Album: Funeral (2004)

Charted: 29

License This Song 

• (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
  (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
  
  Somethin' filled up
  My heart with nothin'
  Someone told me not to cry
  
  Now that I'm older
  My heart's colder
  And I can see that it's a lie
  
  (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
  (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
  
  Children, wake up
  Hold your mistake up
  Before they turn the summer into dust
  
  If the children don't grow up
  Our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up
  We're just a million little god's causin' rain storms
  Turnin' every good thing to rust
  I guess we'll just have to adjust
  
  (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
  (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
  
  With my lightnin' bolts a-glowin
  I can see where I am goin' to be
  When the reaper he reaches and touches my hand
  
  (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
  (Oh-oh-oh-oh)
  (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
  (Oh-oh-oh-oh)
  
  With my lightnin' bolts a-glowin'
  I can see where I am goin'
  With my lightnin' bolts a-glowin'
  I can see where I am go, goin'
  
  You better look out below Writer/s: Regine Chassagne, Richard R Parry, Tim Kingsbury, William Butler, Win Butler
  Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

• Bob from 95608The comment by H - seattle, wa ... comment/interpretation is 100 % SPOT ON ... are you a "adult child"? (note: for those not familiar with the term "adult child", it is NOT a demeaning term, but rather a person whose childhood was not allowed to develop in a "normal" manner because of some circumstance).
• H. from Seattle, Wa"Wake Up" is an epiphany one has when they realize how things really are. When you realize, often not till you are an adult, that what you experienced as a child, (often times abuse of any kind), that it's not ok and that those around you who you trusted so much are not good either. It's about making sense of the things you experienced and giving validity to what happened.
• Chuck from Joppa, Md, MdMy sense is this song--while dealing indirectly with death--is primarily about religion, and coming to grips with the fact that it's really a myth.
  "Somethin' filled up
  my heart with nothin',
  someone told me not to cry."
  This refers to being "filled up" with religion ("nothin'") as a child; being told "not to cry" or feel fear about death, because it's a "fact" that you'll be going to a happy place.
  "But now that I'm older,
  my heart's colder,
  and I can see that it's a lie."
  Now that he's grown older, he sees that religion is false--though he acknowledges that this revelation comes with increased cynicism/less blissful innocence ("my heart's colder")
  "Children wake up,
  hold your mistake up,
  before they turn the summer into dust."
  Here, he urges everyone--particularly the young, future generations--to throw off the mind-constricting shackles of religion, before "they"--those who pervert religion in order to justify war, terrorism, intolerance (racial/sexual/bigotry toward other religions), etc--end up permanently damaging or ruining the future. Turning the "summer into dust" particularly seems to suggest a religion-based war.
  "If the children don't grow up,
  our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up.
  We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms turnin' every good thing to
  rust."
  This is maybe the most explicit passage dealing with religion. If we don't sever our umbilical connection to religion, our "bodies will get bigger" but we will never emotionally grow, and our hearts will get torn up. Those of us who are particularly devout will become destructive little "gods" ourselves, using religion as an excuse to destroy things to feed our own messianic complexes. This reminds me of events like the Crusades, the KKK's use of religion, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (which has much more to do with land, but where religion is often a subtext). Also note that this was written in 2004, three years after 9/11 (an attack not catalyzed by religion, but one that Islamic extremists frequently justified with religious language) and one year after the Iraq War (also not catalyzed by religion, but where--in justifying it--Bush invoked God and Christianity more than any modern president since Wilson during WWI).
  "I guess we'll just have to adjust.
  
  With my lightnin' bolts a glowin'
  I can see where I am goin' to be
  when the reaper he reaches and touches my hand.
  
  With my lightnin' bolts a glowin'
  I can see where I am goin'
  With my lightnin' bolts a glowin'
  I can see where I am, go-go, where I am
  
  You'd better look out below"
  The use of lightning bolts I think is highly symbolic, and still up for interpretation. Given that lightning bolts have been associated with deities since the beginning of time (think Zeus, etc), it's use is no mistake. The line "I can see where I am going" seems very peaceful and spiritual to me; he knows that there's likely not a classically-defined afterlife of angels playing harps on clouds, or a greeting of 72 virgins. But he DOES know that--whatever happens--he is destined to reach a more peaceful place when "the reaper he reaches and touches my hand." The song might be construed as anti-religious, but it is clearly NOT anti-spiritual, a fact re-enforced not only by these lyrics, but by the hymn-like quality of the song.
  
  In closing, I must just say: this is a modern classic, and one that will live on for decades to come.
• Kent from Sun Prairie, WiDan Patrick plays this song at the end of his show every Friday on Direct TV channel 101.
• Jack from Salem, Ornothing short of gorgeous
• Dirk from Waukegan, IlBest song in ze world!!!!!

More Songfacts:

Hip To Be SquareHuey Lewis & the News

Members of the San Francisco 49ers, including Dwight Clark, Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott, sang backup on "Hip to Be Square" by Huey Lewis and the News.

Billie JeanMichael Jackson

Quincy Jones wanted to change the title of "Billie Jean" to "Not My Lover" so it wouldn't be confused with the tennis star Billie Jean King. Michael Jackson refused.

Learning To FlyPink Floyd

David Gilmour really was "Learning To Fly" when he co-wrote the Pink Floyd song - the aviation jargon came from his lessons.

Lips Are MovinMeghan Trainor

Meghan Trainor wrote "Lips Are Movin" in just eight minutes with her writing partner Kevin Kadish. Inspiration for the song was frustration with Trainor's record label.

BurnEllie Goulding

Ellie Goulding's hit single "Burn" was originally demoed by Leona Lewis for her 2011 Glassheart album. She scrapped the tune when the project was retooled to include more ballads.

GirlDestiny's Child

Beyonce Knowles and Michelle Williams wrote the Destiny's Child song "Girl" for Kelly Rowland as an encouragement for her to end her relationship with a verbally and physically abusive boyfriend.

Editor's Picks

Petula ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.

Wang Chung Pick The Top Songs Of The '80sSongwriter Interviews

'80s music ambassadors Wang Chung pick their top tracks of the decade, explaining what makes each one so special.

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.