AFI has released eleven studio albums, ten EPs, one live album and one DVD. The band first reached substantial commercial success with their fifth album, The Art of Drowning (2000), which peaked at number 174 on the Billboard 200. They then broke into the mainstream with their sixth, Sing the Sorrow (2003), which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 51 weeks. The album was supported by popular singles "Girl's Not Grey" and "Silver and Cold", both of which peaked at number seven on America's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2003. "The Leaving Song Pt. II" was also released as a single, reaching number 16 on the chart. Sing the Sorrow was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2006 and is AFI's best-selling release, having sold over 1.26 million copies as of September 2009.
AFI's seventh album, Decemberunderground (2006), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and featured the hit single "Miss Murder", which topped the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single, "Love Like Winter", reached number four on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2013.[6] Decemberunderground was followed three years later by Crash Love (2009), and then four years later by Burials (2013); both albums were also successful, peaking at number twelve and number nine, respectively, on the Billboard 200. The band's tenth and latest album, AFI (The Blood Album), was released in 2017, and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200, making it their second-highest chart position.
Where We Used To Play
AFI Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A bit not right
for though I try, I remain a stranger - not of this time.
I swear I'm almost there
though I've been wandering for days.
I may be chasing ghost trains hoping they'll arrive
where we used to play.
where we used to play in those days.
I know I'm with strangers I recognize and I realize my own disowned me
Were never mind.
I swear I'm almost there.
This is right where we used to play.
I may be chasing ghost trains hoping they'll arrive
where we used to play.
I may be hopping ghost trains for they terminate
where we used to play in those days.
I never will let it go until I find the place I called mine.
I never was truly meant for this time.
The lyrics to AFI's "Where We Used to Play" suggest a feeling of disconnection and longing for a time and place that no longer exists. The singer appears to not quite fit in with the present, describing themselves as "a bit not right" and feeling like a stranger to the current time. The language used in the song is poetic and abstract, with phrases like "chasing ghost trains" and "hoping they'll arrive" creating a sense of uncertainty and searching for something that may not even exist.
Despite the uncertainty, the singer is determined to find the place they once knew so well. They speak of chasing ghost trains and seemingly hoping to find their old playground. The use of the phrase "I never was truly meant for this time" suggests a desire to go back to a simpler time, when things were easier and life was more enjoyable. Overall, the song appears to be about nostalgia and a longing for a past that can never be recreated.
In terms of the song's musical elements, the instrumentation is complex and layered, with a driving drum beat and melodic guitar riffs. The vocals are also emotive and intense, with lead singer Davey Havok delivering the lyrics with a passionate intensity.
Line by Line Meaning
I might seem a bit peculiar
I am aware that my behavior might appear odd or unusual to those around me.
A bit not right for though I try, I remain a stranger - not of this time.
Even if I try my best, I have a feeling that I am disconnected from this era.
I swear I'm almost there though I've been wandering for days.
I strongly believe that I am getting close to where I need to be, although I have been traveling for an extended period of time.
I may be chasing ghost trains hoping they'll arrive where we used to play.
I may still have hope that the things that remind me of my childhood will return to where we used to spend our time.
I may be hopping ghost trains for they terminate where we used to play in those days.
While I may be in search of memories of our past, I am aware that they cannot be found in this present reality.
I know I'm with strangers I recognize and I realize my own disowned me.
I am aware that I am surrounded by people who are technically strangers, and I am conscious of the fact that I have been abandoned by those I once knew.
This is right where we used to play.
I have finally found myself in the exact place where we enjoyed ourselves in the past.
I never will let it go until I find the place I called mine.
Until I find the place that I regard as my own, I will continue to search and never give up.
I never was truly meant for this time.
I believe that I was not born to belong to this period of history.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
55zena
this song brings back my youth, the feeling is incredible
darkflamethrower
12 years later, and the song has become what was written
Marc180
this song is amazing!! thanks for the lyrics.
Ania Lopatiuk
Love afireinside, theyare my favourite band
Ania Lopatiuk
They songs are emotional, metaphorical,meaningful,still speaksto me
Ania Lopatiuk
Honest song,with romantic,and abit of sadness, Dave's voiceis unigue!
thatscalledyes
I'll be honest, I hated this album when it first came out but now that I listen to the album again a few years later, I'm starting to like it a lot better. I don't know if it's because I've matured or what but I used to hate Beautiful Thieves and now I love it, along with a lot of the songs on this album, including this one
Laluu Leto
I love the song! Good job with the lyrics
sean ebert
epic song, love it
URSULLA BINX OFFICIAL
I love this so so much has one of my fav lyrics from afi" i'm with strangers I recognize"
cause that's how I feel..thanks for the lyrics good job!