Return To Yesterday
The Lilac Time Lyrics

It was the day before the day before yesterday
The past is being referred to, a time before yesterday

When we thought everything would now go our way
Hope was abundant and things seemed optimistic

We inherited a fortune of innocence
A metaphorical representation of blissful naïveté

And they took it all away
Loss of that blissful state experienced earlier

We travel on the last bus from sanity
A sense of being lost, a journey to an unknown destination

Through province town to cities of obscurity
The journey encompasses the lesser-known and obscure places

And somewhere down the road, it occurs to me
A realization, perhaps an epiphany, dawns upon the singer

That I might have missed my stop
The artist might have missed an opportunity or a significant moment in life

But I will not return to yesterday
Refusal to dwell in the past or reverse time

Or smooth out the human clay
Cannot change human nature or behavior

We'll face this new England like we always have
Resilience in the face of change or adversity

In a fury of denial
A state of denial or refusal to accept reality

We'll go out dancing on the tiles
An act of rebellion or defiance against the odds

Help me down, but don't take me back
Wanting to move forward while acknowledging the need for support

I heard a lover calling to Saint Anthony
A reference to a saint who helps find lost items, indicating a lost love

Sadly treating love like her property
Possessiveness in love leads to sadness

Only battles can be lost and so it seems we do
Implying that love is like a battlefield and some battles cannot be won

But I'm hoping for a change
Despite the loss, hope for a better future prevails

I left you at the bus stop in working town
Reference to a past romantic relationship and a parting of ways

Now the service has been cut re-named slumber down
A depiction of the decline in services in the town

I can see you on the bars of your brother's bicycle
A memory of the person being talked about, riding a bicycle

Now I hope you're not alone
Concern and care for the well-being of the person mentioned earlier

And all the politician creeps
A reference to the deceitful politicians

I know they want them back
The politicians want to go back to their sly ways

And the couturier weeps
A fashion designer who is lamenting something

She knows they won't come back
Realization that things will not return to how they once were

And the lovers who seldom speak
'Lovers who seldom speak' are in a failing relationship

I know they want them back
The lovers in question want their relationship to work out

And me falling back into your half term kisses
A memory of past physical intimacy with someone

No, I will not
A final refusal to go back or dwell in the past