Oberst, Conor - You All Loved Him Once Lyrics

What else is this melody from? I want to say Garth Brooks? But also probably like a traditional folk song.

Everyone is free to have their own interpretations... but I swear I wanna bitch slap the people that say it’s about Obama.

Everyone’s interpretation of who he is singing about seems like a guess, like they’re not certain. When I first heard this, I couldn’t help but think of anyone other then Christ, I’ve felt his love and compassion in the darkest moments of my life as many of us do.. and yet we’re so quick to forget about his love and compassion, so we turn our backs when we become self absorbed. This song really touches me

Finally someone who understands the song on this thread...

You all loved him once
And not without cause
He fed you through the winter
He led you through the fog
You hid behind his body to be sheltered from the mob
You all loved him once
And not without cause
You all loved him once
When his glory was unmatched
Your signal when to celebrate was the bugle of his laugh
Oh, when it came time to stand with him
You scattered with the rats
You all loved him once
That time has passed
You all loved him once
When the future was opaque
His reassuring visions were the pillars of your faith
Through a thousand false horizons
He would always fly it straight
You all loved him once
That turned to hate
You all loved him once
An uncommon love at that
What you saw as a pedestal
Was his elevated path
So to satisfy the Philistines
You stabbed him in the back
You all loved him once
Imagine that?
You all loved him once
Yes, you ate out of his hand
He mirrored your confusion
So that you might understand
Then your soul was an experiment
So he drew a diagram
You all loved him once
It ended bad
You all loved him once
And not without cause
He helped carry your baggage
When your strength was nearly gone
And though more and more was put on him
He tried his best to take it on
You all loved him once
Not without cause
You all loved him once
Now he is gone

Love this song love you Conor thanks for making such beautiful music for us all to relate to 💙

Read Knows Reign Dear. #Annihilation

i think hes talking about obama

It's all about Jesus...reference after reference to him; every verse.

Had to hunt this one down, heard it on "Transformer" about Matt Kroczaleski, the "Croc". What a perfect song about how no matter how badly you hurt,..., others want you to be something for them,..., damn your own happiness. Just a WONDERFUL song.

You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,

To satisfy the Philistines you stabbed him in the back.

I personally think this about Julius Ceasar or Obama

It's about Jesus. Look at every verse..."So to satisfy the Philistines
(i.e . Romans), You stabbed him in the back..." reference after reference to Jesus' life.

“Mirrored your confusion so that you might understand.” #Annihilation

You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?

Be my funeral song

I wish he'd publish poetry :")

Am I wrong or is the refrain pretty much straight from Julius Caesar: Act 3, Scene 2?

i wonder what Conor thinks of the illuminati and if he's had any experience with it...

24 weeks ago today I lost my dad in a plane crash. I'm studying abroad away from home and it's not been easy. It's been the hardest thing ever in fact. The lyrics of this song are so extremely close to home in very many ways. It makes me cry like a baby when I hear it, and I miss my dad. Thank you Conor for this beautiful song.

my heart is soar

Might be his best album!!!!! Love it!!!!!!!!!!!

Just absolutely brilliant.

Saw him last night, he implied it was about John Lennon. Awesome and interesting!

it's called a decoy

yo Conor is straight up talking about Santa Claus in this one

Santa as a symbol of Jesus whom the song is about.

This made my day

This is Conor Oberst's Springsteen-esque "Nebraska" moment isn't it.

aphonik23 well he is from Nebraska lol he grew up there his whole life

It's about Jesus right ? But he says to satisfy the philistines, does he mean Pharisees?

The title is taken from a line from Mark Antony's funeral oration in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar ("Friends, Romans, Countrymen/ Lend me your ears!")

Tyler Rooney look up philistine and think about how 'you all' might stab him in the back to satisfy them

Ummmm no. Not about Jesus.

Even without the philistines reference I had a sense he was referring to Christ and how we take his love for granted

@Nicole Gillan undoubtedly about Jesus. Every single verse...

daaaamn. fantastic

A surprisingly kind song about Jesus. I love the lack of cynicism. Christianity may be a mess, but Jesus was a pretty great guy

Nicole Grose The beauty of music is that we can interpret however we want. Every song speaks differently to each person.

Misha's lil bae Except for the fact that he said in an interview exactly what the song was about. So in this case no.

Nicole Gillan In the npr front row concert he explicitly mentions Jesus (among others). I'd say it has multiple meanings / interpretations.

I mean one would assume it is about Julius Caesar.

Jesus isn't real bud. Sorry. Typical. Christians making shit about them.

I love Conor. and I love Bright Eyes. And I love the Mystic Valley Band. But the guy cannot play harmonica. I dont know if he is doing it on purpose or what. But it is pretty bad.

let him progresse

I would assume that someone who has been playing music and songwriting since he was a child was doing anything you think is a mistake on purpose.

Bob Dylan?

You all loved him once and not without cause
He fed you through the winter
He led you through the fog
You hid behind his body to be sheltered from the mob
You all loved him once and not without cause

You all loved him once when his glory was unmatched
Your signal when to celebrate was the bugle of his laugh
Oh, when it came time to stand with him
You scattered with the rats
You all loved him once, that time has passed

You all loved him once when the future was opaque
His reassuring visions were the pillars of your faith
Through a thousand false horizons
He would always fly it straight
You all loved him once, that turned to hate

You all loved him once, an uncommon love at that
What you saw as a pedestal was his elevated path
So to satisfy the Philistines
You stabbed him in the back
You all loved him once, imagine that

You all loved him once
Yes, you ate out of his hand
He mirrored your confusion
So that you might understand
Then your soul was an experiment so he drew a diagram
You all loved him once, it ended bad

You all loved him once and not without cause
He helped carry your baggage when your strength was nearly gone
And the more and more was put on him
He tried his best to take it on
You all loved him once, not without cause
You all loved him once, now he is gone

my favorite song

once I decided to die and at the lowest point in my life I found your piercing voice saying fuck that just keep living I have a little girl now and I'm alive still thanks conor

Dustin barnes same here brother, glad you made it

Just curious where does Conor say that?

@GroovyAnthropomorph with every new song. ☺️

I heard him play this this summer and it made me cry. Conor started crying too. It was just too much. I wish we could have that raw and broken version on the album.

Would have loved to be there to hear that. Haven't been able to stop listening to the new album since it came out.

What show was it at?

@Dwayne Robertson The Folks (yes, plural) Festival in Lyons, CO

I will wait til I can buy this album to listen to it all, but damn, is that wait not going to be easy. Love this song, looking forward to the album.

that time has passed...

As good as anything he's written

says of god