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‘Destination Sunrise’ from Why?
This is a great song don’t you think? This is a song off this amazing album and the lyrics are not as clear to me as most. There are no comments in the ‘Lyrics & Chords’ section so maybe we are all baffled? “Destination Sunrise” – a ride to a better place? Is it autobiographical?
I don’t know! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this great song
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17 Replies
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Hi Steve,
When I first heard this song, it transported me back to my road trip days down to Southern California in my 89 Mustang, in MLT style. Windows rolled down, full throttle on the High Output V8, on a lonely country highway. Absolutely love the guitar sounds and I think captures the spirit of freedom, “disconnection, time to shift gears”. For me it is a song on the album that captures free spirit in the sun feel, but there is also a social commentary on the environment, and that not everything is OK which resonates with these times. “Cause something this broken will not survive”. That’s the beauty of great art, open to interpretation. Another brilliant song off the album, that stays true to a theme of issues of the time, but also a free adventurous feel to it. So much diversity in the album for songs for everyone.
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Thanks Jung for your thoughts. Your description of driving on the open roads with the sun shining and the feeling of freedom sounds lovely. It’s usually raining here! 🙂
The song strikes me as a ride towards the light ‘leaving behind the game’ which is intriguing as is the line ‘We’re not gonna play with their loaded dice’. The participants in this landscape are definitely happy to leave that behind and travel ‘One direction, taking no reminders and saying farewell without shedding tears’. Goodbye past
Then the open road liberation and the brand new start, a brand new chance, breaking free and making dreams come alive despite ‘something being broken that will not survive’? What is that?
A brilliant song again from the superb ‘Why?’ album. Semi autobiographical? Words are always interpreted differently by whoever is reading them and this album is another big step forward by these very talented people
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Steve
Yeah the lyrics definitely evoke a feeling of leaving for a better place.
As for ‘something being broken that will not survive’ for me is a broken environment leading to a train wreck. In the lyrics “early sunrays are melting the ice” gave me the feeling about the environment and the melting glaciers and shrinking arctic ice shelf, in line with the commentary on our society today theme of the album. Open to interpretation.
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Hi Steve, Destination Sunrise was one of my early favorites from WHY?. It gave me the feeling of heading out on a trip, maybe a planned vacation or just a spontaneous “road cruise”. Heading into the sunrise, to me, means something new and exciting. I agree that The Twins as well as any good songwriters leave a lot to the listeners imagination and interpretation. I tend to stay on the lighter side of lyrics and not get too deep into them. Heck there’s a lot of classic rock songs I’ve been listening to for 50 years that I really don’t know the words to. Sometimes I use my own words, like on the song That’s Life I always sing “before the pool closes” instead of “before the book closes”. Lol. Doesn’t make any sense I know and I don’t know why I sing those words. I just think it’s funny.
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Hello Steve,
a very nice idea to choose this lyrics. As you have already indicated: the interpretation usually says more about the person reading the text than about the person who wrote this text. Here are my associations: Yes, it could perhaps be an autobiographical section in the lives of Mona and Lisa. After all, they are at an age when many things can change quickly and sometimes have to change. The step into a new phase of life. The road as a metaphor: from nowhere to somewhere, from beginning to becoming. The song reflects this mood very well: A bit rough and hard at the beginning, maybe the point where everything started („We’re leaving the game“ / „We’re not gonna play with their loaded dice“) and then ends in harmonious duet singing: „Destination Sunrise“, switching then to „Generation Sunrise“: perhaps also an indication that their own generation needs to change something. They have to find their own path, because the path chosen by the generation before leads to nowhere from their point of view, maybe even to an abyss (So far interpreted in terms of the complete album „Why?“). Phil Collins asks in the lyrics of “Land of Confusion”: “Oh, Superman, where are you now, when everything’s gone wrong somehow?” and then is confident: “My generation will put it right”. Did they? From our children’s point of view? Mona and Lisa could be my daughters in age. We handed them the road in not particularly good condition. I wish them good luck and all the best for their departure into their personal sunrise.
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I’m glad to see “Destination Sunrise” get some love! It’s one of my top three from WHY? but it seems to be overshadowed in the discussions here.
I see it as the next step after “Make Show.” If that song is about the twins’ disillusionment with the music industry, then “Destination” is their declaration that they are going to do things their way, as independent artists. Leaving the old way of signing with a label, doing what they say, and hoping for the best, they’re “jumping ship” as it were and heading out to “see if [they] can go all the way.” The younger generation is doing this across the board, giving up the security of a career working for “The Man” in exchange for more freedom and control in the “gig economy.”
The whole song reminds me of the movie, “Thelma and Louise,” except in this version the heroines don’t drive off a cliff, they drive off to amazing commercial and critical success.
