As The Years Go Passing By
Santana Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ah the blues
The ball and chain that is 'round every English musician's leg
In fact every musician's leg
Tryin' to kick it off baby?
No no.
You'll just never do it
And these are the blues of time
And the blues of a woman
And a man thinkin' of her
As time goes by

There is nothin' I can do
If you leave me here to cry
There is nothin' I can do
If you leave me here to cry
You know my love will follow you baby
Mmm until the day I die

I've given you all I own;
That is one thing you cannot deny
Oh I've given you all I own;
Baby that is one thing you cannot deny
And my love will follow you baby
Yeah
Till the day this man dies.

I've got failure all around me
No matter how hard I try.
I've got failure
It's all around me
No matter how hard I
Try try
You know my ghost will haunt you baby
Until the day you stop down and die
Well you better get up
Right now right now

Well
You think that you have left me behind
And that with your other man you're safe
And you're away from me baby but uh
One o' these days you're gonna break down and cry
Because there is no escape from this man
Because this man's love is so strong
He's gonna haunt you
You know my love will follow you
Mmm until the day I die

There is just one thing I want to tell you before I go
I'm gonna leave it
I'm gonna leave it
Leave it up to you
So long
baby bye-bye
Hey I'm gonna leave it up to you baby
So long
baby bye-bye

Well you know my love will follow you
Mmm 'til the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I am dead
Till the day that they rest my head
Till the day I die
Till the day I I I I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day that you die and I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die
Till the day I die

Die
Die




Die
Die

Overall Meaning

The song As The Years Go Passing By by Santana is a blues ballad that speaks about the pain of a man who has been left behind by his lover. It starts with a description of how the blues is a ball and chain around every musician's leg and that it cannot be kicked off. The lyrics then go on to describe the blues of time and a woman that a man is thinking of as time goes by. The repetition of the line "there is nothing I can do if you leave me here to cry" emphasizes the man's helplessness and desperation after being left behind. He has given his lover everything he owns, but it still wasn't enough to make her stay. The man admits to having failure all around him and that no matter how hard he tries, he cannot escape the haunting memories of his lover. He warns her that there is no escape from his love because it's so strong that it will follow her until the day he dies.


The lyrics use repetition and simple phrases to convey the man's pain and feelings. The use of the term "ball and chain" highlights the heaviness and inescapability of the blues, whereas "ghost will haunt you" speaks to the lasting effect that love can have on a person even after they are gone. The line "one o' these days you're gonna break down and cry" conveys a sense of inevitability and foreboding. The song ends with the man leaving it up to his lover, acknowledging that he has done all he can and that the decision to stay or leave is hers alone.


Line by Line Meaning

Ah the blues
The melancholy and sadness that pervade all music genres and particularly English musicians


The ball and chain that is 'round every English musician's leg
The perpetual sorrow and anguish that every English musician feels and displays in their music


In fact every musician's leg
This feeling is not unique to English musicians but is instead a shared experience among all musicians


Tryin' to kick it off baby?
Are you attempting to shake off this depression and misery, my dear?


No no.
Don't even try.


You'll just never do it
You will never be able to escape from it entirely


And these are the blues of time
This bitter sentiment is also a consequence of time


And the blues of a woman
This sadness is often caused by a woman


And a man thinkin' of her
When a man reminisces about her it would be with a heartache.


As time goes by
It does not appear that time can heal his hurt


There is nothin' I can do
I am powerless to change this


If you leave me here to cry
If you abandon me to my despair,


You know my love will follow you baby
Nonetheless, my love for you will persist,


Mmm until the day I die
Even until the end of my life


I've given you all I own;
I have sacrificed everything for you


That is one thing you cannot deny
It is undeniable that my love for you is unparalleled


And my love will follow you baby
As aforementioned, my love for you will persist,


Yeah
Yes


Till the day this man dies.
Until I breathe my last breath


I've got failure all around me
I perceive my surroundings as a failure in my eyes


No matter how hard I try.
It seems irrelevant how many times I try


It's all around me
There is no getting away from it


You know my ghost will haunt you baby
Even after my demise, my memory and my love will continue to afflict you,


