Counting Crows - Palisades Park Lyrics






Somebody screamed and all of Jim Jeffries' dreams
Explode into a black fist, he falls to the floor
He stares up at the sky and he may wish he knew why
But you can't go back there no more
Future sounds so crazy, we've all heard that song before
Tomorrow's the name we change from yesterday to blame
When the train just don't stop here anymore

I got starry-eyed on the coaster ride
Andy says, "Man, I need a break from the world outside"
And these days my life just careens through a pinball machine
I could do so much better but I can't get off the tilt
And there's a photograph on the TV, black and white and
Andy says something to you
Jack Johnson straddling Reno, Nevada like
She says, "I forget myself sometimes too"

But out past the doorways where we are sleeping
Well, the white queen's creep and the tom cats peep

Now I'm not breaking, the train's just shaking
I never made it here before
And there's a wild mouse spinning the girls around
Till they can't take it anymore
I used to dream in the dark of Palisades Park
Up over the cliffs and down among the sparks
It's a long life full of long nights

But it's not what I was waiting for
Everybody's seen the horses diving down the shore
It's a miracle they don't make them anymore

So "make up ladies", oh wake up baby
You walked into the bar like some Saturday star
Stud-straight on spiked heels and needles and nerves
And you're a downtown pride, fully amplified Clyde
Gin-tight and aging, but well preserved
Remember Andy outside your bedroom window
Saying "Come on, let's drive across to the Palisades"
"Keep going till we hit Reno, Nevada"
I don't see Andy all that much these days

Still there are pages in back of the action stacks
Where the white queen's creep and the tom cats peep and

The train's not braking, the track's just shaking
I never made it here before
And there's a sky rocket turning the world around
Til I can't take it anymore
You can carry that spark from Palisades Park
Down over the cliffs and out into the dark
It's a long life full of long nights

But it's not what I was looking for
Everybody dreams of horses flying 'round the shore
It's a bad dream we're not having anymore

Man, have you seen Andy?
Hey man, hey man, have you seen him around?
Hey man, have you seen my my my my my Andy?
Hey man, have you seen him, have you seen him
Have you seen him, have you seen him?
Hey, have you seen Andy around?

Dressed up in our pirate best, all leathers and feathers and pearls
Andy said, "Look at me, man! I'm cooking
These hands could finger up this whole world"
He said, "Come outside, climb out your bedroom window
Shimmy down the fire escape and say goodbye
Come outside," Andy says, "I'm dressed up just like Edie
Changing all the time, my leopard spots to polka dots, and say good-bye"
Come outside, well maybe we could move to California
Just meet me at the subway and say good-bye
Come outside, the cops all think we're crazy
If you stay, you'll just get married
To a girl who'll never know you and then say goodbye

Hey man, have you seen Andy?
I lost her in the sun
I was high as a kite on lovely and white
Man, you could lose anyone
Hey, hey man, have you seen Andy?
I don't know where she's gone
But real love outlives teenage lust
Oh, we could get wet and it keeps us warm
Love is like angel dust
Lovely sometimes changes us

Sometimes not
Have you been aching to trust or just...?
Have you been waking yourself with lust...?
Have you been making us up or just taking us home?

It's a long wait
At a long light
Cars frozen in flight
All the traffic stops to stare
At a crosswalk in Reno, Nevada
Wearing nothing but air and a pair of grey paper wings
Andy thinks, "Man, I have got nothing to wear"
We got nothing new and
We got nothing to wear
We got nothing to wear
We got nothing to wear





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Counting Crows Palisades Park Comments
  1. T.... B....

    Nostalgia is an ache and longing for the past often, but not always tinged with sadness. This song is the very definition of Nostalgia. It evokes great both great sadness, but happy memory.

  2. G.... S....

    Who sprayed mace in my eyes again?

  3. D.... 2....

    Redpilled video, nice song. Counting Crows ♥️

  4. k.... P....

    Criminally underrated.

  5. N.... K....

    This will never ever bore me in this lifetime

  6. A.... ....

    Beautiful

  7. N.... T....

    How doesn't this song have over a million view?? It's a masterpiece 😍😍😍😍

  8. C.... ....

    Counting Crows ok !!!

