Waking Up
Michael Martin Murphey Lyrics
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Shining in on me, I must be waking up
It's been so long since I've seen daybreak
I must be awake again
I don't want to sleep through my whole life
I don't want to lose my soul in the night
I just want to sing to the morning light
A night bird sings and shows his scarlet wings
He's waking up hear him waking up
And everyday he's got a brand new prayer to say
When he's waking up the day
He doesn't want to sleep through his whole life
He doesn't want to lose his song in the night
He just wants to sing to the morning light
He's waking up
Is that the morning light I see
Shining in on you and me
We must be waking up
It's been so long since this old world has seen daybreak
Think we're awake this time
We don't want to sleep through our whole lives
We don't want to lose this world in the night
So come on let's work until we get this world right
Come on let's wake up now
The lyrics to Michael Murphey's song "Waking Up" are about awakening from a long period of darkness and feeling alive again. The singer senses the morning light shining on him and realizes that he must be waking up from a deep sleep. He wants to seize the day and not waste his life sleeping. He doesn't want to lose himself in the dark anymore, and he wants to embrace the light and sing to it.
The singer then observes a night bird that sings and spreads his wings at dawn. The bird wakes up with a prayer in his heart every day, an anticipation to live another day, and not waste his time sleeping. He doesn't want to lose his song in the dark and wants to sing to the morning light.
Finally, the singer addresses the listeners and says that they must be waking up because of the morning light shining on them. He urges them not to sleep through their whole lives, to not lose the world to the darkness. He wants them to work together to make this world right.
Overall, the song is a celebration of life and a call to action to embrace every day and make it count.
Line by Line Meaning
Is that the morning light I see
Wondering if the light is of the morning sun
Shining in on me, I must be waking up
Realizing that it's the morning sun and he's waking up
It's been so long since I've seen daybreak
Expressing how long it's been since he's seen daybreak
I must be awake again
Confirming that he is awake
I don't want to sleep through my whole life
Expressing that he does not want to waste his life sleeping
I don't want to lose my soul in the night
Not wanting to lose himself in the darkness of the night
I just want to sing to the morning light
Expressing a desire to sing to the morning sun
A night bird sings and shows his scarlet wings
A bird sings and shows its wings as morning approaches
He's waking up hear him waking up
The bird is fully awake and singing to welcome the day
And everyday he's got a brand new prayer to say
The bird has a new prayer every morning
When he's waking up the day
The bird is greeting the new day as it wakes up
He doesn't want to sleep through his whole life
The bird does not want to waste his life sleeping
He doesn't want to lose his song in the night
The bird does not want to stop singing when it's dark
He just wants to sing to the morning light
The bird wants to sing to the morning sun
Is that the morning light I see
Asking if the light is of the morning sun
Shining in on you and me
Confirming that the sun is shining on everyone
We must be waking up
Realizing that everyone is waking up
It's been so long since this old world has seen daybreak
Expressing how long it's been since the world has seen daybreak
Think we're awake this time
Believing that everyone is fully awake this time
We don't want to sleep through our whole lives
Expressing that no one wants to waste their life sleeping
We don't want to lose this world in the night
Not wanting to lose the world to the darkness of the night
So come on let's work until we get this world right
Encouraging everyone to work together until the world is right
Come on let's wake up now
Urging everyone to wake up and work towards a better world
Contributed by Michael N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.