WRITTEN IN ROCK
(Lyrics and Music by Rick Springfield)
On my way back from a wedding
I drove 'round some of the old streets
I got swept up by the memories
Of cold nights and warm sheets
I parked outside the house we'd lived in
I tried to think of all the pain
But all I remembered was the laughter
And the precious trust we can't reclaim
There are no second prizes
And there will be no consolation wreath
We may as well miss by a mile
As miss by the skin of our teeth
They all thought we were some sure thing
I had the bloody coat and wedding ring
Nothing's written in rock
I know I'm not the one
Was I just the great pretender
Written in rock
There was no battle won
Only a mutual surrender
No guarantees, that's alright
If I was gonna stay, I would have stayed all night
Bye bye love, you were so damn right
Nothing's written in rock
Nothing's written in rock
You finally learned the deep dark secret
That I knew you were waiting for
So I watched the death of innocence
Of the young dreamer at life's door
This world can tear your soul to pieces
If you give it half a chance
There are no rules to remember
There are no written steps to the dance
I don't believe in fate
I don't believe in blind luck of the draw
I don't believe in love
I mean I don't believe anymore
They all thought we were the real thing
I had the bloody coat and the wedding ring
Nothing's written in rock
I know I'm not the one
Was I just the great pretender
Written in rock
There was no battle won
Only a mutual surrender
No guarantees, that's alright
If I was gonna stay I would have stayed all night
Bye bye love, you were so damn right
Nothing's written in rock
Nothing's written in rock
I remember you all dewy-eyed and breathless
Pointing the direction to the great promised land
I remember me all petrified and restless
Wondering what you were hiding in the other hand
Everybody keeps a lonely heart
And everybody gets that feeling
Everybody needs another heart
To give a little bit of healing to a battered soul
Oh, nothing's written in rock
Oh
Nothing's written in rock
I know I'm not the one
Was I just the great pretender
Written in rock
There was no battle won
Only a mutual surrender
No guarantees, that's alright
If I was gonna stay I would have stayed all night
Bye bye love, you were so damn right
Nothing's written in rock
Nothing's written in rock
Oh, nothing's written in rock
Oh...
(total playing time 4:33)
Song Facts:
Rick performed this song at least once post Tao, at Konocti Harbor on
4/4/03.
Written in Rock appears on the following releases: Tao, Calling All Girls
(Romantic Collection), and Anthology (written in rock).
More Reviews:
This is one of the songs I do like on this album. Since it's not about the imminent destruction of the world, I guess that's why I like it. He seems to show such insight.
I tried to think of all the pain
But all I remembered was the laughter
And the precious trust we can't reclaim
I think this is something that happens a lot. People tend to remember the good times more than the bad times.
We may as well miss by a mile
As miss by the skin of our teeth
This is my favorite line in the song
There are no rules to remember
There are no written steps to the dance
You always hear people say that life doesn't have a "handbook"and Rick says that same thing so eloquently.
I remember you all dewy-eyed and breathless
Pointing the direction to the great promised land
I remember me all petrified and restless
Wondering what you were hiding in the other hand
I take this to mean that she was young and innocent, he wasn't and he was just waiting to see what hidden agenda she had (because,
afterall, everyone has one).
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WOW! Such intense lyrics! The lyrics on WCD &
SHSMY were never this heavy!! That is probably why it took me forever to get into and
appreciate his later albums.
To me this song is about a marriage that is over and the man is completely lost over it
and doesn't really understand. I am curious as to where Rick gets his motivation for this
song as he does not come from a broken home and correct me if I am wrong, but he has only
been married once, hmmm........
On my way back from a wedding, I drove 'round some of the old streets, I got swept up by
the memories, Of cold nights and warm sheets, I parked outside the house we'd lived in, I
tried to think of all the pain, But all I remembered was the laughter, And the precious
trust we can't reclaim. After going a wedding a man is feeling emotional over
what he thought was a lifetime thing for him was not, he drives around trying to figure
out where things went wrong that brought it all to end. (I think it is soooooo sweet that
he cannot remember one bad thing!!)
There are no second prizes, And there will be no consolation wreath, We may as well miss
by a mile, As miss by the skin of our teeth, They all thought we were some sure thing, I
had the bloody coat and wedding ring. To me this says that if you don't get it
right, no matter if you screwed up a little or a ton, over is over and you have nothing at
all to show for it but your battle scars and a ring that means nothing anymore :(
You finally learned the deep dark secret, That I knew you were waiting for, So I watched
the death of innocence, Of the young dreamer at life's door. Hmmm.... Deep dark secret
that she was waiting for? This kind of throws me because it sounds like he did something
wrong to end this all....cheated maybe? I don't know. But the rest of the some makes it
sound like it was her fault. Still not sure here.
This world can tear your soul to pieces, If you give it half a chance, There are no rules
to remember, There are no written steps to the dance. If you stand there waiting for
things to go bad you allow those things to rip you up & tear you apart. Or you can
choose to stand up to those things. Basically it is up to you, no one can tell you how to
handle what life brings you.
I don't believe in fate, I don't believe in blind luck of the draw, I don't believe in
love, I mean I don't believe anymore, They all thought we were the real thing, I had the
bloody coat and the wedding ring. Basically because of being hurt so bad by this love
ending, he has lost his belief in things, kind of like life has no purpose. (how very
sad!!!!!)
