Album: City Of Angels Soundtrack (1998)

License This Song 

• It was only one hour ago
  It was all so different then
  Nothing yet has really sunk in
  Looks like it always did
  This flesh and bone
  Is just the way that we are tied in
  But there's no one home
  I grieve, for you
  You leave, me
  So hard to move on
  Still loving what's gone
  They say life carries on
  Carries on and on and on and on
  
  The news that truly shocks
  Is the empty, empty page
  While the final rattle rocks
  It's empty, empty cage
  And I can't handle this
  I grieve, for you
  You leave, me
  Let it out and move on
  Missing what's gone
  They say life carries on
  They say life carries on and on and on
  
  Life carries on in the people I meet
  In everyone that's out on the street
  In all the dogs and cats
  In the flies and rats
  In the rot and the rust
  In the ashes and the dust
  Life carries on and on and on and on
  Life carries on and on and on
  Life carries on and on and on and on
  Life carries on and on and on
  Just the car that we ride in
  The home we reside in
  The face that we hide in
  The way we are tied in
  As life carries on and on and on and on
  Life carries on and on and on
  
  Did I dream this belief
  Or did I believe this dream?
  Now I will find relief
  I grieve Writer/s: PETER GABRIEL
  Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 8

• Ciera from Billings, MtThis song is about the profound imprint that one life leaves on another, not necessarily just depression or even just about grief. It's a celebration of life. When someone close to you dies, their memories, the qualities that made them who they are, don't simply vanish overnight; they stick with you. This song is a tribute to that effect that people have upon one another.
• Alex from Atlanta, GaI Grieve obviously relates to death, depression, love and generally Grief itself. It goes from the moment after death and ends when depression has been defeated by the idea that life will carry on after someone's death. "Life carries on in the people I meet. In everyone who's out on the street. In all the dogs and cats, in all the flies and rats, in the rot and the rust, in the ashes and the dust. Life carries on and on and on and on."
• T2000 from Brest, Francethis song was written at the sexpistol's time for the death of one of PG's friends...
  Such a beautifull song! Touch you so deep, but dont know why PG waited so much time before putting it on an album.. Too much personnal maybe
  I want it for my funeral..
• Athena from Phoenix, AzPeter Gabriel sang this song live on Larry King's show for the 1 year anniversary of 9/11.
• Alicia from Atlanta, GaThis song is THE ONLY song I've heard that describes the pain of losing a loved one perfectly. Geri hit it with the word epitomizes. I have not heard another song to compare with this one that explains the feelings of losing someone close to you. ~Alicia
• Galia from Santiago, ChileUSed in the 100th episode of Smallville "Reckoning" during the funeral scene of Clark's father...
• Geri from Nova Scotia, CanadaI love artisits that make me feel something, Peter Gabriel has the most profound, heartrending quality to his voice in this song. If you've lost a loved one, his voice in this song epitomizes the loneliness you feel in missing someone that is gone.
• Jesse from Mesa, AzThis song was also included on Gabriel's 2002 album "Up."

More Songfacts:

I Ran (So Far Away)A Flock of Seagulls

"I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock Of Seagulls ends with an alien abduction.

StanEminem

Thanks to Eminem's song, the word "stan" was added to the Oxford American Dictionary in 2017. It means an obsessive fan.

Sloop John BThe Beach Boys

"Sloop John B" is a traditional West Indian folk song, and it was a huge hit for The Beach Boys in 1966. They tweaked the lyric, "This is the worst trip since I've been born" to "...I've ever been on" as a wink to acid culture.

3 AMMatchbox Twenty

The Matchbox Twenty song "3 AM" is about the difficult times lead singer Rob Thomas spent caring for his mother, who had cancer.

Nothin' On YouB.o.B

When "Nothin' On You" reached #1 on the Hot 100, B.o.B became the first American act whose name is a palindrome to top the chart. The other two who did so prior to the Atlanta rapper were both Scandinavian groups - ABBA and A-Ha.

Just Give Me A ReasonPink

Pink wrote "Just Give Me A Reason" about how one partner can feel jilted over something trivial, like how her boyfriend passes her the butter.

Editor's Picks

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Glen BallardSongwriter Interviews

Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."