Please share your analysis of all this time
All This Time is Gay™️
Ok, joking apart, for me, it's the song with the strongest queer subtext on the album. It's not as easy to interpret as OTB was on Walls. The song also fits other interpretations in line with the general themes of the albums (love, friendship, hope, growth). As usual there are no right or wrong answers, but here are some of my thoughts.
I don't have much to say about the first verse, except that 'I'm tryna find the words to say for ages' is reminescent of Defenseless.
Now onto the pre-chorus.... I'll be honest those lyrics are the most mysterious on the whole album for me.
And I keep on building mountains hoping that they'll turn to gold
I'm not sure I understand the metaphor. But the image that I get are mountains are obstacles; he's doing something that he knows will be difficult. He keeps hoping the mountains will turn to gold, meaning some sort of miracle will not only make the obstacle/hardship disappear, but it will turn into a treasure, into something that one only hopes for. In short, he's a hopeless romantic and hasn't given up on the idea of love. But that love is not easy to find/reach.
But the truth is, I still doubt that what I do can get me home
Even with all his hopes and ideals, he's not sure that he will succeed, that it will be enough. The concept of home here is interesting - home as in the place where you are truly yourself, the place where you belong, the place that you usually share with the person/people you love. He's not sure he'll ever make it home, no matter how much he tries - tying in again the idea of external obstacles, that love, loving and being loved are not easy.
When it gets cold / Oh, sometimes, sometimes, I lose my hope
When it gets cold, when you're alone, you lose your hope. You wonder if you'll ever find someone to love and who will love you back. Again with the idea that love is hard thing to find.
Our eyes meet / And I can tell that you're the same as me / It's the way we / It's the way we see ourselves through walls of trees
This verse has the strongest queer subtext because it's just... obvious. You're in a room full of people and you see one person who is just like you. It's the way we always recognize people like us, through the crowd. He's not alone.
And you keep on building mountains hoping that they'll turn to gold / But the truth is, you still doubt that what you do can get you home
The verse is repeated but the subject changes from the narrator (I) to his interlocutor (you). Thus saying the other person is in the same situation as he his. The experience is shared, universal.
But the friends we make, the love it takes / It's worth, it's worth, it's worth the pain
The friends we make, the love it takes / It's worth, it's worth, it's worth it all this time
No matter how painful the experience is, it's worth it for the friendships (community); the love it takes to be truly yourself, to love who you wanna love, it's worth it; all this time you're doubting, feeling lonely, hopeless, it's worth it in the end and you should not give up.
TLDR: love is only for the brave
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