“Cleopatra made me cry in the studio and I had to stop the take. It’s inspired by a true story about a female taxi driver who, when she was younger, was proposed to. But her father had just passed away, so she didn’t give her boyfriend an answer. So he left the village broken-hearted and rejected and never returned again. He was her great love and she wouldn’t wash the footprints off the floor after he had left.
I knew immediately that I wanted to write a song about the story because it was so haunting and poetic. And I got to meet the lady herself eventually and she was very honest and humble. She really affected me because of the sadness in her story. In today’s world, we are just inundated with images of grandness and how great everyone’s life is. And it’s not true. In fact, it’s depressing. This was a real and honest story.”
-Wesley Schultz
ttthedark
I love the people in the comments who listens to songs like these. Some people share their thoughts of the song, complimenting the band and lyrics, some talk about the story or message behind the song, and some just talk about humble beginnings of a relationship to a loss of a relationship. I don't know, it's just so cool to me to read comments on one song that brought people all together to listen and read some part of a person's life on a random website we call YouTube. It's like we're not lonely in the world and we just have a small group of nice people to count on or help. It's wholesome
xyrill
A story about an old woman looking back at her failures in life waiting to die. This song is miserable. It's also beautiful and it's making me cry.
Smenchevieve
This song makes me feel such an intense love for a person who doesn’t exist
rnurcielago
I am going to cry.
This song just have so much meaning behind it, like it’s based off a true story about love and loss and it’s just so poetic and real. You can’t find songs like that anymore
kalaylaseehafer
I used to voulenteer at a nursing home as a teenager. This song reminds me so much of the stories I was told from the residents. My grandmother, is now in a nursing home and in the end stages of Alzhimers. The line "Now a nurse in white shoes leads me back to my guestroom, it's a bed and a bathroom. A place for the end." That line makes me think of her. 💜
rebeccacrewemusic
Cleopatra was the last queen of Egypt. She had an affair with a Roman emperor and his right hand man. Marc Anthony. After his death she was so consumed with grief and fear that she inevitably took her own life through the poison of a snake. I believe this song is about a woman trapped in a crossroads.
She was raised in a traditional and conservative home, not knowing what the world is truly like. At some point I believe her father passed away leaving her alone. The only person she had left was a man. He gave her so much but she couldn't keep it. In the end he left. Forgetting her. She took another lover with a man she didn't love. Conceiving a child with him. The marriage broke apart leaving her alone yet again with a child.
Having no one left in this world, she put her heart and soul into raising them. Giving them best life they could possibly have compared to the one she lived. I believe this song is her telling her child about the trials she has faced in her lifetime. How she faced heartbreak and grief. That she wants them to rail against the pain of the past and look to the future.
In the end, she was a woman who lived with grief, heartbreak, and regret yet, she never let it stop her from loving her child. She gave up her own life and freedom. Now, she is trying to do what's right. Protecting the only person she has left. Unlike the actually Cleopatra. She didn't give up after she had lost her world. She pulled herself together and did what was right.
jellthuluark
" but I've read this script and the costume fits, so I'll play my part" hits me rock hard everytime. It's the deepest thing I've ever heard.
Edit 1 year: omg!! Thank you soo much guyss.. I've never got so many likes before. Love you all and I know that the past year was hard and we're all trying our best to fit in our roles. So all the best to everyone and love y'all.
vishwanathkadalagi
The Lumineeers have so deep and relatable lyrics all the time. This is what music should be - a piece of art.
ernestmakata
"It's a bed and a bathroom and a place for the end" the line hurts me so much
Ritzyart
"Damn your wife, i'de be your mistress just to have you around" and "but i've read this script, and the costume fits, so i'll play my part" r just incredible lyrics
kellzchiba
This song doesn't make me miss anyone, it just makes me miss myself. I've missed so much this past year all because I've held back because of what I've been put through and I shaved all my hair off so I could detach it and now I think I'm slowly trying to stop running from my past and focus on now but I'm so anxious about everything still.
hayleechilders
An extremely underrated band. One of my all time favorites.
albertomontano
Lumineers, the 1975, cigarettes after sex and kodaline are my type of music
moonchild
i don‘t wanna feel like that when i grow
mdmeroua
Angela, Cleopatra, Ophelia My playlist looks more like my contacts!!
kaykay
This song reminds me so much of my grandma's life, she told me the story when I was 7
She was about 23 when she met a man named Alex. She said she loved him, and he was best friends with my grandpa. One day he moved, leaving a muddy footprint on her floor. It's still there in her house. She was heartbroken and my grandpa promised to look out for her to make sure she never got hurt that way again. She eventually got a job driving taxis and always hoped one day Alex would ride. He never did, but she didnt care. She drove those taxis until she couldn't drive anymore. She always wished she could do more in life, but she accepted her life and loves my grandpa, and I love them both. Now every weekend I visit them both and play this song for them. :)
neoraiderzzz
My favorite part is 2:10 ..there's something about it. The beat and the way his vocals are. It's soothing
CinelliBinelli
The lyrics of this song are astonishingly similar to how my life has played out so far.
"With my father in a casket, I had no plans". When my parents got divorces, my druggy father became dead to me and rose from the dead during counseling meetings and other kids asked me where my dad was.
"Yes my flesh, it was my currency, but I held true". During my freshman year of high school, I experienced a deep depression and began self harming. Today, I think cutting my arms was the only reason I didn't kill myself. I used my flesh to buy my way to a better, more happy life.
"The only gifts from my Lord were a birth and a divorce". My mom divorced my father because she thought it would let me have a better future. When I was born, she had something to protect and a reason to break ties with my father. I am glad I was born and I am so utterly thankful for that divorce, even if it hurt.
"But I've read this script and the costume fits, so I'll play my part". I have examined my life and I have come to accept that everything that happened and will happen are to be my story and to make me a better person. The pain I have experienced has made me a strong person in the eyes of others, even if I don't believe it.
If anyone even took the time to read this dribble, I thank you, and thanks for readying.
monochrome
"damn your wife, i'd be your mistress just to have you around"
that line :(:(
