The Eagles is that one band that I always come back to. They were one of the first bands that I really got into, and even though I don't listen to their music all of the time whenever I do I find something that relates to my life. My interpretation isn't based on the history of the band or even a popularly held believe, it's just what the song means to me, but I still feel like sharing it.
To me, the "sad cafe" is a metaphor for a special place and/or time in a persons life where they shared dreams, ambitions, outlook and friendship. It could be high-school, college, a home town, or even an era (eg. the 70s).
"we could sing right out loud, the things we could not say" - this line reminds me of reckless freedom and haphazard ways. kind of like the saying "gotta learn to run before you can walk".
"oh expecting to fly..." people believed that their dreams, no matter how outlandish, would come true. The kind of boundless optimism that can never last.
In many ways "the sad cafe" is a metaphor for growing and changing and the sincere happiness one gets from sharing a vision or a dream.
The song is about the nostalgia one feels when looking back at the time that was the "sad cafe" and the people who were there with him, with the sober clarity gained by experience and the passing of time.
The line, "the clouds rolled in and hid that shore," signifies the end of that time. Some people go off to pursue their dreams, others give up, and some are paralyzed by inaction yet cling to what they wish they could achieve.
The narrator, looking at his own life and where it has taken him, wonders why he has been so lucky, wonders why he has come so far while some of the people he remembers never made it. He has fond memories of this long gone time and place, yet he feels that maybe the memories ("maybe the time has drawn the faces I recall") are just an idealized version of the way things actually were.
Finally, he decides to revisit the past, the place where his journey began. Perhaps he is looking for closure, perhaps answers to old questions, or maybe he just wants to remember what it felt like to share a dream.
The Eagles is that one band that I always come back to. They were one of the first bands that I really got into, and even though I don't listen to their music all of the time whenever I do I find something that relates to my life. My interpretation isn't based on the history of the band or even a popularly held believe, it's just what the song means to me, but I still feel like sharing it.
To me, the "sad cafe" is a metaphor for a special place and/or time in a persons life where they shared dreams, ambitions, outlook and friendship. It could be high-school, college, a home town, or even an era (eg. the 70s).
"we could sing right out loud, the things we could not say" - this line reminds me of reckless freedom and haphazard ways. kind of like the saying "gotta learn to run before you can walk".
"oh expecting to fly..." people believed that their dreams, no matter how outlandish, would come true. The kind of boundless optimism that can never last.
In many ways "the sad cafe" is a metaphor for growing and changing and the sincere happiness one gets from sharing a vision or a dream.
The song is about the nostalgia one feels when looking back at the time that was the "sad cafe" and the people who were there with him, with the sober clarity gained by experience and the passing of time.
The line, "the clouds rolled in and hid that shore," signifies the end of that time. Some people go off to pursue their dreams, others give up, and some are paralyzed by inaction yet cling to what they wish they could achieve.
The narrator, looking at his own life and where it has taken him, wonders why he has been so lucky, wonders why he has come so far while some of the people he remembers never made it. He has fond memories of this long gone time and place, yet he feels that maybe the memories ("maybe the time has drawn the faces I recall") are just an idealized version of the way things actually were.
Finally, he decides to revisit the past, the place where his journey began. Perhaps he is looking for closure, perhaps answers to old questions, or maybe he just wants to remember what it felt like to share a dream.
@powderly Nice interpretation.
@powderly Nice interpretation.