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I love reading everyone’s interpretations of this very interesting song. Each persons view is valued and adds different dimensions to my own thoughts. This song is a great piece and I thank everyone for their replies
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You are all correct. It looks like we all have some similar interpretations. This one hooked me in upon first listen. The volume on my car goes up to eleven automatically when this song begins, just like Club 27 and Once Upon A Time.
MLT has a way of writing very symbolic lyrics and lyrics that can be interpreted one way or another with each individual interpretation being correct.
Each time I read a different interpretation from someone, I tend to agree with them and hear the song in a whole new light. Thanks for that.
This reminds me of the Q&A when someone found the deeper meaning to Waiting for the Waiter and Lisa proclaimed,”Finally someone gets it!” That has to be a song writer’s best reward.
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Thanks Johnnypee. Your comment – “Each time I read a different interpretation from someone, I tend to agree with them and hear the song in a whole new light” is spot on for me also. Maybe if we keep going “Finally someone might get it?” or maybe the real fun is not knowing for sure 🙂
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To me , the song is about a personal destination, etc…. I believe the song itself, is open for however one wishes to interpret it, what resonates , for me, it’s not a definite message being conveyed , perhaps with Team MLT, it is from their perspective but I do see the song as open interpretation , where it has different meaning for all, that is my 2 cents worth on this…no specific right or wrong….all listen to it and feel the vibe that resonates for you … 🤘🏻🫶✌️
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This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by Jacki Hopper.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by
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Thank you Jacki. What is interesting too from this discussion is how much people like this song! It’s great but seems to sneak under the radar against others on the album.
I guess it speaks volumes about the quality of ‘Why?’ when ‘Destination Sunrise’ is relatively overlooked compared to others.
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The song I was trying to figure out is Songbird. At first I thought it was about someone the Twins knew or idolized, a female singer, celebrity maybe. Then I thought maybe they wrote it about themselves or each other but the words “Follow Your Beak” made me think no, they are singing about a bird. Lol. It’s interesting and fun to read everyone’s interpretations of the lyrics to all of these songs.
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Thanks Tim. ‘Songbird is such a lovely song. I think it follows a similar theme to ‘Destination Sunrise’ in that it’s about leaving. The difference possibly being ‘Sunrise’ seems to be a wish to leave quickly at speed to get away and leave something behind without regret to find a new beginning, whereas ‘Songbird’ seems to be a thought through, measured approach to leaving and following your heart to reach your destiny. ‘Beak’ could just be metaphors for ‘nose or ‘Instinct’?
Both could be autobiographical or maybe not. They could simply be about a road trip and a bird that can sing! Only 3 people know for sure but what superb writing
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The song could have many interpretations concerning interpersonal relationships, dealing with the government, or dealing with the music industry……….which they opted not to do so. Sounds like one of those lovable, intentionally vague, MLT songs. Mike.
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This discussion reminds me of the Mona Lisa portrait. 500 years after Leonardo Da Vinci painted it, the world is forever fascinated, and even to this day there is speculation and debate about who the subject of the painting really is, and fascination with the smile, eyes, layering of the paint, the 3 dimensional aspect never before seen in it’s time etc… It’s the archetypal masterpiece, the best known, most visited, most written about work of art in the world because it intrigues and is open to interpretation.
I always said about MLT, their albums when I listen to it I can get a fresh experience, something new, a different perspective, new idea, or inspiration. They are master song writers. Open to interpretation, can mean something for one person, and something much different for another, but there is no right or wrong interpretation. Mona and Lisa intentionally kept their songs open to interpretation.
I recall someone famous once said about good art: When a person writes a song they can have one interpretation, but it’s not contingent on the audience getting the same interpretation to like it, resonate with it, or feel it. In some ways the best art is open enough where the artist gets to have their experience when they make it, and the audience gets to have their experience when they listen, and it doesn’t have to be the same.
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Hi Jung. I totally relate to the last paragraph of what you say. Poetry/words/song lyrics/art has always resonated with me too. I don’t know why and I don’t profess to be an expert in any, but there’s something inside me that when I see or hear something I want to know where it’s coming from.
Interpretation is the key word. A few years ago we visited ‘The Louvre’ and stood there before Da Vinci’s masterpiece. It was crowded but nobody moved. People were rooted to the spot, each in their mind seeking their own interpretation and meaning. They would all be different
We were all born with imaginations but with tech sadly we don’t use them as much these days.
‘Destination Sunrise’ allows all of us to stop what we are doing and go on a trip somewhere fantastic and we’ll all end up somewhere different for sure….
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Hi Steve
I would be very interested in seeing the Mona Lisa portrait hanging in the Louvre. With the huge lineups, I wasn’t sure if they let people stop and take in the masterpiece for any length of time. It sounds like they give you some time to look and contemplate it’s magnificence. I heard it’s not a very big painting.
I don’t think I’ve ever been moved by a piece of visual art as much as music, though some paintings have captivated me. A beautiful piece of music, painting, sculpture, literature that can provide a moment of absolute beauty or divine insight is so cathartic.
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