Harlem River marked the solo debut. Known for his work as the singer/guitarist for the Brooklyn band The Babies and bassist for Woods, the Kansas City native and new Los Angeles resident, calls the record “an homage to New York City,” his adopted home for the past five years.
All of My Life
Kevin Morby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just to be by your side, just to see it through
And you'd call my name, but what would you say
If you knew my play, then who are you
Ooh and you'd come down and anchored stay
And if they told you run
Then why you standing there
Just to be by your side, but you never came
And you'd call my name just to disappear
I've been proven down in a tear
And what if no one comes
No bells to ring, Lord
What if no one came
No tales to sing now
All of my life waiting for you
Just to be by your side, should've been there too
And you'd call my name, but I never couldn't hear
If you knew my play, then you'd never do what you want
It was only a waltz
You'd never do what you'd say
Oh what you'd say
All of my life
All of my life
All of my life
All of my life
And what a dream in my head
Are all those things that you'd say to me
And what a dream will do until it's gone and never come back again
The lyrics of Kevin Morby's song "All of My Life" express a sense of longing and waiting for someone who never arrives. The singer is waiting all their life for this person to be by their side, but it never happens. They think about what they would do if the person called their name and acknowledges their presence, but they wonder who this person really is if they knew everything about the singer's life.
The singer can't help but feel disappointed and hurt over and over again. They think about the possibility of no one coming to their aid or acknowledging their existence, and it's a bleak thought. The song is deeply introspective, and the repetition of the line "all of my life" emphasizes the weight of the emotion the singer is feeling.
Line by Line Meaning
All of my life waiting for you
I have spent my entire life waiting for you
Just to be by your side, just to see it through
I have always wanted to be by your side to help you through everything
And you'd call my name, but what would you say
You used to call my name, but I wonder what you really meant by it
If you knew my play, then who are you
If you knew my intentions, then who are you to judge?
Ooh and you'd come down and anchored stay
Sometimes you would come down and stay with me for a while
And if they told you run
If someone told you to leave or run away,
Then why you standing there
Why are you still here with me?
All of my life spent on you
I have spent all of my life thinking about you
Just to be by your side, but you never came
I wanted to be with you, but you never came
And you'd call my name just to disappear
Sometimes you would call my name, but then disappear without a trace
I've been proven down in a tear
I have been left crying and feeling hopeless
And what if no one comes
What if no one ever comes to help or save us?
No bells to ring, Lord
There will be no signs of hope or salvation
What if no one came
What if no one ever showed up to hear our cries for help?
No tales to sing now
No stories of triumph or overcoming obstacles will be shared
Just to be by your side, should've been there too
I wish I could have been there by your side as well
And you'd call my name, but I never couldn't hear
Sometimes you would call my name, but I was not able to hear it
If you knew my play, then you'd never do what you want
If you knew what I was truly capable of, maybe you would never have done what you wanted
It was only a waltz
Our relationship was just a fleeting, temporary dance
You'd never do what you'd say
You never followed through on your promises
Oh what you'd say
I wonder what you would say if you were here
And what a dream in my head
I often dream about you and what could have been
Are all those things that you'd say to me
In my dreams, you tell me things that you never said in real life
And what a dream will do until it's gone and never come back again
Dreams can give us hope and comfort, but when they are gone, they may never come back again
Writer(s): Robert Wallace Barbato, Justin Sullivan, Kevin Morby
Contributed by Katherine J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@dave_pro
All of my life waiting for you
Just to be by your side, just to see it through
And you'd call my name, but what would you say
If you knew my play, then who are you
Ooh and you'd come down and anchored stay
And if they told you run
Then why you standing there
All of my life spent on you
Just to be by your side, but you never came
And you'd call my name just to disappear
I've been proven down in a tear
And what if no one comes
No bells to ring, Lord
What if no one cares
No tales to sing now
All of my life waiting for you
Just to be by your side, should've been there too
And you'd call my name, but I never couldn't hear
If you knew my play, then you'd never do what you want
It was only a waltz
You'd never do what you'd say
Oh what you'd say
All of my life
All of my life
All of my life
All of my life
@sheagarner3685
I genuinely love Kevin Morby music more than most things in life.
@purplemaze7733
Anything Kevin does is breathtakingly beautiful. Thank you Monsieur Morby for the heavenly music! You are a legend! <3
@loadedmusic3192
Pixies, Stones, Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Dylan, Doors, yet he's got his own unique style.
This guy's awesome!
@notwerkinginthishouse8634
I wanna meet him
@carlscott4180
His music/manner is some odd combination of the mellow/soothing with the angular/impassioned. He's great live. CS
@BedHead982
Well put, perfect combo of the two
@Huelogy
Played this on my guitar for you when we first met. I thought I was waiting all my life up until that moment, only to wait again, what a dream will do until its gone
@dave_pro
All of my life waiting for you
Just to be by your side, just to see it through
And you'd call my name, but what would you say
If you knew my play, then who are you
Ooh and you'd come down and anchored stay
And if they told you run
Then why you standing there
All of my life spent on you
Just to be by your side, but you never came
And you'd call my name just to disappear
I've been proven down in a tear
And what if no one comes
No bells to ring, Lord
What if no one cares
No tales to sing now
All of my life waiting for you
Just to be by your side, should've been there too
And you'd call my name, but I never couldn't hear
If you knew my play, then you'd never do what you want
It was only a waltz
You'd never do what you'd say
Oh what you'd say
All of my life
All of my life
All of my life
All of my life
@eldonpinto9030
On atteint les cimes de la beauté musicale avec Kevin Morby!! L'album est juste sublime et parfait!
@MJforever910606
Wow! This is a great song!