Lord Huron’s The Night We Met Lyrics Meaning

Lord Huron’s “The Night We Met” is a very emotional song that has a principal theme of lost love, regrets and intense longing.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Lord Huron's The Night We Met at Lyrics.org.

The song’s addressee is apparently someone who was once close to Ben Schneider (the narrator). From the lyrics, it’s very likely that said addressee was his lover. They apparently had good times together. However, something bad happened and instantaneously caused the death of their union.

It is not lavishly made clear in the song what happened for them to cease to be together. However, what is copiously clear is that the narrator is presently downcast. He now wishes he could go back to the night he and his former lover met. Again it is not made abundantly clear why he wants to journey back to that time. What’s so special about that time? Does he want to go back to repair the relationship?

“Take me back to the night we met”

On the surface, it looks as though all he craves for is an opportunity to go back into time and undo what happened to tear them apart. The lyrics read as if he feels responsible for making the addressee slip away from his world. Could this be the reason why in the chorus, he talks about being “haunted by the ghost of” the addressee?

Ben Schneider talks about “The Night We Met”

We can find the answers to the questions raised above in Ben Schneider’s own explanation of the meaning of “The Night We Met”.

In an interview with Gigwise, Lord Huron in his own words explained the meaning of this song. According to him, the song is about the regret you feel after the demise of a romantic relationship. And despite you and your ex actually enjoying “many wonderful things together”, you still regret venturing into that relationship because at the end of the day, it wasn’t worth it.

So you now find yourself at a point where you wish you could turn back the hands of time and not start the relationship in the first place. Why? Simply because it was so not worth it!

Conclusion

This is undoubtedly a really good song from Lord Huron, and it reminds us a lot about two classic songs, namely:

It shares the same theme with the latter song. Furthermore, there’s a slight similarity to the Kelly classic in terms of the sound.

Echoes of Past Love: A Nostalgic Reverie

To me, it’s a surreal feeling when someone who once filled your life with countless memories becomes a memory themselves.

The song takes on a whole new depth when you find yourself standing alone in the very place where you and that special someone first crossed paths. The weight of nostalgia and emotion is just overwhelming.

Release and Success

It is the fourteenth and final track on the track listing of “Strange Trails”. “Strange Tails” is Lord Huron’s official second studio album. The band released the entire project in the United Kingdom and the United States on 7th and 8th April, 2015, respectively. The album was not only critically acclaimed by also successful from a commercial standpoint. As such, it charted in many a country, including America and Britain.

As for “The Night We Met”, it was the most successful song on the aforementioned album. It charted impressively in the music charts in various destinations. For example, it was a top 10 hit in two Billboard charts. One such chart was the “Alternative Airplay” chart, where it reached number 7. It also made it onto the Hot 100 charts itself.

By 2020, the song had sold over 2 million units in America. Owing to this, it holds a multiple platinum status in the United States. And as of the same year in question, the song had been streamed more than half a billion times.

The song actually met with the aforementioned successes after it was featured in Netflix’s famous teen drama series titled “13 Reasons Why“. This was about two years after it was initially released.

Who wrote “The Night We Met”?

This super successful track was penned by Ben Schneider. Schneider, who founded Lord Huron, also produced it. As for Lord Huron, they are an indie band from the United States fronted by Schneider. So far, “The Night We Met” has been the band’s most successful material.

Does Phoebe Bridgers feature on “The Night We Met”?

No and yes. American singer Phoebe Bridgers doesn’t feature on the original version of this song. But Lord Huron released a remix of this song in 2018. It is that version that Bridgers is featured on. That version was also quite successful (but nowhere close to the original’s success). For example, it was unable to enter the Hot 100. However, it charted impressively on at least one official Billboard’s chart. It also entered the official singles chart in France.

Phoebe Bridgers
Phoebe Bridgers performing live at the 2022 Glastonbury Festival.

How I discovered “The Night We Met”

A few years ago, while I was engrossed in the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why”, I came across this song that completely captivated me. The way it gently underscored a particular scene made that moment stand out; it was as if the song breathed life into the narrative, making it all the more poignant and impactful.

Since that day, I’ve found myself irresistibly drawn to this track, playing it nearly every day. Every time I listen, it evokes this powerful wave of nostalgia, transporting me back to that scene and even deeper, into personal memories that are both vivid and euphoric. It’s as if the song acts as a time machine, allowing me to vividly relive those cherished moments.