  9. R.... S....

    Gah What happened to Andy ???!!!!!

  10. C.... G....

    I like this. I really do.

  11. T.... I....

    Wow this was really good

  12. S.... N....

    I'm pretty sure that I'm at least 100k of these views. This song is not nearly as appreciated as it should be.

  13. F.... ....

    Great song

  14. r.... ....

    the release at the end is beautiful

  15. R.... S....

    Who is Edie?

  16. S.... N....

    I'm still confused as to why this song didn't become an insanely big hit. It deserved to be.

  17. A.... R....

    This is easily one of the best videos ever made. It's rare too because since 2005 the music video has become culturally irrelevant. It's a shame too.

  18. F.... B....

    love the band and all songs

  19. M.... H....

    Much love and respect , for the creativity in that mind of Adam Duritz !!!

  20. C.... H....

    Been using this for the audio recording. Finally took a few minutes to watch the video. Kinda strange -

  21. G.... S....

    this is a song.

  22. r.... ....

    So cool i love you

  23. t.... ....

    meh. Springsteen ripoff.

  24. J.... W....

    Bro... this was awesome!

  25. S.... W....

    I have loved Counting Crows for 25 years and this song is a fucking classic.. Such an amazing song!

  26. J.... J....

    Is this video supposed part 2 to the video for 'scarecrow'? Looks like the same kids!

  27. l.... ....

    Amazing Song and Video. Really stuck knife my heart, not bad way. Just truthful. Damn!. I get it!

  28. B.... D....

    Wow... you spelled Romy DiNeiro's name wrong in the credits?

  29. N.... G....

    This music made me cry...entering in my 30' ...and don't have lived all i wanna be live. Some loves, some crazy little things...now, i'm felling old, and wasting ma time...fuck man.

  30. S.... W....

    What an amazing song. I wish I could write a song like this #

  31. V.... 1....

    I'd really like to know what happened to Andy.

  32. N.... D....

    Choke's me up every time I watch this.

  33. w.... ....

    Masterpiece! Period!

  34. R.... B....

    Who else is from Palisades Park?

  35. H.... A....

    Very good song, this is how real music looks like

  36. R.... T....

    This song and video are incredible. It's definitely one of my favorites of their new music.

  37. L.... N....

    Is that gavin free

  38. T.... B....

    I cannot get enough of this song, it has all the feels.

  39. c.... ....

    All these people saying it's art and poetry. I guess I must be a dumbass or just plain missing something cuz I never understand the plot in videos like these

  40. N.... `....

    I love the song but not the video, i got into the predicament of having to show my music teacher this, and the video made it awkward

  41. O.... ....

    wonderful song. great feeling.

  42. i.... ....

    I'm so glad I grew up without smart phones and social media...

  43. R.... C....

    Sensacional!!!

  44. J.... M....

    https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1jct61/i_am_musician_adam_duritz_from_counting_crows_ask/#bottom-comments Is this legit?

  45. e.... ....

    This may be my favorite video of all time. It's also the Crows best song since Mrs. Potter's Lullaby--maybe even their best ever.

  46. M.... C....

    why so many dislikes ?

  47. R.... D....

    Great song and video from an outstanding band.

  48. I.... T....

    This song/video makes me grossly emotional every time I watch it. There's such an overwhelmingly nostalgic quality to it.

    I.... T....

    Agreed.

    I.... T....

    Why?... what do you make of it?

    I.... T....

    We can't stop time. I remember being 15 in 1995 like it was yesterday - but here I stand a 39 year old man with a couple of grey hairs on my face.

  49. i.... ....

    I'm so moved by this story, song and video. Does anybody know other songs/videos like this on youtube?

    i.... ....

    Look up Meatloaf. He does a lot of these kinds of story/ballad type songs.

  50. J.... F....

    Counting Crows at their best. Love this song.

  51. M.... S....

    Jesus. I will admit I wasn't entirely sure what all these song lyrics meant (and I'm a huge fan so that's unusual) and if they are anything like the video- HEARTBREAKING. :/

    M.... S....

