Pave Paradise
Have Heart Lyrics
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Because these four same faces
In these overcrowded spaces
Have me praying for the places
That will leave me one minute to myself
(Along with)
The foreheads glued to window-panes
The sore-backs from kitchen-wood floors
And all the sitting, sitting, sitting in a van, and yet I still want more?
When there's a million more miles to roam,
I think of the life left for me back home
A "paradise" to watch their "greener grass" grow,
And all the time to be alone...
But two weeks home cripple me
Because the trees don't pass
And the lines don't move
As the white walls collapse
On my ramblin' boy blues that's howlin'
Howlin' for that open road because
No arms can hold
No home can warm
Like the gaze of the rays of a distant lost-highway sun.
When there's a million more miles to roam,
I think of the life left for me back home:
A "paradise" to watch their "greener grass" grow,
And all the time to feel alone.
Pave paradise
Put the keys in
Turn the engine
Let the big green van drive me from this city
To anything but simplicity
To anywhere from this city,
To anything but simplicity.
The lyrics of Pave Paradise reflect on the challenges of life on the road as a musician, and the tensions between the thrill of travel and the desire for stability and connection. The song starts with the singer expressing their desperation to escape the mundane routine and claustrophobia of touring, with its cramped living spaces and lack of privacy. They yearn for a moment of solitude amid the frenetic pace of life on the road. The second verse, however, reveals that even when the singer is home, surrounded by familiar comforts, they feel restless and unsatisfied. They long for the open road once again, with its sense of adventure and possibility, and feel suffocated by the stasis of domestic life.
The phrase "pave paradise" is a reference to Joni Mitchell's 1970 song "Big Yellow Taxi", which famously declares "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot." Like that song, Pave Paradise laments the loss of natural beauty and free-spiritedness in modern life. The lyrics mourn the way that even the most enchanting places can become tedious when they're stripped of their spontaneity and authenticity. The desire to escape from cities and suburbs, to seek out something more raw and wild, is a recurring theme in punk and hardcore music, and Pave Paradise taps into that sentiment, portraying the open road as a place of liberation and self-discovery.
Line by Line Meaning
How many miles until I get out of this rectangular box of hell?
How much longer do I have to suffer in this cramped and boring space?
Because these four same faces
Due to the constant presence of these same four people
In these overcrowded spaces
Within these small, claustrophobic areas
Have me praying for the places
I'm desperately hoping for locations
That will leave me one minute to myself
Where I can have even just one minute to be alone
The foreheads glued to window-panes
People with their foreheads pressed against windowpanes
The sore-backs from kitchen-wood floors
Sore backs from standing on kitchen wood floors
And all the sitting, sitting, sitting in a van, and yet I still want more?
After all the sitting inside of a van, I still desire the nomadic lifestyle
When there's a million more miles to roam,
When there's an infinite amount of land to explore
I think of the life left for me back home
I begin to reminisce about the life I have waiting for me at home
A "paradise" to watch their "greener grass" grow,
An ideal world where I can watch other people's success
And all the time to be alone...
And all the time to be isolated
But two weeks home cripple me
Being at home for two weeks leaves me incapacitated
Because the trees don't pass
Compared to movement of traveling outside, the trees seem motionless
And the lines don't move
The lines of traffic do not progress
As the white walls collapse
As the blank walls seem to close in on me
On my ramblin' boy blues that's howlin'
My restless spirit craves a life of adventure
Howlin' for that open road because
Longing for the open road
No arms can hold
No one can restrain me
No home can warm
No home can welcome me
Like the gaze of the rays of a distant lost-highway sun.
In the same way that the sun's rays light up a distant lost-highway
Pave paradise
Destroy the paradise around us
Put the keys in
Start the engines of escape vehicle
Turn the engine
Accelerate the escape vehicle
Let the big green van drive me from this city
Let the van carry me far from this city
To anything but simplicity
To anything but a simple, uneventful life
To anywhere from this city,
To any place away from this city
To anything but simplicity.
To any eventful, extraordinary place
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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