Hanson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He started learning guitar at four years old and by the age of 13 formed the emo/indie rock band M.I.J. Seven years later the band released a 7", an EP and a full album on Caulfield Records.
He began a solo career in 2003 and was signed to Kill Rock Stars Records after sending in an unsolicited demo tape. He has since released three albums for the label, Son in 2003 and Jeff Hanson in 2005. His third album for Kill Rock Stars titled Madam Owl was released on August 19 2008. Hanson's solo albums were recorded at Presto! Recording Studios.
Since 1996 Hanson resided in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Hanson was found dead on June 7, 2009, in his St. Paul apartment, which he had moved into a few days earlier. The cause was mixed drug toxicity.
Daylight
Jeff Hanson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it came right through to the cloud that you're on
Dawn of this stuff wasn't nearly enough
Though i thought it would keep you here
When the sun came up boy you disappeared
How the years carry on and some go in between
Now the sun from the fields glowing hot and everything turns to gray
And the sun went down and all this went away
Will ever i remember what to say and what you seem to find?
And i had never heard you call for me outside
Outside
There's a story i've told that i want you to hear
Doesn't mean run now even though it's unclear
What if our time was no way to become though i thought it would keep you here
When the day was done it all disappeared
Will ever i remember what to say and what you seem to find?
Suddenly i'm not the only one in daylight
And everything will stay the same for me
The changing of the tide
And i had never heard you call for me outside
Oh everything will stay the same for me
The changing of the tide
And i had never heard you call for me outside
Outside
The song "Daylight" by Jeff Hanson is a melancholic, introspective track that reflects on the transience of people and how relationships can just as easily disintegrate as they form. The opening lines, "How I knew you'd be gone from the time you were born / And it came right through to the cloud that you're on," suggest a sense of inevitability about the dissolution of the subject's relationship with the other person. The use of the cloud as a metaphor for the person's distance emphasizes the insubstantiality of their connection and how it was always destined to drift apart.
As the song progresses, the singer reflects on how time can change people and relationships. "And it takes much more than at first you'd believe" suggests how youthful optimism and idealism may not always be enough to sustain a partnership over the long term. The contrast between the hopeful "Dawn of this stuff" and the desolate "everything turns to gray" underscores the sense of lost promise and faded hopes that pervades the song.
Despite the melancholy tone, there is a sense that the singer might be able to move on from this experience and achieve some measure of closure. The relationship might be over, but the memory of it remains. "Will ever I remember what to say and what you seem to find? Suddenly I'm not the only one in daylight" suggests that the singer is starting to emerge from the shadow of this relationship and is becoming more present in the world again.
Overall, "Daylight" is a bittersweet meditation on how relationships can end as abruptly as they begin and the emotional toll that takes on those involved.
Line by Line Meaning
How i knew you'd be gone from the time you were born
From the moment you were born, I had a feeling that you were meant to leave.
And it came right through to the cloud that you're on
That feeling of yours being meant to leave, lingered on ever since.
Dawn of this stuff wasn't nearly enough
The beginning of this relationship wasn't enough to keep you by my side.
Though i thought it would keep you here
Even though I had hoped that it would make you stay.
When the sun came up boy you disappeared
But as the day dawned, you still left me nonetheless.
How the years carry on and some go in between
As time passed, some years went by without you.
And it takes much more than at first you'd believe
It took a lot more effort to keep you by my side than I originally thought.
Now the sun from the fields glowing hot and everything turns to gray
The sun shining on the fields is a stark reminder that everything is dull without you.
And the sun went down and all this went away
As the day ended, so did the hope of you being here.
Will ever i remember what to say and what you seem to find?
Will I ever remember the right words to say to you and understand what you truly want?
And i had never heard you call for me outside
I have never heard you call for me to come outside and spend time with you.
There's a story i've told that i want you to hear
I have a story that I want to tell you.
Doesn't mean run now even though it's unclear
Just because the story is unclear, it doesn't mean you should run away.
What if our time was no way to become though i thought it would keep you here
What if the time we spent together wasn't enough to make you stay, even though I had hoped it would?
When the day was done it all disappeared
At the end of each day, everything seemed to disappear, including you.
Suddenly i'm not the only one in daylight
I'm no longer alone now that you're here in broad daylight with me.
And everything will stay the same for me
For me, things will remain the same, unchanged without you.
The changing of the tide
The ebb and flow of the tides represents the changes in life.
And i had never heard you call for me outside
I have never heard you ask for me to come outside and be with you.
Contributed by Eva A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.