I remember you all dewy-eyed and breathless, Pointing the direction to the great
promised land, I remember me all petrified and restless, Wondering what you were hiding in
the other hand. Makes me think of the wedding day here as they get ready to cross over
to "being married". That she is all doing the sappy eyed bride thing here,
trying to reassure the cold-footed groom that life is going to be greener on the other
side.
Everybody keeps a lonely heart, And everybody gets that feeling, Everybody needs
another heart, To give a little bit of healing to a battered soul. Maybe this is where
the cheating part ties in. You know somebody in the relationship is not getting their
needs fulfilled in one way or another, either physically or emotionally, so that person
goes somewhere else to fulfill that need.
Oh, nothing's written in rock, Oh, Nothing's written in rock, I know I'm not the one, Was
I just the great pretender, Written in rock, There was no battle won, Only a mutual
surrender, No guarantees, that's alright, If I was gonna stay I would have stayed all
night, Bye bye love, you were so damn right, Nothing's written in rock, Nothing's written
in rock. So, nothing is permanent. He wasn't meant to be her soul mate, even though he
tried! They both agree to go their separate ways.
Let me start off by saying, I love this song. This is my
favorite off of Tao. I've played this song over and over and over - wore out 2 cassette
tapes in my car, they were totally warped in the middle. (kind of exactly where this song
ends up - no coincidence there). I wrote a video for this song way back when Tao first
came out. I could just "see" the way this could play out in my head and I had to
write it down. (and if you ask me nicely, I just might share some of it)
I can't explain why I love this song so. I've never experienced what Rick is singing
about, about a relationship gone kaput, gone sour - however you want to say it. Especially
at the age I was when it was released. I was in the middle of my teens and still looking
for something this grand, something that would shatter me this much if it had ended. Maybe
that's what attracted me to it, that Rick sounds so passionate, yet so hurt in his words.
From the beginning sounds, which to me always sounded like someone striking a match and
it's afire, to the hard beat of the drums throughout, almost too hard, like they are
angry, like the words. This song is almost the opposite of State of the Heart. I
interpreted this song as this was a wonderful relationship. "I got swept up by the
memories of cold nights and warm sheets" that somehow ended by someone cheating
or lying, "I tried to think of all the pain, but all I remembered was the laughter
and the precious trust we can't reclaim" He's telling this person that hurt him,
that "it's okay, I can walk away - it's not like our commitment was Written in
Rock."
There is one phrase that I still don't understand in this song, and throughout the years,
I kind of forgot that I really didn't get this, it was just part of the song, you know?
Now that I'm looking back on it again though, I always wondered what Rick meant by "I
had the bloody coat and the wedding ring" The ring of course is clear, but what's
with the coat? I just chalked it up to being some kind of English and/or Australian thing.
You know, bloody this, bloody that.
My favorite part of this song? "I remember you all dewy-eyed and breathless,
pointing the direction to the great promised land. I remember being all petrified and
restless wondering what you were hiding in the other hand." When you're singing
along (and you all do, right?) and you get through this part, you ARE all dewy-eyed and
breathless, right? Or is it just me?
I've never had the opportunity to see Rick do this one live. At least I don't think he did
it back in the 80's, the mind goes a little fuzzy now and then and the tours start
blending together. I'd love to hear him do this one live now though. So Rick, if you're
reading this...
This is one of my very favorites from Tao. My only hope and
prayer is that someday....someway....someone will convince Rick that it NEEDS to be played
live.
I love that this song really takes you on a vivid journey, the images just pop in your
head as you listen....kind of like you are reading a good book. Whenever I hear that first
line I always think of Rick driving around half naked in Casserole's car after the concert
in Hard To Hold. I know it makes no sense. Rick is dripping wet and naked.....and he does
not seem in a particularly reflective mood. It just always comes to mind. "Cold
nights and warm sheets"....a favorite line for me. It is so plain and yet
conveys so much; love warmth and the security of a relationship.
"But all I remembered was the laughter and the precious trust we can't reclaim"....another
favorite. It just makes me sad to read those lines. He is remembering all the positive
things about the relationship. It makes you just want to go hug him and tell him it is
going to be ok. The 17 year old in me could not fathom how Rick Springfield could NOT make
a relationship work. And I assumed that every single thing he wrote was autobiographical.
So there was some psycho woman out there who left Rick with bloody coat and a wedding
ring....and I wanted to hunt her down and commit her to a hospital. Obviously, now that
time has past I realize that even Rick Springfield is human. However.....I will never
think it is ok that he is left with a bloody coat and a wedding ring.
Rick is THE BEST songwriter ever. I really believe this. I know I have a strong
prejudice...but I can't help it. To be able to paint a picture like this with a song is a
great gift. Thank goodness he shares it with all of us.
As I sit here listening to this song, I must admit that
I've totally ignored this song. It's an excellent song though. I do remember hearing it,
but I didn't pay much attention to it before. It rocks, too!
I know someone mention about the line, , I had the bloody coat and the wedding ring
I think he is talking about already renting the tux and buying the ring and now it's all
over. He also realizes that sometimes things aren't just right and you have to move on
when that realization comes.
So now I will be listening to this song more often. It is growing on me and I think it
would be great to hear it live. |
