My take is that this song was written as an litany against apathy and inaction. The foundational argument made here is that ultimately, our decisions are of no consequence, because the universe is greater than us and moves along entirely unaffected by the choices we make, and that there is much we will never know no matter how hard we search for answers.
(Well the sun one day will
Leave us all behind.
Unexplainable sightings
In the sky.
Well I hate to be
The one to ruin the night)
He's sorry to bring it up, since its kind of a bummer of a statement, but ultimately the sun will swallow up the earth, and everything will be extinguished and irrelevant. This realistic outlook is freeing, and it informs his perspective and the point he is trying to make.
This point is that you should strive to achieve your dreams and fulfill your passions, because in the long run there are no consequences to your decisions. (No need to worry, cuz everybody will die.)
At worst, you and everyone you know will be gone and forgotten forever, and best case scenario, you fulfill your full potential and leave some of a legacy. But either way, in the sense of the big picture, the pressure of failure is off. So just go for it. Kill your heroes. Disregard the bar set by the people you hold up on a pedestal, and in doing so remove the power they have over you. Achieve all you can, regardless of what those who came before you have achieved. The pressure imposed by the successes of others only serves to limit your potential if you dwell on it.
(I say ya kill your heroes and fly, fly, baby don't cry)
(Everyday we go, go, baby don't go,
Don't you worry we love you more than you know)
So fly, reach new heights, go your own way, and don't be upset by the change. But don't go so far that you're out of reach, and know that you always have a grounding in the care that our loved ones have for us.
As for the old man on the train:
(Well I met an old man dying on a train.
No more destination, no more pain.
Well he said one thing, before I graduate
"Never let your fear decide your fate.")
A dying old man has no hopes or aspirations, and has only the present and his past to reconcile himself with. He's not in pain, and he has nothing to gain or lose, regardless of what he says. So he can say with 20/20 hindsight and complete neutrality that you should never let your fear decide your fate. Don't be limited by what is challenging and alien, because everything is temporary. Including the suffering induced by taking risks that don't pay off.
Achieve your full potential, because no matter who you are, you truly have nothing to lose.
I agree that this is a great interpretation, but I want to offer another perspective on the old man on the train. When he grew up life was way different and perhaps more difficult than that of the song writer, so he is trying to share his wisdom. He has a lot of wisdom to share, because he went through his own hardships in life. This elder is wiser and has been through a lot more life than the songwriter and I think the song writer appreciates that and recounts the life lesson of "never let your...
I agree that this is a great interpretation, but I want to offer another perspective on the old man on the train. When he grew up life was way different and perhaps more difficult than that of the song writer, so he is trying to share his wisdom. He has a lot of wisdom to share, because he went through his own hardships in life. This elder is wiser and has been through a lot more life than the songwriter and I think the song writer appreciates that and recounts the life lesson of "never let your fear decide your fate." This is a phrase spoken by someone who has truly lived life and now understands it. I love this song!!
@splainer I would agree with everything you said but add something:
as children we are "shoehorned" into these roles that society and our parents push upon us. I think the reasons why they bleep out the occupations is that he doesn't want to make anyone feel bad for whatever role they choose. BECAUSE it's OK to be whatever you want to be so long as YOU want to do that. AND you might choose a shitty role, but at least if YOU chose that role,.....you can accept responsibility for choosing that role and deal with the consequences. IF SOMEONE ELSE...
@splainer I would agree with everything you said but add something:
as children we are "shoehorned" into these roles that society and our parents push upon us. I think the reasons why they bleep out the occupations is that he doesn't want to make anyone feel bad for whatever role they choose. BECAUSE it's OK to be whatever you want to be so long as YOU want to do that. AND you might choose a shitty role, but at least if YOU chose that role,.....you can accept responsibility for choosing that role and deal with the consequences. IF SOMEONE ELSE chose that role for you then you will always be off-kilter because of that.
