Berkeley is a New Jersey native, but in the past decade, he's lived in Brooklyn, Atlanta, Berkeley and Corsica. Santa Fe is now home, where he lives with this wife and two young sons. Within months of arriving and still overwhelmed by the palette of reds and browns, the endless open sky, and the frightening lack of water in his new high desert surroundings, Berkeley wrote and recorded his most haunting and personal songs to date. Berkeley's doleful baritone and vulnerable falsetto, called "lustrous and melancholy" by the New York Times, is up front in the mix, showcasing his profoundly elegiac lyrics. Indeed, Berkeley cites Yeats and Melville among his greatest influences. For his unique way with words, the San Francisco Chronicle dubbed Berkeley "a musical poet."
Berkeley's gift as a songwriter and storyteller is that he sees both the tragedy and comedy in life, managing to both reveal the sorrow at the heart of the human condition and the blazing joy and beauty in the same. It's a duality that audiences experience at all of Berkeley's shows as he tells uproarious stories between heartbreaking songs. It's why his fans respond so deeply to his music and why so many look to him to express what they are often unable to articulate. It's also why his voice and lyrics have cross-genre appeal. Berkeley's songs are at once hard and hopeful.
Boxes
David Berkeley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No more grass stains on their big dreams
Now we pack it all it seems in these boxes all these boxes,
All these boxes they are all I see
Remember when you said hello in your blue jeans and your long hair
We were walking everywhere by the river
You were trembling, you were trembling when I said to you: let me kiss you
And your big dreams
20 years or so it seems
That's a long time, what a long time
And now you hold it all inside like those boxes, all those boxes
All those boxes they get in my way
Like our big dreams
Like our old hopes
Lately there's been ghosts I know, I can see them
Help me see them
Well I guess we'll pass the ghosts as well
And move on now, and move west now
With our big dreams, all in boxes
Oh are dreams they aren't quite as big as our boxes.
David Berkeley's song "Boxes" appears to be a story of life, love, and holding on to memories. The opening lines "Now the kids have all grown old. No more grass stains on their big dreams" indicate that time has passed, and the dreams of youth have slowly faded away. The once youthful hopefuls have now packed their lives into boxes - representing the physical possessions that bind them to their past. The boxes are all they see, indicative of how their lives have become caged by memories, relics of their past life.
The singer and the person they are addressing seem to have shared a bond that spanned over twenty years, and the boxes hold several memories of their life together. The memories contained in the boxes are both good and bad - their "big dreams" and "old hopes" and even the "ghosts" of their past. However, the boxes have now become a hindrance to the singer because they "get in my way." Through the song, they express their need to let go of the past and move on.
Towards the end of the song, the singer seems to be contemplating a significant change. They mention moving out west and taking their big dreams with them, but still, their dreams are not as big as their boxes. This line seems to signify the emotional baggage the singer still carries, which they need to leave behind to move forward.
Overall, "Boxes" is a poignant and insightful song about the passage of time and the need to let go of our pasts. It's a reminder that we all pack our lives into boxes - and while it is okay to hold on to memories, it is also important to ensure that our physical possessions don't hold us back.
Line by Line Meaning
Now the kids have all grown old
The children have matured over time and are no longer young
No more grass stains on their big dreams
They no longer have the youthful naivety to chase their wild dreams
Now we pack it all it seems in these boxes all these boxes,
As they move on from their past, they pack their belongings and memories in boxes
All these boxes they are all I see
The boxes take up their sight as they hold their past, present and future
And our big dreams, where will they go
They wonder where their dreams will end up as they pack them away
Remember when you said hello in your blue jeans and your long hair
They reminisce a past moment when they first met
We were walking everywhere by the river
They spent time together exploring and enjoying their surroundings
You were trembling, you were trembling when I said to you: let me kiss you
A past intimate moment of vulnerability and love
And your big dreams
Their hopes and ambitions
20 years or so it seems
It has been a long time since that moment
That's a long time, what a long time
They emphasize how long it has been and how much has happened
And now you hold it all inside like those boxes, all those boxes
They keep their emotions and memories locked away in those boxes
All those boxes they get in my way
Their belongings now obstruct their path to move forward
Like our big dreams
Their aspirations also seem to be in the way of their present moment
Like our old hopes
Their past hopes and desires are also hindering their growth
Lately there's been ghosts I know, I can see them
They have been haunted by the past and it is affecting them currently
Help me see them
They ask for help to confront their unsettling emotions
Well I guess we'll pass the ghosts as well
They hope to overcome their emotional baggage and move forward
And move on now, and move west now
They plan to continue their journey and start anew
With our big dreams, all in boxes
They carry their dreams with them as they move on
Oh are dreams they aren't quite as big as our boxes.
Their dreams seem smaller in comparison to all the memories and belongings they have accumulated over the years
Contributed by Samantha J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.