Heroes - Discussion

[Nollaig]

I have a question about interpretation of the lyrics -

 

The lines 'And I wish there was a way to give you a hand to hold, because you don't have to die in your glory; die to never grow old.'

 

I keep flipping between two interpretations of those lines and I'm wondering what other people think he means by them.

 

Interpretation #1: He's basically telling the kids/soldiers they don't have to die in order to maintain a kind of youth - you can live and live young at heart your whole life. This is the interpretation I initially took, but I'm not sure how it fits in the context of the rest of the song.

 

Interpretation #2: He's referring back to the 'being broke with a devil in your head, thinking you'd be better off dead' - and implying that he wants to give them a hand to hold because now, though they didn't die in the war, they're so broken now that they will never grow old, in the sense of living your life out the way it should be lived, and reaching the end of it with satisfaction.

 

Thoughts?

Edited October 13, 2012 by Nollaig

[rachie b]

Still not my favorite, even after Mika's Track by Track explanation...

nice sentiment behind it, but... oh well.

 

Anyhow, between the CD booklet and listening, seems like these are the final lyrics:

 

The kids in their hundreds tomorrow

Will march through the door

They're fighting someone else's war

They'll have so many stories to tell

In exchange for a hero's farewell

 

I wish I could

I wish I could make you return

And what if I'll never discern

As you walk to the toll of the bell

You'll be fighting for our heaven with hell

 

And you don't understand

Why no one else can see

Your blood on me

And my blood on you

But to make you bleed

The only thing I wouldn't do

 

And you know

Heroes aren't meant to survive

So much harder to love when alive

Walk with the devil in your head

You would think you were better off dead

 

And you don't understand

Why no one else can see

Your blood on me

And my blood on you

But to make you bleed

The only thing I wouldn't do

 

Where can you go?

We fight we earn

We never learn

And through it all

The hero falls

 

I wish there was a way

To give you a hand to hold

Cause you don't have to die in your glory

Die To never grow old

 

Your blood on me

And my blood on you

But to make you bleed

The only thing I wouldn't do

 

Your blood on me

And my blood on you

But to make you bleed

The only thing I wouldn't do

 

Where can you go

 

Where can you go

We fight we earn

We never learn

And through it all

The hero falls

 

And for those who would like a music backing on youtube with the lyrics on the screen here ya go

 

Great video highly recomended

[lollipop161]

"The kids in their hundreds tomorrow

Will march through the door"

 

I don't get that sentence... Can anyone please explain to me?

(Btw, it's "The", not "Their" by the CD booklet... so what's going on here )

 

Edit: I think I got it it's so moving!

Edited November 10, 2012 by lollipop161

[silver]

"The kids in their hundreds tomorrow

Will march through the door"

 

I don't get that sentence... Can anyone please explain to me?

(Btw, it's "The", not "Their" by the CD booklet... so what's going on here )

 

Edit: I think I got it it's so moving!

 

It's not a real door, but it means that the kids in their hundreds (the army) are setting off to fight, passing from one phase of their lives (peace) to the next (war).

[lollipop161]

It's not a real door, but it means that the kids in their hundreds (the army) are setting off to fight, passing from one phase of their lives (peace) to the next (war).

 

Thank you! now it's clear

[LoveLove]

Hey, there everyone!

 

Heros is the I See You of this album. It always makes me cry when I'm in a sad mood. The melody does that to me. It has the same effect on my daughter as well. Great song! My favorite. My second fave is Step With Me.

[willywonka]

Ijust read on my fb timeline that this song is played on Les Miserables...

 

Anyone seeing it might confirm, please?

[silver]

This is the A E Housman poem Mika based the song on

 

 

The lads in their hundreds to Ludlow come in for the fair,

There's men from the barn and the forge and the mill and the fold,

The lads for the girls and the lads for the liquor are there,

And there with the rest are the lads that will never be old.

 

There's chaps from the town and the field and the till and the cart,

And many to count are the stalwart, and many the brave,

And many the handsome of face and the handsome of heart,

And few that will carry their looks or their truth to the grave.

 

I wish one could know them, I wish there were tokens to tell

The fortunate fellows that now you can never discern;

And then one could talk with them friendly and wish them farewell

And watch them depart on the way that they will not return.

 

But now you may stare as you like and there's nothing to scan;

And brushing your elbow unguessed-at and not to be told

They carry back bright to the coiner the mintage of man,

The lads that will die in their glory and never be old.