Eight Miles High
Crowded House and Roger McGuinn Lyrics

The lyrics of Crowded House's song "Eight Miles High" depict a journey full of uncertainties and strange experiences. The title of the song itself is a reference to the altitude reached by a commercial jetliner, symbolizing a sense of soaring and transcendence. However, the song's opening lines set a different tone, suggesting that the destination is unknown and perhaps disorienting. The phrase "stranger than known" implies that the traveler has entered unfamiliar territory or is encountering something beyond their comfort zone. This may be why the "signs in the street" that would typically offer guidance are themselves "just being their own," suggesting confusion and ambiguity.

The second verse offers a more bleak and desolate image of the traveler's surroundings. The town he or she has reached is "nowhere" and lacks any sense of warmth or generosity. Instead, there are only "small faces unbound" and a pervasive sense of fear and insecurity. The "sound" of the town, which may once have represented vitality and creativity, is now associated with the "rainy gray" atmosphere and a sense of stagnation.

The final lines of the song depict two contrasting images: "sidewalk scenes" and "black limousines." Some people are "laughing" while others are "just shapeless forms" or "standing alone." This underscores the theme of isolation and disconnection, as well as the idea that the journey may have brought the traveler to a place where social or economic status is sharply divided.