Beautiful Things
The Lawrence Arms Lyrics


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Typewriter tell me what year it was
Typing to the rhythm of a century on the???
We were out smoking on the sidewalks
We were lovers drinking to another song on the jukebox

Don't kill all the beautiful things
I was searching for truth,in the dust of my days
I was so lost,and I was so young

Cinematic,I was cynical on the city bus
Literary wrote lyrics like I thought I was
We were sleeping ,racing for the future
Bicycle tires ,spinning revolution

Don't kill all the beautiful things
I was searching for truth,in the dust of my days
I was so lost,and I was so young

The city was sweating in the summer heat
I wrote melodies of regret to a def and empty street
I was so lonely it started to rain
The lightning and thunder were singing my name
I thought those songs could save me
I thought those songs could save me

Don't kill all the beautiful things
I was searching for truth,in the dust of my days
I was so lost,and I was so young





We were so lost and we were so young
Don't kill all the beautiful things

Overall Meaning

The Lawrence Arms's song Beautiful Things is a melancholic reflection on the nostalgia of youth and the desperate search for truth and beauty in the world. The song opens with the image of a typewriter, tapping out a rhythm that echoes the passing of time. The singer is smoking on the sidewalks with their lover, drinking to the music on the jukebox, and desperately seeking something to hold onto. The repetition of the refrain "Don't kill all the beautiful things" echoes the desperation of their search for meaning and beauty in a world that seems to offer little of either.


The following verses paint a vivid picture of a lost and lonely young person searching for something to cling to. The singer references their own creative output, from writing lyrics to spinning "revolution" on their bicycle tires. But even as they try to create beauty in the world, the singer can't help but feel cynical and disillusioned. The city around them is sweltering in the summer heat, and the singer's music seems to be falling on deaf ears.


In the final verse, the loneliness and despair reaches a climax as the singer is caught in a thunderstorm, feeling as though the lightning and thunder are singing their name. The repetition of the final refrain "We were so lost and we were so young / Don't kill all the beautiful things" feels almost like a plea, a desperate cry for something to hold onto in a world that is so often hostile to beauty and truth.


Line by Line Meaning

Typewriter tell me what year it was
Asking a typewriter (a symbol of the past) to take him back in time


Typing to the rhythm of a century on the???
As he goes back in time, he is typing to the beat of an entire era


We were out smoking on the sidewalks
He was spending time with others while smoking outdoors


We were lovers drinking to another song on the jukebox
He was with his partner, enjoying drinks and music on a jukebox


Don't kill all the beautiful things
A plea to preserve beauty in the world


I was searching for truth,in the dust of my days
He was trying to find his way in life, amidst the dull routine of his existence


I was so lost,and I was so young
He was young and struggling to find his place in the world


Cinematic,I was cynical on the city bus
He was feeling detached and unimpressed while riding the city bus


Literary wrote lyrics like I thought I was
He was attempting to write moving and poetic lyrics


We were sleeping ,racing for the future
He was dreaming and looking ahead to the future


Bicycle tires ,spinning revolution
A metaphor for life moving forward at a rapid pace


The city was sweating in the summer heat
Personifying the city as sweating and uncomfortable during summer


I wrote melodies of regret to a def and empty street
He wrote songs about regret, but no one was listening or paying attention


I was so lonely it started to rain
He felt overwhelmingly lonely that it began to rain, possibly a metaphor for his emotions overflowing


The lightning and thunder were singing my name
Taking a moment of isolation and turning it into an epic and dramatic scene


I thought those songs could save me
He believed that writing songs would provide an escape and offer him salvation


We were so lost and we were so young
He and others around him were still figuring out their lives and themselves


Don't kill all the beautiful things
Once again urging to not eliminate beauty in the world




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Charles T Harmon, Claude Kelly

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Michael Rose

this whole album is amazing.  I seem to go on a binge, one song at a time.  I'm on this one now.

Seph Nuguid

i think this is the best song in the album! got mine mailed a couple of days ago and just blasting it over and over. good job as always larry arms

taste_the_painbow

there is always that one song on the album..this is it

Aaron Grierson

More instant classic Lawrence Arms. They never grow stale and they always stay just as bitter as they need to.

Seal with Wifi Connection

I can always relate to Chris' lyrics. It's awesome how this hasn't changed from the early Larry Arms to now.

JohnnyBrasco01

Actively in LOVE with this song!

R. B.

this song is so damn nice :)

Andrea Jimenez

This song makes me wanna cry

Psyche

Same. Shit slaps hard.

Tyson Evarard

Me too

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