My take is that this song was written as an litany against apathy and inaction. The foundational argument made here is that ultimately, our decisions are of no consequence, because the universe is greater than us and moves along entirely unaffected by the choices we make, and that there is much we will never know no matter how hard we search for answers. (Well the sun one day will Leave us all behind. Unexplainable sightings In the sky. Well I hate to be The one to ruin the night) He's sorry to bring it up, since its kind of a bummer of a statement, but ultimately the sun will swallow up the earth, and everything will be extinguished and irrelevant. This realistic outlook is freeing, and it informs his perspective and the point he is trying to make. This point is that you should strive to achieve your dreams and fulfill your passions, because in the long run there are no consequences to your decisions. (No need to worry, cuz everybody will die.) At worst, you and everyone you know will be gone and forgotten forever, and best case scenario, you fulfill your full potential and leave some of a legacy. But either way, in the sense of the big picture, the pressure of failure is off. So just go for it. Kill your heroes. Disregard the bar set by the people you hold up on a pedestal, and in doing so remove the power they have over you. Achieve all you can, regardless of what those who came before you have achieved. The pressure imposed by the successes of others only serves to limit your potential if you dwell on it. (I say ya kill your heroes and fly, fly, baby don't cry) (Everyday we go, go, baby don't go, Don't you worry we love you more than you know) So fly, reach new heights, go your own way, and don't be upset by the change. But don't go so far that you're out of reach, and know that you always have a grounding in the care that our loved ones have for us.
As for the old man on the train: (Well I met an old man dying on a train. No more destination, no more pain. Well he said one thing, before I graduate "Never let your fear decide your fate.") A dying old man has no hopes or aspirations, and has only the present and his past to reconcile himself with. He's not in pain, and he has nothing to gain or lose, regardless of what he says. So he can say with 20/20 hindsight and complete neutrality that you should never let your fear decide your fate. Don't be limited by what is challenging and alien, because everything is temporary. Including the suffering induced by taking risks that don't pay off.
Achieve your full potential, because no matter who you are, you truly have nothing to lose.
Very good meaning to this song, and I think you pretty much hit it spot on! :) Awesome song.
Very good meaning to this song, and I think you pretty much hit it spot on! :) Awesome song.
I agree that this is a great interpretation, but I want to offer another perspective on the old man on the train. When he grew up life was way different and perhaps more difficult than that of the song writer, so he is trying to share his wisdom. He has a lot of wisdom to share, because he went through his own hardships in life. This elder is wiser and has been through a lot more life than the songwriter and I think the song writer appreciates that and recounts the life lesson of "never let your...
I agree that this is a great interpretation, but I want to offer another perspective on the old man on the train. When he grew up life was way different and perhaps more difficult than that of the song writer, so he is trying to share his wisdom. He has a lot of wisdom to share, because he went through his own hardships in life. This elder is wiser and has been through a lot more life than the songwriter and I think the song writer appreciates that and recounts the life lesson of "never let your fear decide your fate." This is a phrase spoken by someone who has truly lived life and now understands it. I love this song!!
@splainer I would agree with everything you said but add something: as children we are "shoehorned" into these roles that society and our parents push upon us. I think the reasons why they bleep out the occupations is that he doesn't want to make anyone feel bad for whatever role they choose. BECAUSE it's OK to be whatever you want to be so long as YOU want to do that. AND you might choose a shitty role, but at least if YOU chose that role,.....you can accept responsibility for choosing that role and deal with the consequences. IF SOMEONE ELSE...
@splainer I would agree with everything you said but add something: as children we are "shoehorned" into these roles that society and our parents push upon us. I think the reasons why they bleep out the occupations is that he doesn't want to make anyone feel bad for whatever role they choose. BECAUSE it's OK to be whatever you want to be so long as YOU want to do that. AND you might choose a shitty role, but at least if YOU chose that role,.....you can accept responsibility for choosing that role and deal with the consequences. IF SOMEONE ELSE chose that role for you then you will always be off-kilter because of that.