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:

Dude (Looks Like A Lady)Aerosmith

"Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" by Aerosmith was inspired by Vince Neil from Motley Crue.

Candle In The WindElton John

Marilyn Monroe is the subject of Elton John's "Candle In The Wind," but the song is really a look at how we react to celebrities who die young.

BadMichael Jackson

Wesley Snipes played the rival gang leader in Michael Jackson's "Bad" video.

Fields Of GoldSting

Sting wrote "Fields of Gold" after buying a house near a barley field and enjoying the majestic sunsets.

AnacondaNicki Minaj

"Anaconda" was originally recorded by Missy Elliott in 2012, but the rapper decided to shelf the track so it was re-recorded by Minaj two years later.

Don't Stop Believin'Journey

The "Don't Stop Believin'" resurgence started when the Journey song was used in a roller skating scene of the 2003 movie Monster.

Editor's Picks

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)Songwriter Interviews

The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Evolution Of The Prince SymbolSong Writing

The evolution of the symbol that was Prince's name from 1993-2000.

Pete AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Pete produced Dwight Yoakam, Michelle Shocked, Meat Puppets, and a very memorable track for Roy Orbison.