To Build A Home lyrics by The Cinematic Orchestra, 15 meanings. To Build A Home explained, official 2024 song lyrics | LyricsMode.com
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The Cinematic Orchestra – To Build A Home lyrics
There is a house built out of stone
Wooden floors, walls and window sills...
Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust...
This is a place where I don't feel alone
This is a place where I feel at home
...

And I built a home
For you
For me

Until you disappeared
From me
From you

And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust...

Out in the garden where we planted the seeds
There is a tree as old as me
Branches were sewn by the color of green
Ground had arose and passed it's knees

By the cracks of his skin I climbed to the top
I climbed the tree to see the world
When the gusts came around to blow me down
Held on as tightly as you held onto me
Held on as tightly as you held onto me...

And, I built a home
For you
For me

Until you disappeared
From me
From you


And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust...
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Lyrics taken from /lyrics/t/the_cinematic_orchestra/to_build_a_home.html

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Songwriters: Jason Angus Stoddart Swinscoe, Patrick Watson, Philip Jonathan France, Stella Page
Corrected by Carlitack

To Build A Home meanings Post my meaning

  • U
    + 30
    Unregistered
    It's a song about how time never stops. There are all of these things â€" houses, friendships, lovers, trees, us â€" and they all will dissipate into dust. Yet we hold onto it all for as long as we can, before we turn into dust ourselves. This song is about staring up at the stars and appreciating that we're a part of all of that â€" we're participants in this ever-changing cosmic epic. It's about taking care of each other, all despite the natural forces at work against us. Forget about the problems and worries you invent outside of the place you feel at home; watch the world go by for a bit and you'll see it's all okay, yet sad and more beautiful than anything else. Build a home for someone.
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    @311william - a man building a home for him and his partner. He tells us how he doesn't feel alone there. This house symbolizes their love for each other and their relationship. And now that she has dissappeared, it means nothing to him, its just a 'house'. Now he just wants to fade from the busy world and be alone 'and now, it's time to leave and turn to dust. '
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  • w
    + 13
    WandaGirl
    A relationship has changed. A man and a woman who have shared so much in life; have loved so deeply; have become one with one another. The man's heart is slowly torn apart as he watches the ravages of Alzheimer's disease take the love of his life's mind to a far away place that doesn't include him. He can recall each precious moment; each gentle touch; each wonderful moment in time, yet, it seems that the more he can remember, the more she is forgetting. He loves her so much and the pain of watching her sink into her new world without him is proving to be more painful than her inevitable death. She disappeared into another place long before her death. The house is all that is really left of their time together. The house is the only thing left now that holds anything tangible meaning for him to hold on to. It is where she was, is only in his memory now. Climbing that old tree showed him how tightly he was holding on to those memories and how much she had so wonderfully consumed his life. After reflecting on it all, he decides that life is not worth living without her really being there anymore. Death is the only thing that can ease his pain. Sad but lovely story of love and devotion.

    I don't know why the song was written or even if it was a track from a movie. When I first heard it there was just something about it that moved me. I am probably way off base here, but it is what I feel about the song. My interpretation.
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  • U
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    A man placed all of his self-worth into a relationship and she changed. At some point she made the statement "you're not the man i married" and left. Probably for someone more 'dangerous', more fun. His domesticity repelled her, even though he left his old self behind for the two to plan a future together. With half of his self gone, he has lost the will to go on (evidenced by the place no longer being maintained). He climbs the tree, some aspect of his adventerous younger self still there. He no longer has the will to even be adventurous so he stays up there like a man who did something and cannot remember why he did but knows deep down he should.
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  • U
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    A strong relationship, full of meaning, hope and love was established between two lovers, two lovers whom had suffered a lot. Between the two, they each felt safe with one another. Until one day the girl became ill and passed. Now he is saying it is his turn to leave the earth, as this story is told from him as an older man. As he lay in his death bed, he reminisces back to when they first began, and things of all of the obstacles they had to overcome to be together and come upon the love that they shared. He remembers the hard times he went through after his love had passed away. Now he return to the present and passes on to be with his love.
    It makes you cry if you watch it with the scenes of the old man and his young wife in "up"
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  • U
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    I just wrote, but my message is not there. I forgot to mention, I didn't build the house, I bought the house where he lives. He works on it, he's building it back up, it was originally built in the 1690's as far as my research has found. Point being - his voice is part of the song for his life and part of the song is my voice. The song hits me in many levels. The relevance is permeable throughout many situations I can relate to.
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  • U
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    Really? I once thought of myself and my husband when I heard this song. I bought the house, I did everything. When the marriage collapsed, I did everything I could to try to save it. I held on as tightly as he did to me. We divorced. Now, I liken it to my brother, who was like a second father to me. My brother has the disease of addiction. I used to climb trees as a kid. He was always there for me. Now he's in jail for simply being an alcoholic - he didn't hurt anyone, he just was killing himself. I am holding on as tightly to him as he held on to me - and he did hold on. I'm working on a master's degree focusing on substance abuse treatment in correctional facilities because I need to know if his resources are adequate or if he is letting go. And I fear he is willing to leave and turn to dust. But he has two lovely girls (who he can't see because of a bogus restraining order from his junky ex girlfriend) and they are growing up away from the family - it devastates him. He needs to fight, but he is as sad as this song.
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  • U
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    The meaning of this song to me is love represented by a home a place where you feel the best you. And that love or "home" was vacated by the other half of that love. And the tree was like getting over that love a symbol of him not letting himself go. The way that his love used to hold him together. So he is letting go of that home and holding on to himself and letting that love go.
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  • U
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    I love reading all the different perspectives. I think we can all safely say that this song speaks about a love that was once present. It begins in a reflective state by describing materials and contents of the house. This indicates that the subject has been here before but then left. (Reasons may very) They clearly are uneasy at other places but here, they feel "at home".