13 Reasons Why

“13 Reasons Why” is a gripping Netflix series that delves into the complexities of teen life, love, and the tragic consequences of bullying and mental health struggles. The inclusion of Lord Huron’s “The Night We Met” in it added an evocative layer to the show’s emotional tapestry.

The hauntingly beautiful melody and poignant lyrics of the song resonated perfectly with the series’ themes, amplifying the raw, heartfelt emotions experienced by the characters and the audience alike. Its placement in pivotal scenes created unforgettable moments, making the narrative more profound and deeply affecting.

Let’s Talk about Lord Huron

Lord Huron is an American indie folk band based in Los Angeles. The group was formed in 2010 by Ben Schneider, originally a solo project which evolved into a full-fledged band that includes musicians Tom Renaud, Miguel Briseño, and Mark Barry. Lord Huron is known for its immersive, narrative-driven music that blends the rustic appeal of folk, the sweeping instrumentals of cinematic soundscapes, and the rhythmic propulsion of rock and roll.

Their discography includes several albums such as “Lonesome Dreams” (2012), “Strange Trails” (2015), “Vide Noir” (2018), and “Long Lost” (2021). Lord Huron is widely recognized for their lush, multi-instrumental soundscapes and evocative, storytelling lyricism. Songs like “The Night We Met,” “Ends of the Earth,” and “Time to Run” have garnered considerable attention and have been featured in various films, commercials, and TV shows, thereby establishing a substantial fanbase for the band.

Their music often explores themes of love, longing, and existential questioning, frequently encapsulated within mythical and nature-oriented imagery. Lord Huron tends to weave a rich tapestry of stories and characters throughout their albums, creating immersive worlds in which their songs reside. Always exploring and unfolding new chapters in their musical journey, Lord Huron continues to captivate listeners with their melodic, adventurous, and often nostalgic sound.

Lord Huron
Lord Huron’s Ben Schneider performing with Lord Huron at a show at Loufest in 2015.

30 Responses

  1. Richard Copithorne says:

    I would like to know who wrote this article.
    It’s extremely well written with better than most use of word structure

    • Malini Chakraborty says:

      Yes ..kudos to the Writer of this Article for creating such an exquisite piece of writing displaying the beauty and elegance of words…come on now….who is SMF? We wanna kno the writers name 🙂

  2. Kristi Marie says:

    Did you mean Ben Schneider in the beginning and not Rob Schneider??

  3. Anonymous says:

    I feel like this analysis is well written, but I feel like it misses the meaning of the song in some major ways. This is definitely a song about a person he loves; a broken love song if you will. It is definitely love lost, regrets, and longing. You were spot on there, but it doesn’t seem to be an instantaneous falling out from one event. I have felt the words “I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you” and I can say definitively that this love went cold over time which is worse because a growing, festering bitterness or hurt only gets more noxious and painful. “All and then most. . Some and now none. . .”

    Is a drawn out timeline of having all of the person and things being great, then they gradually drift apart and things get worse, hence the painful tone. Also, I don’t get the sense that he wishes he could go back a d undo a certain event that caused their demise, but rather that he wishes to go back and undo ever having gotten into relationship at all to spare himself the hurt that it has caused. It would likely say something regarding the night of the fateful event rather than the night they met altogether, I feel, if so. Rather he wishes to go back to the beginning and undo ever getting into the car and riding along with him/her. Before there was any physical history, before there was any emotional history, so that he could tell himself what he was supposed to do rather than going into it at all.

    • K. Murphy says:

      I respectfully and wholeheartedly disagree with this interpretation. While the gradual loss is obvious, to me this screams of a story of Dementia, with the loved one slowly losing themselves, and thus the singer watching them slowly fade away. “Haunted by the ghost of you” especially rings true as their loved one is still there, but just a ghost of themselves. And the narrator wishes to return to the night they met to see their partner’s former self again.

      • Mich says:

        I interpret this song as a loss of love over years. Feeling somewhat at fault, he is haunted by the ghost of who they were. Maybe by photos, mutual friends or just by proximity.

        • Iveth says:

          Definitely, was the magic love, he lost somehow and he is looking back, maybe understanding, he lost the One., and wish to act differently , starting form the very moment the physically came across…
          Gorgeous love song, it transfer the passion and pain form Ben Sch. To me as listener.

