Landing their first record deal with Twin/Tone in 1984, Soul Asylum recorded a total of four albums for the local label: Say What You Will... Everything Can Happen in 1984 (later reissued as Say What You Will, Clarence... Karl Sold the Truck), Made To Be Broken in 1986, While You Were Out in 1986, and the EP Clam Dip and Other Delights in 1988. The band then switched to A&M, releasing Hang Time in 1988 and And the Horse They Rode In On in 1990 under that label. Although they enjoyed some success as a live band, Soul Asylum suffered from low album sales and considered disbanding.
In 1992, they signed with Columbia Records to produce Grave Dancers Union, a record that would come to transform them from underground college rockers to international superstars. The first two singles off the album, Somebody To Shove and Black Gold, both came in at high positions at the Modern Rock and Album Rock charts, but it was the album's third track and it's video of missing teens that led them to their major breakthrough. Runaway Train peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, raised album sales to double-platinum level, and won Soul Asylum the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 1994.
In 1995, Soul Asylum followed up the success of Grave Dancers Union with Let Your Dim Light Shine, which climbed to #6 on the Billboard 200 and featured the #1 Modern Rock track Misery. After releasing Candy From A Stranger in 1998, the band members took a break from recording and didn't release a new studio album for the better part of seven years. During the interim singer Dave Pirner released a solo album and Dan Murphy toured and recorded with Golden Smog.
They reunited in 2004 to record their ninth full-length album, The Silver Lining, brought together by the news of Mueller being diagnosed with throat cancer. Up until this point, Soul Asylum had always included Murphy, Mueller, and Pirner, despite several line-up changes. This changed on June 17th, 2005, when Mueller passed away after finishing his work on several tracks on the new album. The Silver Lining was released in 2006 and dedicated to Karl Mueller's life and memory, with Murphy expressing that, "For me, this record is Karl."
In late 2005, ex-Replacements bassist (and current Guns N' Roses bassist) Tommy Stinson and former Prince drummer Michael Bland joined Soul Asylum in tribute to the late Karl Mueller. They completed their American tour in support of The Silver Lining in late 2006. In November and December 2006 they opened for Cheap Trick on their American tour. On March 10th, 2007, Soul Asylum joined Cyndi Lauper, Mint Condition, and Lifehouse to hold a concert to benefit Wain McFarlane, the leader of the legendary reggae band Ipso Facto, to help pay for the expenses of a kidney transplant.
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Long Way Home
Soul Asylum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What's inside a tv and they never look at me
You won't know and you're never claim to show
That special feeling inside
Oh how time flies when its got nowhere to go
Up to the skies and it only goes to show
I've waited here for you a long, long time
I think I'd better go
So now you studied the changes
Have you lost your way
Through all the strangeness
And you got no more to say
Long way home (x8)
The lyrics of Soul Asylum’s song "Long Way Home" convey feelings of disappointment and longing for something that seems unattainable. The opening lines "You've got eyes but they can't see, what's inside a tv and they never look at me" suggest a sense of detachment from the world around the singer, as if he feels invisible and unimportant. The line "You won't know and you're never claim to show that special feeling inside" conveys the feeling of isolation that comes from feeling alone in a relationship or in a world that doesn't seem to understand or value you.
The lines that follow - "Oh how time flies when its got nowhere to go, up to the skies and it only goes to show, I've waited here for you a long, long time" - suggest a sense of timelessness and endless waiting, as if the singer feels he has been stuck in limbo for far too long, waiting for something that may never happen. The final lines "I think I'd better go, long way home" suggest a sense of resignation and acceptance that whatever he was waiting for is not going to happen, and that he needs to move on and find his way back home.
Overall, the song seems to be about the disappointment and loneliness that comes from feeling disconnected from others and not being able to find one's place in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
You've got eyes but they can't see
You have the physical ability to see, but you lack the emotional intelligence to recognize my feelings.
What's inside a tv and they never look at me
You're too fixated on what's on television and neglect to pay attention to me.
You won't know and you're never claim to show
You won't know how I feel and you're not willing to put in the effort to show me that you care.
That special feeling inside
The emotions, thoughts, and feelings that make me unique and special.
Oh how time flies when its got nowhere to go
Time passes quickly when we have no clear direction or purpose.
Up to the skies and it only goes to show
Our thoughts and emotions can soar high, but ultimately they only reveal our true selves.
I've waited here for you a long, long time
I've been patient and have waited for you to acknowledge my feelings for a significant amount of time.
I think i'd better go
I've come to realize that it's time for me to leave and move on.
Long way home (x4)
It's going to be a difficult journey for me to get over you and the emotions I have invested in our relationship.
So now you studied the changes
You've taken time to analyze the shifts and changes in our relationship.
Have you lost your way
Are you lost and confused about the way our relationship is going?
Through all the strangeness
Despite the unusual and unfamiliar situations we've faced together.
And you got no more to say
You're out of words to help explain or justify our relationship.
Long way home (x8)
It's a long and difficult road ahead as I move on from our relationship.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Dan Murphy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind