Once Upon a Time by The Smashing Pumpkins Lyrics Meaning – Unraveling the Poignant Narrative of Loss and Time
Lyrics
Come surrender my son
Time has ravaged on my soul
No plans to leave but still I go
Fallin’ with the leaves
Fallin’ out of sleep
To the last goodbyes
Who cares why?
Mother I’ve tried
Wasting my life
I haven’t given up, I lie
To make you so proud in my eyes
Fallin’ out of sleep
Crawlin’ over me
To the last goodbyes
Who cares why?
Tuesdays come and gone
Restless I still drive
Try to leave it all behind
Fallin’, fallin’ out of sleep
Fallin’, fallin’ with the leaves
I go crawlin’, crawlin’ over me
Once upon a time in my life…
I went falling…
Mother I hope you know
That I miss you so
Time has ravaged on my soul
To wipe a mothers tears grown cold
The Smashing Pumpkins have always been a band that defies simple categorization. Their music, laced with emotional rawness and lyrical depth, often goes beyond just a sonic experience; it delves into the heart of human experience itself. ‘Once Upon a Time,’ a standout track from their 1998 album ‘Adore,’ serves as a testament to this legacy—painfully intimate and achingly relatable.
At its core, ‘Once Upon a Time’ is a narrative of loss and the inexorable march of time. The lyrics paint a picture both vivid and vague—of personal struggle, familial bonds, and the quiet desolation that comes with knowing that nothing, especially not the innocence of youth, is eternal. But in this sweeping lamentation, there’s a hidden poetry that speaks to the resiliency of the human spirit.
The Melancholy Chronicle of a Restless Soul
The opening lines of ‘Once Upon a Time,’ feel like an intimate confession or a letter never meant to be read aloud. The protagonist speaks directly to their mother, admitting to a weariness that goes beyond physical fatigue. It’s a weariness of the soul – a profound sense of ravage wrought by the passing of days, months, and years, and the existential toll that this passage takes.
Here, frontman Billy Corgan masterfully sets the stage, not just for the narrative of the song but also for the emotional landscape he’s about to navigate. This isn’t just about getting older; it’s about the realizations and regrets that come with it, the ‘plans to leave but still I go,’ highlighting the paradoxes of life decisions.
Crystallizing the Ineffable: A Dive into the Song’s Hidden Meaning
As ‘Once Upon a Time’ progresses, the layers of meaning within start to unravel. What at first appears to be a straightforward expression of filial connection expands into something much more universal. The repeated metaphor of ‘falling’ – with the leaves, out of sleep – is no mere lyric. It’s a vivid representation of losing grip, a metaphor for drifting from the person we once were or the life we once envisioned.
The song’s bridge, ‘Tuesdays come and gone / Restless I still drive / Try to leave it all behind,’ is telling in its specificity. The mundanity of passing days (‘Tuesdays come and gone’) juxtaposed with a restless yearning for escape (‘Restless I still drive’) echoes the Sisyphean endeavor of trying to outrun one’s own history and humanity.
A Tapestry of Grief and Love: Examining the Familial Bond
Central to ‘Once Upon a Time’ is the relationship between mother and son. It’s through this prism that Corgan expertly distills his themes, using this filial lens to amplify the song’s emotional resonance. Confessions of trying and failing (‘Mother I’ve tried / Wasting my life’), and the pursuit of pride in the eyes of someone held dear (‘I lie / To make you so proud in my eyes’) underline a universal quest for validation in our most cherished relationships.
This song is not just about personal failure or regret; it’s equally about love and the inherent desire to make loved ones proud, even in the aftermath of perceived shortcomings. The emotional gravity is palpable, turning ‘Once Upon a Time’ into a vessel of empathy capable of carrying the listener through their own reflections and sorrows.
The Poetics of Farewell: Unpacking the Memorable Lines
In a song rife with poignant lyricism, certain lines cut deeper, forging an immediate connection with the listener. ‘To the last goodbyes / Who cares why?’ speaks directly to the ultimate indifference of the universe. It’s an existential shrug in the face of impending ends, questioning the value of understanding when finitude looms large.
Yet, within these lines also lies a subtle defiance—a recognition that the reasons behind the saddest of farewells don’t diminish their emotional weight. It’s a reluctant acceptance of the inevitable outcomes of time, a theme that runs heavily throughout the Smashing Pumpkins’ oeuvre.
Reflections in the Mirror of Time: A Concluding Meditation
The closing verses of ‘Once Upon a Time’ revisit the initial address to the mother, now with an added layer of sorrow, a more intense pining for the past (‘Mother I hope you know / That I miss you so’). It’s a straightforward expression of longing that brings the song full circle—reminding us that, in the end, our deepest human connections anchor us amidst the storm of passing years.
Corgan’s final words leave us in a place of tenderness and vulnerability, echoing the coldness of ‘a mother’s tears grown cold.’ Here the narrative comes to rest, not on a note of resolution, but on the poignant unresolved chord of human emotion. The song’s true meaning doesn’t lie solely in its words but in the shared spaces of our collective human experience it illuminates — a testament to the Smashing Pumpkins’ enduring poetic insight.