    • Anonymous says:

      Nailed it. At least for me. Music being art can be interpreted so many different ways by the listener, viewer, etc. Even the artist themselves can come out and say ‘I meant it this way.’ But in conversation with anyone but the artist themselves, it’s all rather subjective. For me, it’s a song about regret. To go back and say don’t travel down this road…it’s ultimately only heartache at the end.

    • Anonymously Anonymous says:

      Wow…this is exactly how I interpreted this song—maybe it’s due to the fact that I’m going through this exact same thing…

    • Mindy says:

      Best! I felt it all the same way!

    • Anonymous says:

      I agree with this interpretation

    • hi says:

      i agree i relate to this song very much

  4. Anonymous says:

    Yes anonymous …your analysis/interpretation makes a lot of sense. Well done

  5. Anonymous says:

    I think: It’s both. Slow burn, either dementia (good point, I hadn’t thought of this) or just them growing apart during a tumultuous and dragged out break-up period. Going back to the night they met could be to either prevent himself from getting involved, or to have a chance to do things differently to re-write their story.

  6. Anonymous says:

    It makes me feel that this was an unintentional love, that keeps haunting a person; almost like being raped.

    • Anonymous says:

      I totally agree with that, exactly how interpret the song!????????????
      Maybe because, I totally had/have that vibe with an x for the past 14 years.
      It’s like a slow, but blazing burn all inn one.

  7. Anonymous says:

    My take: the pain of lost love is worse than the pain of never having loved in the first place. The narrator yearns to go back in time to warn their younger self not to get involved with this lover (“not ride along with you”) – to avoid their first meeting. The narrator wishes they could “unmeet” this person, as whatever went wrong scarred them for life. Any happy memories are overwhelmed by the haunting loss of the relationship.

  8. Anonymous says:

    I agree with the analysis that that the breakup was a painful slow drifting apart, I think that’s pretty evident by the lyrics, “I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you. I interpret the lyrics “take me back to the night we met” as take me back to when I not only wasn’t heartbroken, but take me back to when I was content and happy without you.

  9. E says:

    I, based on life experience, interpret this song as the night “we” met as the encounter between mother and child after an arduous birth. For years I pictured an emotional scene of the child dying; just now I hear the song as a mother admitting that she wishes to go back to the moment that both she and her child (me) were at their most innocent–the night they met. For me it’s the words I wish my mother had told me in life.

    • Mom says:

      I recently lost my adult son on May 27th, 2022, and I had this song as one of the songs on his photo slideshow. He was born at 7:34 pm and after losing him, I just wanted to go back to the night I first gave birth to him so I could hold him again. I miss every second with him and the pain is unbearable.

  10. Me says:

    okay, so based on my experiences personally i interpret this song as their/your loved one dying due to $u!c!d3, when he says, ” I had all and then most of you, some nd now none of you.” I interpret it as your/their love one drifting away due to depression and/or jut personal battles and them not being able to open up. This causes you/them to not understand until they are gone which is when you notice everything.

  11. 559 girlie says:

    This song takes me back to the night I had so many fears of my darkness and the only light and warmth that I felt and see was God. He came to remind me of who I am. During that moment I was so lost and the only love that woke me up was God’s love. So since the night that we met, i have came out of my darkness and shadows. He saved me. That’s how I took the song. Either I was going to take a ride with him or not I decided to ride along with and decided to live for another day. So I did wished that everything before the night I met him I can take back and undo, and relive my life without hurt, pain, and heartaches.

  12. Heather says:

    I can relate to this because my husband and I met 40 years ago and we were both just out of relationships and were devasted. We were both diagnosed with bi-polar (mental illness) and several other mental health issues. We knew we were each others soulmates. It took 35 years to be able to realize our deep love through finally being able to reach into our souls and speak of our love and what it meant to each of us. Looking back the night we met was painful at the time, however, it was the best thing that ever happened to us. We had some of each other but not the whole of each other. Our break up will be the death of each other. We are making up for lost time and our future together.

  13. Anonymous says:

    he’s not talking about undoing what happened to tear them apart, he’s talking about going back in time and stopping himself from ever meeting her.

    • Anonymous says:

      Because she is dead now. She died of an overdose. The article is well written but misses on the meaning in many ways.

  14. Nathaneal Swift says:

    I absolutely love this song! Can relate a lot to it 🙁

  15. Jess says:

    https://gigwise.com/features/3396988/close-reading-meaning-explanation-the-night-we-met

    Here is what the song is about in the artists’ own words, the article writer almost got it right.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like...