Review: A Thousand Hours

There's a couple blogs I follow that will post song lyrics from time to time, either to analyze or just to share (re-posting other people's stuff just to share? Oh no, is Blogger turning into Tumblr? BURN THE BLOG DOWN FOR IT IS BLASPHEMOUS).


So here are the lyrics to "Thousand Hours" by Alex Day (of "Alex Reads Twilight" and Chameleon Circuit fame), the song I've been singing to myself pretty much non-stop for the past two days. I prefer Dr. Noise's cover (go download it for free) rather than the original, though.

"Thousand Hours" by Alex Day

If I counted up the hours I spent on the phone to you
Or waiting at train stations to meet you
I’d give myself maybe a thousand hours estimate
And that still wouldn’t make up for the sleep you made me lose
If someone told me I could have it all back
No more writing or reflecting or thinking on what could be
I’d tell that person they don’t know me at all
Cos you made me who I am and they don’t get how much you mean to me

This may come as a surprise
But I don’t care if we fight
Cos I’d rather that you lie
Than you not be there at all
So I’ll sing you some clichés
As I count down day by day
Till I board another train

So I’ll spend another night writing about you all I can
And revel in our shared sense of nostalgia
Memories made from Waterloo to Hyde Park, Covent Garden, Camden Market, Squares of Leicester and Trafalgar
If someone told me I could give it all back
No more hostels or those long goodbyes where no-one wants to go
I’d talk about the time we sung in the rain
Skipping buses cos you didn’t want to leave me to go home

This may come as a surprise,
But I love the sleepless nights
Though I tend to speak my mind
I go overboard, I know
So I’ll sing you some clichés
As I count down day by day
Till I board another train

This may come as a surprise
But I don’t care if we fight
Cos I’d rather that you lie
Than you not be there at all
So I’ll sing you some clichés
As I count down day by day
Till I board another train

I think the chorus is a bit ambiguous, so let us tackle that first. I originally thought it meant "I'd rather we lie to each other and still be together than be apart," which is a sentiment that has always bothered me. But having listened to it so many times in the past 48 hours, I've found a new interpretation: "I'd rather find out you lied to me than for my happy memories with you to have never happened in the first place," which is much nicer.

I particularly love the "If I counted up the hours I spent on the phone with you or waiting at train stations to meet you, I'd give myself maybe a thousand hours' estimate and that still wouldn't make up for the sleep you made me lose," and the "So I'll spend another night writing about you all I can and revel in our shared sense of nostalgia." Especially that last one.

Alex also happens to be the source of the quote I think I posted sometime last week about how when you fall in love with someone new, you don't think the last time felt anywhere as near as good as right then, but that's not fair to the people in your past. And now in "Thousand Hours" he's saying "You know what? You caused me a lot of pain, but I love the pain just like I loved the happy times, because that's what it is to be human." I'm kind of big on discovering what it means to be human and then celebrating it. 

It's a mission there's no way I can ever, ever complete, of course, but there you go.

The song can be viewed as either depressing or uplifting (or both). I choose uplifting.

Thank you, Alex Day. I love this song.