Toronto-based trio The Rural Alberta Advantage (Nils Edenloff, Amy Cole, an… Read Full Bio ↴Toronto-based trio The Rural Alberta Advantage (Nils Edenloff, Amy Cole, and Paul Banwatt) play indie-rock songs about hometowns and heartbreak, born out of images from growing up in Central and Northern Alberta. They sing about summers in the Rockies and winters on the farm, ice breakups in the spring time and the oil boom’s charm, the mine workers on compressed, the equally depressed, the city’s slow growth and the country’s wild rose, but mostly the songs just try to embrace the advantage of growing up in Alberta.

The Deadroads
The Rural Alberta Advantage Lyrics

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OOOooooo x4

It's a long way now through the deadroads in our hometown
I never tried
to hold you tight until you left me and fade
Neighborhoods under the lights
We felt our hearts so strong

I never tried to hold you tight until you left me now

OOOooooo x2

It's a long way now through the deadroads to your house
I never tried to hold you tight until you left me and fade
Neighborhoods we learned to drive
We learned to grow up strong
I never tried to hold you tight until you left me and
I should run away and think of those
Nights not up close still hold a ghost of our empty town

OOOooooo x4

It's a long way now through the deadroads in our hometown
I never tried to hold you tight until you left me and fade
Neighborhoods under the lights
We felt our hearts so strong

I never tried to hold you tight until you left me now and
I should run away and think of those
Nights not up close still hold a ghost of our empty town

OOOooooo x4

Overall Meaning

The Rural Alberta Advantage's song, The Deadroads, is a reflective piece that takes the listener through a journey of memories, grief, and hopelessness. The first verse talks about the long and somber roads in their hometown, where the author never tried to hold onto his lover until she left him alone with their memories. The lyrics evoke the feeling of regret and a longing for a second chance with the lover that is already lost. The second verse takes us through the same dead roads, but this time, towards the lover's house. The author conveys a sense of desperation and hopelessness that he never tried to hold onto his lover before it was too late. The line "I should run away and think of those nights not up close" highlights the pain of the past that they are trying to escape, but they can't because it still haunts them.

The chorus that follows speaks to the memories of their relationship's early days, the nights where they felt their hearts so strong, and their neighborhoods glowing under the lights. The repetition of the line, "I never tried to hold you tight until you left me now," is an admission of failure, regret, and grief. The writer is coming to terms with the fact that they never tried hard enough to hold onto their lover and are now paying the price for their shortcomings.

Line by Line Meaning

It's a long way now through the deadroads in our hometown
The journey along the deserted roads of our hometown is now long and daunting

I never tried to hold you tight until you left me and fade
I never truly appreciated your presence until you were gone and all that remained of you was a vague memory

Neighborhoods under the lights
The streets lit up at night, serving a reminder of the familiar neighborhoods

We felt our hearts so strong
As we roamed the same streets, we shared the bond of strong emotions

It's a long way now through the deadroads to your house
Traversing through the abandoned roads towards your home seems like a long and tiresome journey now

Neighborhoods we learned to drive
This neighborhood holds the memories of the place where we learned to drive

We learned to grow up strong
In this town, we learned to become strong adults and face life with courage and resilience

I should run away and think of those
I should escape reality and reminisce about those moments

Nights not up close still hold a ghost of our empty town
Even from a distance, the memories of those dark and empty nights in our town still haunt us

Contributed by Logan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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