    The beginning tells the tale of the famous boxing match between Jack Johnson and James Jeffries, in which Jeffries (a white fighter) came out of retirement at the urging of former fans in the hopes he'd prove that Johnson (a black fighter) wasn't the real deal. Jeffries got whooped bad by Johnson, and the rest is history. He proved black boxers were legitimate.

    Then the song switches to the present and begins the story of two young childhood friends, the narrator, Ed, (whose name we are never told) and his best friend, Andy. They talk about going to Palisades amusement park, and describe imagery from advertisements in newspapers and comics (the white queen creeps is a reference to Alice in Wonderland, the Tomcat peeps is a reference to the ad for "X-Ray" vision glasses that appeared in the back of Action comic books (the Action Stacks.))

    They talk about the future, the "wild mouse spinning the girls around" (an amusement park ride) and the diving horses that performed at Palisades Amusement Park, and then the time shifts back and forth to coincide with the change from childhood to adolescence, sexual awakening, sneaking into bars, etc.

    "You can carry that spark from Palisades park, down under the cliffs and out into the dark" refers to the sparks that would fall from the air when the metal wheels of the Virginia Reel ride would rub on the steel tracks. They were responsible for starting the fire that swept through the park in 1944. The "skyrocket turning the world around" has a dual meaning, referencing both the ride of the same name, and the way life seems to flip upside down and every which way during adolescence.

    A recurring theme through the song is "have you seen andy/annie/andi?" This refers to the growing apart of Ed and Andy. Andy is starting to explore his alternative gender/sexuality while Ed still remains sexually repressed (due the earlier snubbing from his next door neighbor Jenny Fisher.) The boys are shown experimenting with weed, and "dipping" it into a fluid (probably formaldehyde to create PCP.)

    Andy (now Andi) has begun crossdressing (dressed up just like Edie probably refers to sixties-era Fashion model Edie Sedgwickm, whom he somewhat resembles) and he and Ed are growing further apart, as seen by their fight on the subway stairs, but Andi is still urging Ed that they could leave and head out to the west coast (California.) They become more deeply involved in the drug scene (cops all think they're crazy) and Andi makes a final plea to Ed (if you stay you'll just get married to a girl who'll never love you and then say goodbye.)

    By this time, Ed is begging on the streets asking strangers if they've seen Andi, who has become addicted to what is probably Coke (I was high as a kite, I was lovely in white) and Ed realizes he has lost Andi to the drugs (real love outlives teenage lust.) Next, Ed explains how drugs change people (love is like angel dust, lovely sometimes changes us) and we see Andi in an ethereal scene dancing with his new love "angel" dust, but the last line (sometimes not) means that not even drugs can be an excuse for all the ways people change.

    Then Ed starts musing as to what became of his friend (have you been aching to trust or just, have you been waking yourself with lust?) which I believe is Ed questioning whether the now long gone Andi wishes she were home with Ed (have you been aching to trust) or has she become a prostitute (waking yourself with lust.) The question is answered in the final stanza, "It's a long wait, at a long light - cars frozen in flight, all the traffic stops to stare, at a crosswalk in Reno Nevada" (Andi has become a prostitute and is walking the streets, standing on corners, stopping traffic, when she is struck by a car and thrown) "wearing nothing but air" and possibly dies (wearing gray paper wings = the wings of an angel, but they are gray instead of white, which leaves her fate undecided) and Ed is now truly alone (we've got nothing new and, we've got nothing to wear, we've got nothing to wear, we've got nothing to wear.) A bitter and sad ending.

    I believe I read somewhere that the song was about a personal relationship Adam Duritz had when he was younger.

  52. F.... T....

    This is a sad video

  53. G.... S....

    OK, I'll say it... This made me cry like a little bitch.

  54. M.... M....

    SOMEONE PLZ EXPLAIN THIS VIDEO TO ME?

  55. A.... J....

    Awesome inimitable crows. Pure genius. Looking and trying to learn.

  56. A.... J....

    Awesome inimitable crows. Pure genius. Looking and trying to learn.

  57. R.... C....

    Amazing!!

  58. d.... ....

    nice use of the theme from british 70s sitcom 'dads army' at the end.

  59. S.... S....

    "If you stay, you'll just get married to a girl who'll never know you and then say goodbye". Tears me up everytime...

