Bigger Than Us

Album: Ritual (2010)
Charted: 42
Play Video
  • You took the tunnel route home
    You'd never taken that way with me before
    Did you feel a need for change?
    Apologies on your fingernails
    Love flickered in the city of lights
    Like intermittent radio waves

    I don't need your tears
    I don't want your love
    I've just got to get home

    And I feel like I'm breaking up
    But I wanted to stay.
    Headlights on the hillside
    Don't take me this way
    I don't want you to hold me
    I want you to pray
    'Cause it's bigger than us

    You went where the horses cry
    You'd never taken that way with me before
    Did you feel a need for a change?
    Guilt smeared across your lips
    I was tired and cold from the window
    You're tired nothing has changed

    I don't need your tears
    I don't want your love
    I've just got to get home

    And I feel like I'm breaking up
    But I wanted to stay
    Headlights on the hillside
    Don't take me this way
    I don't want you to hold me
    I want you to pray
    'Cause it's bigger than us

    And I feel like I'm breaking up
    But I wanted to stay
    Headlights on the hillside
    Don't take me this way
    I don't want you to hold me
    I want you to pray
    'Cause it's bigger than us

    And I feel like I'm breaking up
    But I wanted to stay
    Headlights on the hillside
    Don't take me this way
    I don't want you to hold me
    I want you to pray
    'Cause it's bigger than us

    And I feel like I'm breaking up
    But I wanted to stay
    Headlights on the hillside
    Don't take me this way
    I don't want you to hold me
    I want you to pray
    'Cause it's bigger than us Writer/s: Charles Cave, Harry McVeigh, Jack Brown
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • Enigmato from PnwThis is probably way off, but that's OK :)

    I've read a lot about Abduction Phenomena. Millions of people claim to have been abducted by aliens. We don't understand exactly what is going on, but there is definitely Something to this phenomena. People thousands of miles apart have described similar details in their experiences, Before the age of the internet... Late Harvard Professor John Mack (RIP) wrote a couple of books about it that I highly recommend.

    Are they really aliens from another planet? Or do they live inside the earth and in our oceans? Are they really just "demons" masquerading as aliens? Or is this phenomena something that takes place in the mind of the abductees? Perhaps these entities are what the ancients called angels, demons, djinn, and other names given to them by cultures on every continent on this planet? It's a mystery to me!

    Now, about the song... He mentions someone taking a different route to get home than they normally would. Many abduction accounts I've read begin this way... someone ends up on an isolated "country" road, out in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps the singer was riding shotgun...

    He mentions horses crying. Animals often have adverse reactions to paranormal phenomena. If a flying craft came near them, I could imagine they might cry out... Also, the mention of horses reinforces the idea of being out on a country road, out away from the city, where people own horses.

    He mentions headlights on the hillside... Then follows up with a perhaps fearful "don't take me this way". UFOs are often confused with headlights on a hillside. Sometimes someone thinks they see a UFO and it ends up being just headlights on a hillside in the distance... And perhaps in this case, the singer thought he was seeing headlights, then it ended up being a flying craft. Or maybe he doesn't like driving on a certain road because the headlights remind him of his terrifying abduction experience, or maybe he is saying "don't take me this way!" because that was the road where the abduction happened,

    I agree that there is also relationship problems mixed into the song... It seems like they were driving and having a discussion or argument about her cheating on him, and then "it" happened... They were both abducted. Then later on when they started talking about this crazy thing that happened, and what they were going to do about their relationship issues, he realizes, and tells her, this is bigger than us... The cheating doesn't really matter anymore. It's small potatos compared to what just happened... So, whether romantic or not, they will always be connected by this experience. They will need each other for support because abduction phenomena is almost always a shocking, life changing experience. People go through a lot of feelings. Fear. Depression. Anger. Etc.

    I don't need your love, tears, don't want you to hold me... I just want you to pray because this is bigger than us, and only God can save us now... And after it happened he was obsessed with getting home. Where he could feel safe again.

    There are a few other lyrics I could interpret at this angle, like he feels like he's breaking up and wanted to stay, means he doesn't know how to cope with what happened, and he wishes he could have stayed in his "normal" life, before this crazy thing happened. Or he just wanted to stay in the car, but was taken, possibly into the craft...

    Like I said, probably way off, but that is just what this song makes me think about. I guess you think about what you've studied, and I've studied all types of mysterious topics, everything from the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx, to ghosts and hauntings, to wild theories like Hollow Earth and Breakaway Civilizations and of course Ancient Astronauts/Aliens.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.

Danny Kortchmar

Danny KortchmarSongwriter Interviews

Danny played guitar on Sweet Baby James, Tapestry, and Running On Empty. He also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Dirty Laundry," "Sunset Grill" and "Tender Is The Night."