Until the day you stop down and die
Until the day you take your final breath


Well you better get up
It would be better if you immediately wake up and make amends


Right now right now
Without any delay whatsoever


Well
Now


You think that you have left me behind
You believe that you have shaken me loose


And that with your other man you're safe
And you feel confident in your other relationship


And you're away from me baby but uh
You have distanced yourself away from me, but things are not as they seem


One o' these days you're gonna break down and cry
Inevitably, there will come a time when you will be overwhelmed with despair and tears


Because there is no escape from this man
No one can evade this man, nor his residual love,


Because this man's love is so strong
Because the magnitude of this man's love is formidable


He's gonna haunt you
His love, much like a ghost, will follow her and never leave her in peace


There is just one thing I want to tell you before I go
Before I take my leave, there's a matter I want to address


I'm gonna leave it
I won't provide an explanation


Leave it up to you
I'd like you to figure things out on your own


So long
Farewell


baby bye-bye
Goodbye, dear


Hey I'm gonna leave it up to you baby
I'm giving you the liberty to choose for yourself, my love.


Till the day I I I I die
Until the day I breathe my last


Till the day that you die and I die
Until the day we take our last breaths


Die
Death




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DON ROBEY, DON D. ROBEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Enrique Aldanondo

" Aunque pasen los años "

No hay nada que yo pueda hacer
Como me dejas aquí llorando
No hay nada que yo pueda hacer
Como me dejas aquí para llorar
Sabes que mi amor te seguirá
A medida que vayan pasando los años.

Te doy todo lo que tengo
Eso es algo que no puedes negar
Te doy todo lo que tengo
Eso es algo que no puedes negar
A medida que vayan pasando los años.

Te lo dejo a ti
Tanto tiempo, tanto tiempo, adiós
Te lo dejo a ti
Tanto tiempo, tanto tiempo, adiós
Sabes que mi amor te seguirá
A medida que vayan pasando los años.

Te lo dejo a ti
Tanto tiempo, tanto tiempo, adiós
Te lo dejo a ti
Tanto tiempo, tanto tiempo, adiós
Sabes que mi amor te seguirá
A medida que vayan pasando los años.



All comments from YouTube:

blueswine2000

Before their legendary performance at Woodstock and before their first album we have this gem.... Live at the Fillmore-1968. It doesn't get any better than this track. Excellent slow blues.

My TeLeCaSTeR WorLd

santana isn't known as a bluesman...but if he wanted to....i agree, hard to match this track and his version of willy bobo's neckbones and some home fries in the album santana '68, before it all happened.....

Greg Parker

Many versions,over the years. Mighty one,here, with distinctive Santana flavour.

Roberto Pereira

Feeling the guitar of Carlos Santana!!!!!!

Crazy Horse

I went to this concert in 1968 at the filmore west. He played with LeslieWest(MOUNTAIN) and at the end they jammed together.

David Munguia

Wow

james lujack

yea,man thats really cool. thanks for the info. ..but what color socks did Jimi wear?

Chantal Aznavourian

merveilleux.....

Enrique Aldanondo

" Aunque pasen los años "

No hay nada que yo pueda hacer
Como me dejas aquí llorando
No hay nada que yo pueda hacer
Como me dejas aquí para llorar
Sabes que mi amor te seguirá
A medida que vayan pasando los años.

Te doy todo lo que tengo
Eso es algo que no puedes negar
Te doy todo lo que tengo
Eso es algo que no puedes negar
A medida que vayan pasando los años.

Te lo dejo a ti
Tanto tiempo, tanto tiempo, adiós
Te lo dejo a ti
Tanto tiempo, tanto tiempo, adiós
Sabes que mi amor te seguirá
A medida que vayan pasando los años.

Te lo dejo a ti
Tanto tiempo, tanto tiempo, adiós
Te lo dejo a ti
Tanto tiempo, tanto tiempo, adiós
Sabes que mi amor te seguirá
A medida que vayan pasando los años.

Jose Porras

I can't stop listening to this! Eargasm after eargasm.!

More Comments

More Versions