  60. S.... C....

    I want Adam to write a sequel to this song and shoot a new video where Old Ed finds Old Andy.

    S.... C....

    I'm sorry to hear of your loss too. I sometimes feel like it was just 1999 or 2000. yet that's 16 years ago. I sometimes forget we are actually halfway through the second decade of the 21st century.

    S.... C....

    I thought the video was going to end with that - old Andy coming to meet old Ed showing they're still in touch but it didn't turn out like that. Please excuse me I think I have dust in my eye...

    S.... C....

    YES, HALELUJAH. This is one of my favourite Counting crows songs, along with john appleseeds lament.

    S.... C....

    I believe Andi is dead. "at a crosswalk in Reno Nevada, wearing nothing but air, and a pair of gray paper wings... Andi thinks, that I've got nothing to wear..."

    Andi was working on a corner in Reno as a prostitute and was hit by a car (thrown through the air) and died, but as an angel she got gray wings, not white, and she's worried about what to wear now that she's dead.

    S.... C....

    @Erica Kensho Good point I see what you are saying.

  61. C.... P....

    The feels ;-; Why am I only now discovering this album and videos? They're cute as fuck- when the guys did that lil kiss <3 <3

  62. E.... T....

    African Grays on a park bench. 11/10 XD

  63. W.... ....

    My favourite song. My favourite band. never tire of listening to it

  64. N.... A....

    I am against the LGBT legalization notion; however, this video has successfully shows me a different perspective

    N.... A....

    It's already legal to be who you are and legal to marry whomever you choose to marry throughout this "great nation." Not sure which nation you reside in but here, there is no notion of legalization; it is legal.

  65. R.... A....

    great job chris white xxx

  66. F.... ....

    ecstasy

  67. K.... W....

    This song/video is amazing! Counting crows you never fail to impress :)

    K.... W....

    Depressing to me.

  68. p.... e....

    Brilliant indeed
    And great video - adds an extra element to an already awesome song
    Counting Crows - guarantee of quality

  69. E.... G....

    Amazing video. This is why MTV needs to start playing videos again. #120minutes

    E.... G....

    No videos on MTV. That's why I quit watching MTV. It's gone to the dogs.

    E.... G....

    Custer found about karma...

  70. E.... W....

    this is such a powerful video

    E.... W....

    That what I was thinking

    E.... W....

    I didn't get it

  71. d.... ....

    Is that Jon Hamm playing the trumpet?

  72. n.... ....

    Wow, what a moving piece. The video really wraps it up. But to call it 'the future of pop', no way. It's very retro. In fact, check out Growin Up by Bruce Springsteen. He talks about Asbury park in the live version, a childhood hangout and meeting his best friend. Hmmm, I think Duritz was inspired by Growin Up when he wrote Palisades Park.

    n.... ....

    @nicksass1972 crazy you said that. I've been listening to these two particular songs a lot lately. Growin Up is the Jam!

  73. R.... P....

    This is art at its finest.

    R.... P....

    I Agree. I like filming stuff like this too. I also love the video for Scarecrow.

  74. O.... M....

    This is their 'Bohemian Rhapsody' or 'Thunder Road'!

    O.... M....

    it reminds me of 'jungleland'

    O.... M....

    If you're refurring to structure, it's common for Counting Crow songs.

    O.... M....

    It's a great song but I think more like A Long December is their Bohemian Rhapsody

  75. A.... .....

    Richard Edson - who plays older Ed - is the valet guy from Ferris Bueller's Day Off !

    A.... .....

    Cool I didn't realize that.

  76. C.... M....

    The sweetness of this song is the undertone of sadness in it. We all have dreams and sometimes we can't live up to those dreams, that's life. But even after all is said and done there still this journey there is still those we take this quest with. Cherish it, cherish them. Thank you CC you been part of my life's soundtrack.

    C.... M....

    Thank you... didn't see it that way

  77. V.... 1....

    This is beautiful and incredibly moving. Is there a follow up to this showing what happened to Andy. I'd love to know. I hope he made it ok.

  78. S.... G....

    This is amazing Christopher! I loved this. So proud of you. Hope to talk soon.