    The next verse is important because seeds were planted, this may be symbolic of the hope for the budding relationship. It's important to note that a tree is there rather than trees... one seed survived and despite its condition the subject climbed it hoping to see the world. (The future with their beloved who may not be so restricted to an intimate partner)

    The gust that came is symbolic of challenges they'd have face. It should be noted that it is: and not the reverse.
    "Held on as tightly as you held on to me".

    The subject's "person" wanted them to stay, to live, to grow. However something unfortunate happened.

    This song acknowledges the fragility of life and love. And now, the subjects accepts that it is time to leave.
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  • U
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    It's a symbolic song with the 'home' representing the love between a couple but the love is broken. The way that the 'home' is built is the way that the relationship is built but is now forgotten- but still in the minds of those involved. It's also about the fear of letting go of the relationship and the memories that it holds.
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    Home is a metaphor for the love he and she shared, and dreams for a life together that the lovers built. They sheltered and protected each other. But she changed, and turned away from him; she changed so suddenly and drastically that the woman he knew “ disappeared. ” perhaps literally it could mean mental illness or death, but sometimes, when lovers part, the one left behind speaks of how they don't even know the other person anymore in the song, she is a stranger to him now. I don't think she actually died, but the part of her that sheltered him (loved him, built/dreamed a future with him) died.
    He can't go on. He feels like he is decomposing, turning to dust from the loss and emptiness. He returns to the place (in his head, or literally) to torture himself, because the torture makes him feel alive. Flesh, not the disintegrating shell he has become. He mourns the future they dreamed together when he says, "the garden where we planted the seeds," (the seeds of a future together, a life together). It's now overgrown and forlorn. The tree, personified with skin, is the only thing not decimated, not in ruins. It has been standing guard over the shards of his past, his great wound. The tree is his only witness that there was ever a planned life, a great love, existing in this space. The tree is faithful, and has not forsaken him. He finds shelter and protection in the tree, as close as he can get to what he once had, with the only one (the only thing) that knew it was real. And for a moment, he is back there. Holding and being held… but it is only fleeting. The despair and desolation (the reality of his plight) creep in. Disintegration into dust, nothingness, (his suffering) resumes.
    It's a very tragic and beautiful song. I have loved, built a future, and lost it all. His suffering speaks to me. ; '(
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  • U
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    A home is symbolic to the joining of man and wife. It is the place they will make their life together and raise children and grow old together. With the woman gone, whether she passed away, or became "lost," the home has fallen apart. He must face the reality that she isn't coming back, and the house that once felt like home to him isn't the same place that it used to be. It is devoid of love.
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  • U
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    The house may oray not of been theirs. Stranger opened home to me to assist me getting on my feet and it was comforting to belong in a home setting/aosphere rather than couch and house surfing regularly. The other half was locked up and this sense of stability allowed me to rest, work, earn money for better things like wheels, and pay off finesto get off paper. I appreciated the home and our friendship/ relationship until their one sided judgemental view rubbed off on me leaning me towards their view due to choosing stability and attention over distance love. I didn't love the person helping me but I did because it didn't take work or effort where my significant other strived in another area making it impossible for us to be together and I knew I would not be happy. I've stared at the clouds to avoid people, co-workers included. I went to church, preached the word, spoke of Jesus, and realized I was a joke because I was dancing for society rather than comfortably settling down, building myself up, and finding out what I need to change to become a better person for me, my kids , man and a way to make friends without always feeling like they're going to fudge me over. I allowed things to become my life and love and focus and hadn't noticed until the one man I've been wanting to hold my hand and hug me brought me to look from his perspective.I created a shallow world and it was then that I realized that I made sacrifices for things and I needed to change because people are not jewelry even though I've felt tried on and set aside, it doesn't have to continue with others.I get the holding onto one another and letting go. We are to walk with our partners and feel comfortable to share and express ourselves to prevent going off the deep end and help each other grow. Did we have this? Did we ever? When "going through it mentality" kicks in or begins, what do I or who do I turn to? I ask this cuz posting this anonymously yet a part of me says I'm going to email this to myself, print and share with the one person whose intelligence is above the spectrum and I would love to hear his opinion and thoughts on all this whether we have the title of couple or not. He's family and I believe he is on a different level and I am fascinated with his intellectualness and this prolly ain't a word however I hope you baby, daddy, handsome, my precious love one will make time to write me back and share.
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  • U
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    This song is about love between a man and his wife, or his girlfriend, or his family. But its not just about them, its about the life we build for ourselves and those people we love. Its about more than just ourselves, its about the future and what we do with it. This song is about more than the present and the future, or the past. It's about time and the human condition, how the individual needs companionship. This song is about life.
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  • U
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    To me, this song strikes a chord inside about a wonderful woman I know whom I have been talking with for going on two years now. We have talked on the telephone, laughed and smiled and spoke to each other on skype, and we have imed like no other two people have in the world. I love her immensely, and I have not even met her face-to-face yet.
    This song makes me think of her, and the house I wish to build for her, and for me. Somewhere on a grassy plain on the edge of a great forest :) that is my meaning for this song. My glorious future, with only her. I am 22 years old, and she, 19. I found the greatest gem this continent has to offer, a marvelous woman I found completely, absolutely, by chance. And I can see myself with no other.
    Patrick watson must have found his parallel, too.
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    • U
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      It's a song about how time never stops. There are all of these things â€" houses, friendships,... Read more →
    • U
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      @311william - a man building a home for him and his partner. He tells us how he doesn't feel alone... Read more →

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