When NEEDTOBREATHE’s Bear and Bo Rinehart set out to write the songs that appear on the band’s new album, The Reckoning, they felt something bigger awaited them. It wasn’t just commercial success either. The band’s last album The Outsiders hit No. 9 on Billboard’s Rock Albums chart, went Top 20 on the Top 200, saw the band sell out venues such as Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and Chicago’s House of Blues, and score an impressive number of placements in blockbuster films and numerous prime time television-shows.
With their reputation as a must-see live act built from non-stop touring, the Rinehart brothers, pastor’s sons who hail from the rural South Carolina town of Possum Kingdom, along with drummer Joe Stillwell and bass player Seth Bolt, were determined to create a statement-making album that truly captured the magic behind this genuinely appealing rock band.
Lyrically, all roads lead from the album’s title, which Bear says has several different meanings, one of them being the justification of accounts. “I like the idea that you put in all this work and at some point it comes to a peak -- that’s the reckoning time.”
What the band emerged with is a timeless-sounding album rooted in classic American rock and roll, unafraid to veer off into unexpected directions. Songs such as “Maybe They’re On To Us” address the paranoia of wondering whether people know too much about the band. “It also asks, ‘Are we still driven in the same way?’ We’re always questioning ourselves,” Bear says. Even the songs that may sound light-hearted on the surface, like “White Fences,” “Slumber,” and “Drive All Night,” explore serious themes. “’White Fences’ is about the American dream of growing up in a big house with a white picket fence, but when the dream is broken and things don’t pan out the way you planned, asking who’s going to fix it,” Bo says. “’Slumber’ is meant to be about how beauty is all around you but you just can’t see it because of the funk you’re in,” Bear says. “It speaks to something that we really care about which is giving yourself a chance.” And there’s “Drive All Night,” a galloping barnstormer that Bear sees as a statement on the false idea that one can run away from one’s problems.
With their intriguing melodies and bright choruses, the songs on The Reckoning are certain to translate in the live setting, something that is crucial to the band. “The worst thing that could happen is you get done playing and people don’t think about you again. We’ll do whatever it takes to force people to make a decision about our band, whether they love us or not. It makes for more passionate fans.”
A Place Only You Can Go
NEEDTOBREATHE Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The past never does go away
We were born to love and we're born to pay
The price for our mistakes
Grace, she comes with a heavy load
Memories, they can't be erased
Like a pill I swallow, he makes me well
Oh, I know this song won't do
Enough to prove my love to you
In my heart you'll always know
There is a place only love can go
There is a place only you can go
Take my notions and words to heart
This is the cry of a man
I can't bring you fortune or noble life
But I'll love you all I can
Oh, I know this song won't do
Enough to prove my love to you
In my heart you'll always know
There is a place only you can go
Oh, I know this song won't do
Enough to prove my love to you
In my heart you'll always know
There is a place only love can go
There is a place only you can go
The lyrics to NEEDTOBREATHE's song A Place Only You Can Go speak to the raw feelings of pain, regret, and the need for redemption in a broken relationship. The first stanza acknowledges the existence of pain and how it lingers in a broken heart despite time passing by. The second line refers to the weight of the past, insinuating that the memories of the relationship linger despite attempts to move on. The third line suggests that loving someone demands a price, and sometimes that price is paid through the consequences of our mistakes.
The second stanza offers a glimpse of hope and redemption. Grace enters the picture and is portrayed as a source of healing. The line "like a pill I swallow, he makes me well and leaves an awful taste" is suggestive of the hardships faced when seeking redemption. The line "oh, I know this song won't do enough to prove my love to you" suggests that all that the singer has to offer is the expression of love through the song. Nonetheless, he acknowledges that there exists a place only love can go, and that there is a special place only the person he loves can reach.
Line by Line Meaning
Pain is alive in a broken heart
Heartache is a constant presence after enduring emotional pain
The past never does go away
Memories and experiences remain and shape our present
We were born to love and we're born to pay, The price for our mistakes
Part of the human experience is making mistakes and dealing with the consequences
Grace, she comes with a heavy load
Forgiveness is a difficult but necessary act
Memories, they can't be erased
Past experiences shape our present and cannot be erased or forgotten
Like a pill I swallow, he makes me well, And leaves an awful taste
Love can restore and heal, but can also be bittersweet
Oh, I know this song won't do, Enough to prove my love to you
Words alone cannot fully convey the depth of love and affection
In my heart you'll always know, There is a place only love can go
Love has the power to touch and reach parts of our being that nothing else can
Take my notions and words to heart, This is the cry of a man
This is a heartfelt expression of a man's emotions and feelings
I can't bring you fortune or noble life, But I'll love you all I can
Love is not about material wealth or status, but about giving all that one can
There is a place only you can go
Love has the power to take us to places that only the recipient of that love can fully understand
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: NATHANIEL RINEHART, WILLIAM RINEHART
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind