Fleet Foxes - A Long Way Past The Past Lyrics

Fleet Foxes Lyrics

"A Long Way Past The Past"

More than I had in mind
More than I wish I knew
And now it's near on me
Some rush of red fear
And my worst old times look fine from here

I know you walked this route
And you might help me out
You said what's done is done
I can't turn the hand 'round
But still it looks a long way down

Oh man, was it that much better then?
We were left alone, we were proud of our pain
And so I want to walk out in the night
See the wide young river flood rain

We're not on one straight line
I made my own way through
And when the track goes cold
I'll know that it's true
That rebirth won't work like it used to

Oh man, was it that much better then?
We were left alone, we were proud of our pain
And so I want to walk out in the night
See the wide young river flood rain

And I can't let go
Of a lot I've left
I'm holding nothing
But what I kept
And it all got dimmer
Each passing step
And I need you with me
And you read the writ
Are you now insisting
Is it not worth it?
But I've got no option
I inherited this and I'm overcome

That's that, we're a long way from the past
I'll be better off in a year or in two

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Writer(s): Robin Pecknold

"While I was writing the lyrics to it, I was thinking, 'How much am I living in the past? How much can I leave that behind? How much of my identity is wrapped up in memories?' And asking for help from a friend to maybe fend through that or come on the other side of that. So I thought it was funny to have that be the lyric on the most maybe nostalgic piece of music on the record in terms of what it's referencing," told Robin Pecknold Apple Music about "A Long Way Past The Past".

Explaining this song on EW.com in a track-by-track overview of the album, Robin Pecknold said, "I was like, 'This song must be 80 beats per minute, that's as fast as it could be.' It has this slight, easy stroll or strut to it. And then lyrically, it's reconciling how much of the past to hold on to and how much to leave behind, questioning that conflict."