real
'Cause tonight is the night I fell asleep at the wheel

Rubberneck traffic and passersby
And Slow Motion Walter the fire engine guy
Stand around with their mouths open wide.
I heard some idiot ask if someone's inside.
With the Jaws of Life they tried and they tried.
Nobody here can know how I feel
'Cause tonight is the night I fell asleep at the wheel.

I guess it's over now
Because I've never seen so much
Never seen so much, never seen
So much blood.

In all the confusion, there's something serene
I'm just a posthumous part of the scene.
Now I'm floating above looking in
As the radio blares and wheels spin
I can see my face slump with a grin
And you... you're the last thing on my mind
You're the last thing on my mind
You're the last thing on my mind
You're the last thing on my

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  • 41 Comments
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weezerific:cutlery
06-03-2002

Rated 0 
"You're the last thing on my mind" Is this a good thing or a bad thing? as in..is she really the last thing on his mind before he dies, or is he not thinking about her at all?

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mrclean
06-06-2002

Rated 0 
I love how 'You're the last thing on my mind' has 2 different meanings. In the beginning when he says it, and at the end when he says it. Just think about it

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mrclean
06-06-2002

Rated 0 
I love the song just because of how freakin disturbing it is

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wrion
07-22-2002

Rated 0 
It took me over a year to get the double meaning in "You're the last thing on my mind."
I sang this song for an audition for a high school play when i was a freshman. they didn't let me finish (they didn't think i was bad, they cut a lot of people off) but if you don't get to the end, it sounds like a sick song. people were laughing as a sung it, the directors probably thought i was psycho. when i was done, someone asked me "who sings that, adam sandler?" i was not happy. oh well. i love this song

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daffy
08-25-2002

Rated 0 
i DO enjoy this song!
really strange, great lyrics. unusually good, actually. what a fucking vivid description of a car wreck.

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Kayla610
04-28-2003

Rated 0 
what the hell no one mentions the circus music in the background?
creepy..yet romantic in a way i guess...

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neko-chan
04-13-2004

Rated 0 
this song is said to be the most gory out of all of them.

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Kilo
04-18-2004

Rated 0 
This is why I love the Barenaked Ladies. This has to be the best love song I have ever heard.

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Emily1014
04-20-2004

Rated 0 
This is probally one of my fav BNL Songs...it is so disturbing in a sort of funny way

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fotodave
06-18-2004

Rated 0 
Bit O' Trivia:
the line "slow motion walter, the fire engine guy" is actually a reference to a commonly misheard lyric from Deep Purple- "Smoke on the water, fire in the sky."

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Bobo Bob
01-03-2005

Rated 0 
tis the best song off maroon

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The_Don
01-07-2005

Rated 0 
This song is a beautiful song, it is also very disturbing. The double meaning is creepy and sad. Cause when he first says it he means it as in he is so glad to be off work that he really isn't thinking of her then when he is dying he actually is thinking about her and how much he loves her and will miss her. Very good song. And the circus music is weird, but adds a nice effect.

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colum1225
06-09-2005

Rated 0 
I think this song is funny. Yeah, it's kind of disturbing, but to me this is one of their witty, joke-y songs, especially with Steve's crazy opera note at the end.

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thisfuckingsong
06-18-2005

Rated 0 
'you're the last thing on my mind' - he wanted to tell her how he felt and now he cant, but he died wanting to tell her how he felt.

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I_LOVE_CAMP
12-07-2005

Rated 0 
I recently read a book called the Lovely Bones, It really makes you think about how we take living for granted and how we could've already started the events that lead to our dealth. After I finnished the book, I heard this song and I bawled forever! Everytime I hear it I cry and I was spiritually asounded by it's double meaning! the last few lines really get you! I also think that the line saying that he's never seen so much blood really gets to you! Truley amazing tapestry of art!

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Thanksthatwuzfun
01-24-2006

Rated 0 
I personnaly think that the backround music isn't circus music but more of a waltz. If anybody knows how to count music this is in 3/4 time. like all waltzes are. you know like 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3. But i do love the song it's awesome and coupled withhidden song on the same track its great.

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Thanksthatwuzfun
01-24-2006

Rated 0 
srry i ment to say "Hidden Sun" not hidden song

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gyakutenno
01-28-2006

Rated 0 
Oh, dear, creepy. BNL singing about dying. No, no, don't die! Actually, you know what's really strange? On Napster it started playing a strange song, sounded like BNL, right after this one. Said it was this one and everything but it wasn't. Something about butterflies. Is that supposed to happen? Anyway, it's an awesomely freaky effect that it's from the perspective of a guy who's dead- or as good as. I shuddered so badly my earbuds fell out!

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gyakutenno
01-28-2006

Rated 0 
Never mind about Napster. I get it. Who's saying "Hidden Sun" ISN'T a hidden song? I need to read people's posts before I start kvetching about Napster.

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Occams_Harmony
04-16-2006

Rated 0 
This song, although disturbing, is surely one of the best from BNL. The meaning is pretty simple. He's coming home from work on the highway, not really thinking about his wife or anything. He falls asleep driving, wakes up when he crashes. People try to save him, they fail and he dies, all the while not thinking about his wife or anything, only that he's dead and done for. Disturbing, yes, but quite funny and very well written.

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I_LOVE_CAMP
04-18-2006

Rated 0 
Just to let you guys know, the lyrics are wrong here. It makes alot more sense with the right ones. It's You were the last thing on my mind- not You're the last thing on my mind.

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Method Acting
06-05-2006

Rated 0 
"You're the last thing on my mind" is used at first to describe how he is not even thinking of the girl, meaning he has his attention focused on other things. At the end, he uses it so say that it is the last, as final thing that he thinks of before he dies. Great song.

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foldsbaldwin
06-19-2006

Rated 0 
It's NOT a love song. He's saying the girl is the last thing he's worried about.

You're the last thing that's on my mind
I wish I could tell you the way that I feel

I believe he was on his way to break up with her and the ending "You're the last thing on my mind" is him saying, he's still thinking about everything and everyone but her when he dies.

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AntBMSU
07-06-2006

Rated 0 
Wow, thats a stretch...to the fifth dimension. Where are you pulling that from?

'You're the last thing on my mind' has two meanings. Thats what makes the song clever.

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delial
07-24-2006

Rated 0 
clever is an understatement!

this song has always been one of my favorites, and when i first heard this was long before I was even close to loving anyone in "that way" ... but now, years later, I have to say that this song should play at my funeral for sure, because i have loved, i do love, and i can identify with the message this song gives out 100%. I love the way the music seems at odds with the lyrics. it's got that twisted humor I love about the magnetic fields[i guess BNL led to my love for MF...heh].

and yeah, I love the way "the last thing on my mind" is used here. it reminds me of when people were usng uncle cracker's "follow me" as their wedding song before they realized the actual meaning of the song. i guess you could interpret this as an anti-love song, but when you really read the lyrics, you have to realize that someone being the last thing he thinks about before he dies is probably not a negative thing. :P

there's something so deeply romantic about being THE last thing on someone's mind, to me. it makes you wonder whose mind you will be on when he/she expires. the imagery in this song is awesome, too. i guess in a way this gives hope to anyone who feels neglected or just plain forgotten. when push comes to shove, and in the middle of bad shit going down, people will remember you again, because the truth about how they feel comes shining through when everything else is stripped away.

"as the radio blares and wheels spin
I can see my face slump with a grin,"

my favorite lines. i love when so much is said with so little. now every time i go on long trips, i find myself thinking "what would people say if, amidst the wreckage, they heard THIS playing on the radio?" ...there's something really creepy in the thought that music would play on while you're dying.

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