Nullarbor Song
Kasey Chambers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's brighter than the city lights
Warmer than a heart of gold
And dingo's howl just to break the silence
The sun comes up just to break the cold
Last night I woke
With the stars looking back at me
I felt no anger, I felt no shame
I felt no reason to cry
If I'm not here in the morning
I'll cry a river of tears
But I'll learn to live in a new town
But my heart is staying here
When it's quiet out here
A hundred miles away
You can hear the train on the line
The whistle blows just to break the silence
I wave just to break the time
I close my eyes
I think of runnin' water
I think of runnin' away
But the fires burnt to ashes
And it's darker than before
But I can see as clear as day
The song "Nullarbor Song" captures the essence of the vast Australian outback, where Kasey Chambers finds solace in its beauty and silence. The lyrics evoke the emotions of tranquility, isolation, and a deep connection to the land. In the first stanza, Kasey describes a campfire that burns brighter than the city lights and warms the heart more than gold. She hears the howling of dingoes breaking the silence in the stillness of the night. The second stanza depicts the sunrise as a daily occurrence that breaks the coldness of the night. Kasey wakes up with the sky swallowing the stars and feels no anger, shame or reason to cry.
The chorus announces the certainty of change and how the singer's emotions remain attached to the outback. She acknowledges the possibility of leaving and the pain that entails, but she knows that her heart will always stay there.
The third stanza refers to the outback's quietness and remoteness. The distant sound of trains and a silent wave are the only signs of life. The singer daydreams of running water and running away, but the fire has burnt to ashes, making the night darker than before. Nevertheless, the singer's vision is clear as day, which can be interpreted as one's ability to see things more clearly in quietness and solitude.
Line by Line Meaning
When the fire burns out here
When the bushfire is extinguished here
It's brighter than the city lights
The clear view of the night sky without pollution makes it look brighter than city lights
Warmer than a heart of gold
The warmth felt by the heart while being in the wilderness is incomparable to anything else
And dingo's howl just to break the silence
The howling of the Dingoes break the silence, but that's the only sound that makes it perfect
The sun comes up just to break the cold
The sun rises to break the winter chill
Last night I woke
I woke up last night
With the stars looking back at me
The view of the stars was mesmerizing
Swallowing the sky
It felt like the stars have swallowed the entire sky
I felt no anger, I felt no shame
The peacefulness of the wilderness made me feel no negative emotions
I felt no reason to cry
Nothing provoked me to cry
If I'm not here in the morning
If I'm not present in this area tomorrow
I'll cry a river of tears
I will miss this place terribly
But I'll learn to live in a new town
I'll move on and live in a different place
But my heart is staying here
I'll always have an emotional attachment to this place
When it's quiet out here
During the quiet moments in the wilderness
A hundred miles away
Even when you're miles away
You can hear the train on the line
You can still hear the distant sound of the train
The whistle blows just to break the silence
The train whistle creates a sound that breaks the silence
I wave just to break the time
I wave my hand to occupy time
I close my eyes
I shut my eyes
I think of runnin' water
I imagine the sound of flowing water
I think of runnin' away
I think of escaping from this place
But the fires burnt to ashes
The bushfires have turned into ashes
And it's darker than before
It's darker than before because of the ashes
But I can see as clear as day
But in spite of the darkness, I can still see everything clearly
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: KASEY CHAMBERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind