The Fallen Acrobat, Barnes's Silber debut, was recorded over the course of one year in Barnes's bedroom (like all personal records should be). Here Jamie manages to capture the intimacy of home in his songs, working not only with solo instrumentation, but with a diverse blend of elements like toy piano, xylophone, and basically "all the cool stuff from around the house." Just more proof that Silber is working to bring tunes out of the bedroom and into your headphones.
Jamie's second album Honey from the Ribcage shows his songs becoming more orchestrated & more personal. The lyrical content focuses around personal fears, feelings, & events. "All these things are so" draws parallels to events in Jamie's life & the biblical story of Samson. "Second guess my own" is about Jamie's suffering with long-term memory loss & "red prescription" is about his fight with prescription drugs that caused that memory loss. Throughout the album demons, angels, creatures, & colors (black, red, white) appear as symbols of one thing or another.
Glory Days
Jamie Barnes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Back in high school
He could throw that speedball by you
Make you look like a fool boy
Saw him the other night at this roadside bar
I was walking in, he was walking out
We went back inside sat down had a few drinks
But all he kept talking about was
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
Well there's a girl that lives up the block
Back in school she could turn all the boy's heads
Sometimes on a Friday I'll stop by
And have a few drinks after she put her kids to bed
Her and her husband Bobby well they split up
I guess it's two years gone by now
We just sit around talking about the old times,
She says when she feels like crying
She starts laughing thinking about
Glory days well they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
Think I'm going down to the well tonight
And I'm going to drink till I get my fill
And I hope when I get old I don't sit around thinking about it
But I probably will
Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture
A little of the glory of, well time slips away
And leaves you with nothing mister but
Boring stories of
Glory days yeah they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
Yeah they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
The lyrics of Jamie Barnes's song Glory Days talks about the moments we cherish and appreciate the most in life, and how time and changes can make those moments disappear. He talks about his friend who was once a great baseball player in high school, and the admiration he had for him. Jamie Barnes goes on to talk about running into his old friend at a roadside bar where they had a few drinks and his friend kept talking about "Glory Days". He then meets a woman, who was also someone he knew from back in high school, and they reminisce about the good old days, although things have changed now. Jamie Barnes ends the song by talking about going down to the well to drink and filling himself up before he gets old, because he never wants to sit around thinking or regretting he hasn't had more of such Glory Days.
The song can be seen as an ode to the good old days and the passing of time. It showcases the memories that we hold onto and cherish, and how time and changes can make those memories fade or disappear. The lyrics provide listeners with a message to appreciate the present and the people around them because life moves fast and changes are inevitable. It's a reminder that memories will be with us, but they can't be relived, and therefore, it is important to enjoy the moment while it lasts and make every moment count.
Line by Line Meaning
I had a friend was a big baseball player
I used to know someone who was good at baseball
Back in high school
When we were in school
He could throw that speedball by you
He was really good at throwing the ball quickly
Make you look like a fool boy
He was so good he could make you look silly
Saw him the other night at this roadside bar
I recently ran into him at a bar near the side of the road
I was walking in, he was walking out
We passed each other on the way in and out of the bar
We went back inside sat down had a few drinks
We decided to grab some drinks and sit down
But all he kept talking about was
However, all he could talk about was
Glory days well they'll pass you by
How good things don't last forever
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
How quickly things can change
Glory days, glory days
Repeating the concept that good things don't last forever
Well there's a girl that lives up the block
There's this girl who lives nearby
Back in school she could turn all the boy's heads
She was popular with the boys in school
Sometimes on a Friday I'll stop by
Sometimes I visit her on Fridays
And have a few drinks after she put her kids to bed
And we drink after she puts her kids to sleep
Her and her husband Bobby well they split up
Her and her husband Bobby separated
I guess it's two years gone by now
I think it's been two years now
We just sit around talking about the old times,
We talk about the good old times
She says when she feels like crying
She says that when she wants to cry
She starts laughing thinking about
She starts laughing when she thinks about
Think I'm going down to the well tonight
I think I'm going to drink tonight
And I'm going to drink till I get my fill
I'm going to drink as much as I want
And I hope when I get old I don't sit around thinking about it
I hope I don't spend my old age thinking about the past
But I probably will
But I likely will do that
Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture
Just sitting around, trying to remember
A little of the glory of, well time slips away
Remembering the good times, but time goes too quickly
And leaves you with nothing mister but
And all you're left with is
Boring stories of
Uninteresting tales about
Glory days yeah they'll pass you by
Repeating the concept of good things not lasting forever
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Repeating the concept of how quickly things can change
Glory days, glory days
Repeating the idea that good things come and go
Yeah they'll pass you by
Repeating the idea that good things don't last forever
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Repeating the concept that good things can disappear quickly
Glory days, glory days
Repeating the idea that good times are fleeting
Writer(s): Jamie Barnes
Contributed by Max A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.