Topaz City
Max Stalling Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hopeful I can still win
I press on and my wheels hum
Taking me home again
Taking me home again
I have run here in triumph
I've run here in retreat
And those days seemed so sweet
Those days seemed so sweet
Chorus:
But it's all different in so many ways
Changes hid in plain sight
Busted windows, a dusty wind blows
Topaz City tonight, Topaz City tonight
As a child I was childlike
In my teens naive
Now as manhood settles in
I still want to believe
I still want to believe
Chorus:
But it's all different in so many ways
Changes hid in plain sight
Stranger's faces in my old places
Topaz City tonight, Topaz City tonight
Chorus 2:
A weathered awning, an old dog yawning
Topaz City tonight
A run down beer joint, stop sign with no point
Topaz City tonight, Topaz City tonight
As a moon sheds it's shadow
As a snake sheds it's skin
Everything keeps right on changing
Got to learn that again
Got to learn that again
Chorus:
But it's all different in so many ways
Changes hid in plain sight
Mom's home-place gone, that just seems wrong
Topaz City tonight
Dad's chair empty, that still hits me
Topaz City tonight, Topaz City tonight
The lyrics to Max Stalling's song Topaz City are a poignant reflection on the experience of returning home after a long absence. The singer is "on the run again," but hopeful that he can still "win" by returning to the place where he has felt triumph and retreat in the past. He reflects on the different stages of his life, from the childlike innocence of his youth to the settling in of manhood, and expresses a desire to hold onto belief even as everything around him seems to be changing. He acknowledges that the changes are "hidden in plain sight," but still apparent in the busted windows, dusty wind, and other signs of decay that he encounters.
The chorus repeats the idea that everything is "different in so many ways," and that the changes in the singer's hometown are particularly jarring. He notes that there are "stranger's faces in my old places" and laments the loss of his mother's home-place and the emptiness of his father's chair. In the second chorus, he describes the weathered awning and old dog yawning, as well as the run-down beer joint and pointless stop sign, all of which contribute to the overall sense of decay and abandonment that pervades Topaz City tonight.
The final verse compares the changes in the town to the shedding of a snake's skin, emphasizing the natural and inevitable nature of transformation. The singer recognizes that "everything keeps right on changing" and that he needs to "learn that again." The song concludes with a final chorus that reinforces the idea that Topaz City is no longer the same place that the singer remembers.
Line by Line Meaning
Here I am on the run again
I am once again moving from one place to another
Hopeful I can still win
I still have hope that I can succeed in life despite all the changes
I press on and my wheels hum
I continue to move forward with determination
Taking me home again
Bringing me back to a familiar place
I have run here in triumph
I have achieved success here in the past
I've run here in retreat
I have also faced defeat and retreated from this place before
Took my first steps here thankfully
I have fond memories of this place from my childhood
And those days seemed so sweet
I look back on those days with nostalgia and fondness
But it's all different in so many ways
However, things have changed a lot since then
Changes hid in plain sight
These changes were sometimes obvious, but sometimes not
Busted windows, a dusty wind blows
The town has become run-down and abandoned over time
Topaz City tonight, Topaz City tonight
This is the town I am currently in, and it has changed drastically
As a child I was childlike
I was innocent and carefree when I was young
In my teens naive
But as I grew older, I became more ignorant of the harsh realities of the world
Now as manhood settles in
Now that I am an adult, I am becoming more aware of those realities
I still want to believe
However, I still hold onto hope that things can be better
Stranger's faces in my old places
I see unfamiliar people in the places where I used to feel at home
A weathered awning, an old dog yawning
The town looks old and worn down, even the animals are tired
A run down beer joint, stop sign with no point
Even the familiar places I used to frequent look different and sad
As a moon sheds it's shadow
Just as the moon changes shape over time
As a snake sheds it's skin
Just as a snake has to shed its skin to keep growing
Everything keeps right on changing
Everything in life keeps moving and evolving, whether we want it to or not
Got to learn that again
I need to remind myself to keep adapting to change
Mom's home-place gone, that just seems wrong
Even my own family's home is no longer there, which makes me feel sad
Dad's chair empty, that still hits me
Even my father's presence is gone, which is painful
Topaz City tonight, Topaz City tonight
Despite all the changes, I am still in this town
Contributed by Lincoln B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.