Stars

Album: Nothing Is Sound (2005)
Charted: 68
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  • Maybe I've been a problem
    Maybe I'm the one to blame
    But even when I turn it off
    And blame myself the outcome feels the same

    I've been thinking maybe I've been part of the cloudy
    Maybe I'm the chance of rain
    And maybe I'm overcast
    And maybe all my luck's washed down the drain

    I've been thinking about everyone
    Everyone you look so lonely

    But when I look at the stars
    When I look at the stars
    When I look at the stars
    I see someone else
    When I look at the stars
    The stars
    I feel like myself

    Stars looking at a planet
    Watching entropy and pain
    And maybe start to wonder how
    The chaos in our lives could pass as sane

    I've been thinking if the meaning of resistance
    Of a hope beyond my own
    And suddenly the infinite and penitent
    Begin to look like home

    I've been thinking about everyone
    Everyone you look so empty

    But when I look at the stars
    When I look at the stars
    When I look at the stars
    I see someone else
    When I look at the stars
    The stars
    I feel like myself
    Yeah!

    Everyone, everyone who feels so lonely
    Everyone, yeah everyone who feels so empty

    When I look at the stars
    When I look at the stars
    When I look at the stars
    I feel like myself
    When I look at the stars
    The stars
    I see someone
    OHH! Writer/s: Matthew W. Hager, Mindi Beth Abair
    Publisher: CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 13

  • Ian from Arvada, Co@Jessica from Buffalo Switchfoot sings about sex all the time.
  • Lauri from ArgentinaSwitchfoot never wanted to be boxed in the genre "cathoic music", and Jon said that he is catholic but the music is for everyone, for the ones who don't believe in God (I do) the songs will have another meaning... Jon Foreman also said "We've always been very open and honest about where the songs are coming from. Calling us "Christian rock" tends to be a box that closes some people out and excludes them, and that's not what we are trying to do. Music has always opened my mind - and that's what we want". so there u have it, music is for everyone :)
  • Nate from Princeton, NjDear Steve from Winnipeg:

    "I wish they would praise God in a more obvious way, so that people would not have to guess what it meant"

    Kinda like what Jesus did...? Not! Try reading the New Testament, then maybe you'll understand Switchfoot's motivations.
  • Steve from Winnipeg, MbGood call Jessica, although I wish they would praise God in a more obvious way, so that people would not have to guess what it meant
  • Jules from Dawsonville, GaFirst off, I an a huge Switchfoot fan and I love this Album. While I agree that Tat's post is the mostly correct meaning of the song, I must say that it is not necessaryily that a divine influence is what makes him a better man. The stars make him realize that he is not the biggest and the best in the universe, that feeling of humbleness is what make him a better man. I don't think that he means it a divine influence because, Switchfoot is not a "chistian band." To quote Jon Foreman, "We are Christians by faith, not genre." Granted their songs have lyrics that seem to reference their religion, more often than not, those lyrics just ambiguous enough to be interpreted as references to the Christian faith.
  • Jeevan from Brampton, CanadaI like this song. It's so cool! Switchfoot has good songs.
  • Jessica from Buffalo, NyIt brings joy into my heart when bands publically praise God. If you are to embarrassed, Jesus will be in front of God, just as embarrasse as you are. I love God and music like this makes me happy. So many bands today sing about murder, sex, and other bad things. Switchfoot takes that away with their talents.
  • Jean from St.charles, MoSwitchfoot is a great band with very creative music and meaningful lyrics. They are on the cutting edge of Christian Contemporary music,and yet speak to the secular audience as well. Tat (in his comment below) got it right on this song. What better explanation than the one from the writer himself! This site is called song"facts" right? Come on...Carlos is sharing what it seems to mean to him... not the "facts". I agree with MOnty. My advice to Pat and cody is please grow up! I hope the moderators of this site will review and put Tat's comment in place of Carlos'in the "facts" section. I have less confidence this site is "factual" now because of this page. Switchfoot? They will continue to bless us with their talent. Check this CD out - it's full of good songs!
  • Pat Long from E Nopo, Nythis band sucks why would you ever speak so highly of any thing this group of worthless individuals crapped out on the recording room floor.
  • Monty from Omaha, NeThis song is not about loving another girl, its about finding hope from a higher power... these guys haven't been awarded a shelf full of DOVE awards for righting songs about love triangles.
  • Ashley from Moncton, CanadaI actually really like this song because it has a pretty good heavy riff and the chimes at the start are cool.
  • AnonymousI love this song. The first time I heard it on the radio, I just knew it was Switchfoot, but I couldn't remember having heard the song before. (The reason was it hadn't even been released yet.) Anyway, I caught the chorus and turned it up in my mom's car. It describes the way I feel everytime I look up at the night sky. (I actually wrote an essay about the night sky before this song came out that has a very similar vibe.) I think this quote from Emerson goes along nicely with this song: "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile. The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible."
  • Tat from Perth, AustraliaThis is what the lead singer of Switchfoot, Jon Foreman wrote about their song Stars:

    "Any system which is free of external influences becomes more and more disordered with time. This disorder can be expressed in terms of the quantity called entropy."

    " So without some sort of external influence on the social plane, I find no logical reason why humankind didn't see her last day a long time ago. Call it grace or love or anti-entropy- there must be something keeping things together. The question becomes, why do good things happen to bad people? In the song, the first verse looks at things from Descartes perspective, pinning the center of the universe on the individual. "Maybe I've been the problem," maybe I'm overcast, falling apart, etc... The second verse talks about our world from the perspective of the stars looking down on earth from the eternal dance of gravity and motion. I love the night sky. It reminds me of how small and insignificant i and my problems are in light of the infinite. When I look at the stars i feel like myself. "

    He's looking up at the Stars at something greater than himself, and it makes him a better man - it makes him feel himself. This is all about having a divine influence and how it makes us all better people.
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