Finn is said to have decided to become a musician at the age of 12 and throughout his school years performed in hospitals and prisons, as well as at home gatherings. In 1976 he formed a group known as After Hours with Mark Hough, Geoff Chunn and Alan Brown. The following year, in 1977, Finn was invited to London to join Split Enz, the band formed by his elder brother, Tim Finn. Split Enz broke up in 1984 and Neil Finn formed a new band, Crowded House, with several other Australian and New Zealand musicians.
Crowded House had a string of hits over the next 10 years, releasing four albums and culminating in a concert in the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House. Finn went solo after this, releasing several albums as well as two albums with his brother Tim (Finn Brothers).
In 2007, Finn re-united Crowded House and released a new album, Time on Earth, and the band began a world tour. In 2010, another new album, "Intriguer", was released and coincided with another world tour.
In 2012, Finn recorded the track "Song of the Lonely Mountain", which was featured in the end credits of the movie "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey".
King Tide
Neil Finn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sun beating hard on your door
Feel emotion roar within you
You're flesh and blood like anyone
Make some sense of your life
Move your hand and make the mark
I don't know why you're so confused
You're flesh and blood, there's no excuse
Won't go away, it's starting to rise
And the longer you hide
The more you deny
And the sea rushes in
The wind is howling at your back
The past is always overturned
It's a dead man who would refuse
And twice the man to fill his shoes
And the hunger inside
Won't go away it's starting to rise
And the longer you hide
The more you deny
And the hunger inside
Won't go away it's starting to rise
And the sea rushes in
Into my world
I can feel the king tide coming
All my senses overflowing
One night waiting out the back
Horns'll blow and cymbals crash
So paint a circle in the sky
I lay breathless in the arms of love
There's a bruise on my back
And a new understanding too
The lyrics to Neil Finn's song "King Tide" tell the story of a person who is struggling with their emotions and trying to make sense of their life. The first verse describes the person as being in a dark and empty room with the sun beating down on their door. The second verse encourages the person to take action and make their mark in the world, while also acknowledging their humanity and the fact that there is no excuse for being confused. The chorus repeats the idea that the hunger inside the person won't go away and is starting to rise, while the sea rushes in and the wind howls at their back.
The second half of the song seems to shift into a more metaphorical or symbolic story, as the singer describes feeling the king tide coming and all their senses overflowing. The imagery of horns blowing and cymbals crashing suggests a sense of impending drama or urgency. The song ends with the singer lying breathless in the arms of love, with a bruise on their back and a new understanding.
Overall, the song seems to be about the struggle to come to terms with one's emotions and to find a sense of purpose or direction in life. The repeated references to the hunger inside the person suggest a sense of restlessness or longing that can't be easily satisfied. The references to the sea and the king tide suggest a sense of external forces at work that are beyond the person's control.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a dark and empty room
The room is devoid of any light and life.
The sun beating hard on your door
The sun is shining bright outside the room and knocking on the door.
Feel emotion roar within you
There is a strong emotional surge happening within the person.
You're flesh and blood like anyone
The person is a human being with emotions and vulnerabilities.
Make some sense of your life
The person needs to find purpose and meaning in their life.
Move your hand and make the mark
The person needs to take action and make things happen in their life.
I don't know why you're so confused
The singer is bewildered as to why the person is confused.
You're flesh and blood, there's no excuse
Being human is not an excuse for not taking charge of one's life.
And the hunger inside
The intense desire for something is building up within the person.
Won't go away, it's starting to rise
The hunger is becoming stronger and harder to ignore.
And the longer you hide
The more the person avoids taking action, the stronger the hunger becomes.
The more you deny
Ignoring the hunger only makes it worse.
And the sea rushes in
Metaphorically, the tide of change is coming and the person needs to face it head-on.
The wind is howling at your back
The challenges and obstacles are strong and intense.
The past is always overturned
The past doesn't define the present, and everything can change.
It's a dead man who would refuse
Only someone who is already dead would refuse to change and grow.
And twice the man to fill his shoes
The person needs to step up and embrace their potential to grow and evolve.
Into my world
The person is inviting something or someone into their life.
I can feel the king tide coming
The person senses something big and powerful is about to happen and they need to prepare themselves.
All my senses overflowing
The person's emotions and intuition are heightened and overwhelming.
One night waiting out the back
The person is waiting for something to happen in the near future.
Horns'll blow and cymbals crash
There will be a grand event that will be marked with celebratory sounds.
So paint a circle in the sky
The person wants to commemorate this event to remember it clearly.
I lay breathless in the arms of love
The person is experiencing a profound feeling of love and awe.
There's a bruise on my back
The person has been through some pain and suffering.
And a new understanding too
Through the pain, the person has come to a new level of understanding.
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC, BMG Rights Management
Written by: NEIL MULLANE FINN, ROBERT MOORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
TrevTube
One of the best!! Breathes me in and out with the heartbeat intro and ends on a classic line... "there's a bruise on my back and a new understanding too"... ever learning, ever evolving!
Erin Traynor
Neil Finn is pure perfection
pistolrock
Hey why are tracks 2 & 4 missing? Especially 4, it's my favourite
Nick Brokenshire
Its like a wild muscle car. It kinda careens down the track. A concern that it could blow up or crash the entire time.
But that distorted McCartney bass line and Ringo drums make you move.
Philip Newland
The longer you hide, the more you deny
順
great song for me
Mike Baker
It's a honor to say I shock this genius hand a year a two ago at a crowed house concert at the Hammerstein ballroom
michavandam
Keep on shocking!
Athanasios M
...and the hunger inside, won't go away. Hmm.
Jamie Sebastian
I think that this could have been a much better song than it was because it was poorly recorded. The sound lacks clarity, but the words and the beat are as good as anything he's ever done. I'm just very disappointed with the overall muddled sound