  79. P.... a....

    Nothing to do with been transsexual. He was the nice guy. Had the chance to sleep with that girl but didn't because he was worried about his friend. Then his friend nailed her. Nice guys finish last 26/11/2015 anyone ser this please reply with their pot of view

  80. R.... D....

    I keep listening to this but perhaps the best verse is at 5:33
    He said, "Come outside, climb out your bedroom window
    Shimmy down the fire escape and say goodbye
    Come outside," Andy says, "I'm dressed up just like Edie
    Changing all the time, my leopard spots to polka dots, and say good-bye"

    R.... D....

    Does it refers to Edie Sedwick? Andy Warhol's muse?

  81. R.... M....

    I dont know if im reading too much into this song because i'm fresh off of a break up but 4 mins in and until the end makes me cry like a baby.

    R.... M....

    +Raceen M You aren't crying alone.

    R.... M....

    possibilty Days is the song that makes me teary eyed. reminds me of my failed marriage and divorce.

    R.... M....

    It's ok I did too, a lot

  82. s.... m....

    thanks for more great music

  83. T.... B....

    Heartbreaking.

  84. X.... �....

    This is exactly what I was looking for. Its like ''Round Here''.
    I Love Counting Crows.

  85. C.... T....

    The first time I heard this song, I was blown away. I still am every time I hear it. Just a masterpiece.

  86. C.... W....

    09:22 almost made me cry. This part is intense. His young friendly eyes staring. Nothing like a good friendship.

  87. l.... ....

    does anyone things that this amazing video its so F*king well done ??? it gets you ?!

  88. J.... B....

    Only thing I can complain about is the vocals are mixed a little too loud to my liking, but other than that great song and video.

  89. J.... O....

    4:57 what are they dipping the joint in?

    J.... O....

    @John O'Brien pcp

    J.... O....

    +Margaret DiColandrea Oh god lol, you think Adam used to do that?

    J.... O....

    +John O'Brien I'm thinking Andy is code for Adam. lol Adam does talk about trying on all her cloths in American Girls.

  90. O.... M....

    Although "Round here" can never be replaced; for me this is their new 'Round here...It has the same longing and melancholy, just great...

  91. M.... ....

    I cried....absolutely a wonderful story and the cinematography was superb.  top of the list...

    M.... ....

    @MichaelWDJ 7:30

  92. n.... ....

    Can anyone recommend some other similar CC songs like this?

    n.... ....

    @NEEEEVANS Round Here.

    n.... ....

    +NEEEEVANS Not sure they are similar - that's a really hard term to use for Counting Crows tunes - but my two favorites are Einstein On The Beach and Hard Candy.

    n.... ....

    Cover up the sun

    n.... ....

    Blue buildings is good by them

    n.... ....

    +NEEEEVANS Oh, CC stands for Counting Crows and not Creedence Clearwater. I guess, that would make a lot more sense.

    Up all Night, Mrs. Potter's Lullaby, and Another Horsedreamer's Blues are my favorite. Granted, you did put this post up 6 months ago...

  93. k.... r....

    GREAT SONG .. INTENSE VIDEO

    k.... r....

    @ken richardson i'm totally dating the Andy character like whaaaazzap

  94. L.... S....

    What's your opinion of this video? I am curious about Andy notice how it goes from him to her , I mean I saw that he dresses as a woman but is there a deeper meaning to the lyrics? I would appreciate you guys' opinions or facts.

    L.... S....

    I'd guess it means andy's actually a trans woman

    L.... S....

    I'd like to know too. He can be a trans woman, a man or he cold even be dead. I'd realy like to know that.

  95. S.... ....

    An absolute masterpiece ! Most people stumbling across this wouldn't get it - or the musicianship behind the evolvement of this band.

    Pure class in my opinion.

    S.... ....

    I just stumbled across and probably don't understand it fully. Would you explain what you meant in your comment from 3 years ago? :)

  96. S.... L....

    Bai historia ta bideo politta....sentimenduak...lagunak..bizitza! A corazón abierto, es una gozada. Siempre emocionante, beti bete-betea. Mila esker. Jende ederra benetan.

  97. 4.... ....

    Video is better than several movies I have seen recently

  98. s.... s....

    Would anyone have recommendations on some artists based off of the horn piece in the intro?