Sunrise Sunset
Gerry Beckley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't sleep can't forget
Thought I heard your footsteps
Coming home to me
Love comes, love grows
Sure as the wind blows
Like the single red rose
Now is the moment to come to your senses
Tear down the walls and set fire to the fences
Run away, run away
L.A. earthquake
Midnight ground shake
Somewhere in the heartache
There is hope you'll see
Now is the moment and now is forever
Now is the time it will all come together
Run, you gotta run
Once it was only a question of giving
Now we're destroying the life that we're living
Run, you gotta run
Run away, run away
You gotta run away, run away
Sunrise sunset
Can't sleep can't forget
Thought I heard your footsteps
Coming home to me
Gerry Beckley's "Sunrise Sunset" is a song about love and the pain of loss. The first verse speaks of the singer's inability to let go of a past love, as he hears her footsteps coming home to him, despite her not being there. It goes on to describe how love comes and goes, like the wind, but that it will always have its day, like a single red rose in a field.
The chorus encourages the listener to take action and "run away" from their problems, tearing down walls and setting fire to fences. The second verse begins with a reference to the 1994 Northridge earthquake in L.A., which had a profound impact on Beckley. He uses the earthquake as a metaphor for the internal shaking that occurs when dealing with heartache. The verse goes on to remind the listener that now is the time to come to their senses, and that they must act to save themselves from destroying their own lives.
Overall, "Sunrise Sunset" is a poignant reminder of the power of love and the pain of heartbreak. It encourages the listener to take charge of their own lives and make the tough decisions necessary to move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunrise sunset
Reflecting on the passage of time and the cyclical nature of life
Can't sleep can't forget
Unable to move on from a person or event
Thought I heard your footsteps
Feeling a sense of longing and hope for someone's return
Coming home to me
Hoping that the person being missed would return to their life
Love comes, love grows
Expressing the natural progression of love
Sure as the wind blows
Comparing the certainty of love to the ever-present wind
Like the single red rose
Using the rose as a symbol of love and hope for the future
You will have your day
Encouraging the person to have faith that their time will come
Now is the moment to come to your senses
Urging the person to wake up and face reality
Tear down the walls and set fire to the fences
Encouraging the person to break down the emotional barriers and start fresh
L.A. earthquake
A metaphor for emotional upheaval
Midnight ground shake
Comparing the emotional upheaval to an earthquake happening at night when one is most vulnerable
Somewhere in the heartache
Recognizing that there is pain in the present situation
There is hope you'll see
Hoping that the person will eventually see that there can be a positive outcome
Now is the moment and now is forever
Stressing the importance of the present moment and how it will shape the future
Now is the time it will all come together
Believing that everything will fall into place in due time
Run, you gotta run
Encouraging the person to take action and move forward
Once it was only a question of giving
Reflecting on how love used to be simple
Now we're destroying the life that we're living
Acknowledging that the present situation is destroying their quality of life
Run away, run away
Repeating the call to action to take control and escape the current situation
You gotta run away, run away
Emphasizing the urgency of taking control and making a change
Contributed by Carter E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.