Thursday released their debut album, Waiting, in late 1999 with original guitarist Bill Henderson, who left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Steve Pedulla. The band gained popularity with the release of their second album, Full Collapse, in 2001, and released their third album and major label debut, War All the Time, in 2003, which reached number seven on the US Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. Thursday released their fourth album, A City by the Light Divided, in 2006, and two further albums, Common Existence and No Devolución, before announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2011. In a January 2013 interview, Geoff Rickly confirmed that the band had actually disbanded. However, the band announced a reunion in 2016. Their reunion would conclude with a performance at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, NY in March 2019.
The band has been considered influential to the post-hardcore music scene in the 2000s, and is credited as one of the key bands to popularize the darker emo sound and screaming vocals which came to prominence at the time.
Subway Funeral
Thursday Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everything you know will flash before your eyes
You're frozen with your hands against the glass
I'm seeing bright lights
I'm hearing sharpened knives
I'm praying to a neon sign
As I wait for this severed line to take me
Nobody called
Surprise, surprise
When a sparrow falls, we go about our lives
We're busy counting grains of sand
I follow red birds
I follow lost words
I'll follow you into the dark
We're running for the dead
All the time I wait to see your face
That's what it all comes down to at 42nd and 5th
All the time I wait to hear your voice
That's what it all comes down to
At Grand Central Station
All the time I wait to see your face
That's what it all comes down to at 46th and Flint
All the time I wait to hear your voice
That's what it all comes down to
At Willis Point and Shea
Every passing second
I feel it slip away
All of this we used to watch and play
(All of these things we've been)
All around it's clear that I've been changed
(All these things won't change)
This will never end
But every time I think I see a train
It just closed a door
And the subway funeral is underway
Movie starts to play
Watch the thunder of his scream
For a single frame where I know we're still alive
But it fades to the grave
The subway funeral is everywhere
Every night I see your face on a passing train
Every inch of track is a sacred path that I follow
I follow
It's a silver thread hanging from the hem of heaven
And you're tied to other end
A needle that's been buried in the hay
But I'll find you, I'll find you
Every night I take a ride
On a subway funeral that never ends
Never gone to say goodbye
And that's the subway funeral that's in my heart
The lyrics to Thursday's song "Subway Funeral" convey a sense of longing and loss, as the singer navigates the busy and chaotic environment of the subway in search of someone they have lost. The opening lines suggest that the world can change in an instant, and that time is fleeting. The line "nobody called" speaks to a sense of isolation and loneliness, as the singer deals with their grief alone. The image of waiting for a train that never comes, and seeing a "subway funeral" all around, is both haunting and poignant. The repetition of the line "that's what it all comes down to" speaks to the idea that everything else fades away in the face of love and loss.
The singer's search for the person they have lost takes them to various locations on the subway map. The mention of specific locations such as Grand Central Station and 42nd and 5th gives the song a sense of place and specificity. The repeated line "I'll find you, I'll find you" suggests a determination and a refusal to give up hope, even in the face of overwhelming odds. Ultimately, the song is a meditation on love, grief, and the way that the places we inhabit can become imbued with meaning and memory.
Line by Line Meaning
Surprise, surprise
The inevitability of life's unexpectedness that we are too busy to notice
Everything you know will flash before your eyes
A moment of self-reflection that comes when one realizes the fragility of life
You're frozen with your hands against the glass
The feeling of being trapped and powerless
I'm seeing bright lights
The realization of mortality and the afterlife
I'm hearing sharpened knives
The fear and anxiety of the unknown
I'm praying to a neon sign
Hoping for guidance and reassurance in a time of crisis
As I wait for this severed line to take me
Acknowledgment of the inevitability of death
Nobody called
The isolation and loneliness of one's final moments
When a sparrow falls, we go about our lives
The ignorance and apathy of people towards the death of others
We're busy counting grains of sand
The meaningless distractions that consume our lives
I follow red birds
The pursuit of hope and faith in a time of despair
I follow lost words
The search for meaning and purpose in life
I'll follow you into the dark
The unbreakable bond between loved ones, even in death
We're running for the dead
The urgency and importance of living life to the fullest before it's too late
All the time I wait to see your face
That's what it all comes down to at 42nd and 5th
The longing for the presence of a loved one, even in the midst of chaos and noise
All the time I wait to hear your voice
That's what it all comes down to
At Grand Central Station
The desperation to connect with someone who has been lost
All the time I wait to see your face
That's what it all comes down to at 46th and Flint
The search for a lost loved one amidst the mundane places of life
All the time I wait to hear your voice
That's what it all comes down to
At Willis Point and Shea
The belief that hearing a loved one's voice will bring them back to life
Every passing second
I feel it slip away
All of this we used to watch and play
(All of these things we've been)
All around it's clear that I've been changed
(All these things won't change)
This will never end
The realization that time is fleeting and that everything is constantly changing, but the pain of loss remains constant
But every time I think I see a train
It just closed a door
And the subway funeral is underway
Movie starts to play
Watch the thunder of his scream
For a single frame where I know we're still alive
But it fades to the grave
The subway funeral is everywhere
The false hope of reunion with a loved one and the pain of the finality of death
Every night I see your face on a passing train
Every inch of track is a sacred path that I follow
I follow
It's a silver thread hanging from the hem of heaven
And you're tied to other end
A needle that's been buried in the hay
But I'll find you, I'll find you
The persistent hope of finding a way to connect with a lost loved one
Every night I take a ride
On a subway funeral that never ends
Never gone to say goodbye
And that's the subway funeral that's in my heart
The inability to let go of the grief of losing a loved one
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tenninja1
Lyrical corrections... "As I wait for the SEVEN line to take me" "at 46th and BLISS" "at WILLETS Point and Shea" All of the subway stops in the song are on the NYC 7 line, from Manhattan to Queens. Used to commute on this train every day to work! :)
TH
Thanks for all Songs, this album is very good. - T H U R S D A Y -
B89
In all my chaotic mess I grown into, most of the time going home from work I listen to music and glaze over it. so it's rare now (sad really) for me to completely submerge into a song. Just thinking about my problems, work, drama, and what I need to do get the hell out this rat race I'm stuck in. Since there is really no one I can talk to about Thursday, I'll post my thoughts here. Today was a moment of clarity, a certain disconnect that allowed me to completely get submerged into this song. Of course this isn't the first time I heard of it , plenty of times, I'm old (34). Seen them live several times. As old fan of Thursday, I'm just happy this song exist and the power of this song, it's simply Amazing!
Back In Town Productions
0:58 and on...holy fuck that melody...so good.
joemcbobinite
holy hell smoke weed to this.