Josh Groban - Awake Lyrics

Josh Groban - Awake [Official Live]

Awake Song Meaning, Biblical Reference and Inspiration

Josh Groban's song "Awake" is a heartfelt exploration of cherishing a present moment shared with someone beloved, set against the poignant awareness that such moments are fleeting. The lyrics beautifully capture the dichotomy between the desire to freeze time and the understanding that change is inevitable. The opening lines paint a vivid picture of a new day, a "beautiful and blinding morning," immediately introducing the idea of light and perhaps overwhelming beauty, quickly contrasted with the arriving clouds and the need for shelter, signifying impending difficulty or change. This sets the stage for the core message: the reliance on another person in the face of uncertainty.

The central plea of the song is to prolong the present connection. The lines express a desperate wish to stay "awake" to fully experience and "memorize" the person, begging for "more time" to feel this way. There is an honest acknowledgment that this state is temporary – "We can't stay like this forever" – yet a fierce determination to hold onto the reality of having the person "next to me today." This highlights the song's focus on the immediate, tangible reality of love and presence.

The lyrics delve deeper into the hypothetical, wishing for the power to make moments "endless" or "stop the winds of change." This reflects a universal human longing to prevent separation or loss. The idea that keeping "eyes wide open" might make "everything stay the same" is a touching, though perhaps naive, expression of hope – that intense presence and awareness could somehow defy the natural progression of time and life. However, the recurring phrase "only time will tell us how / To carry on without each other" grounds the song in realism, acknowledging that the future holds separation and the challenge of adapting to life apart.

The live performance of "Awake," such as the official live video released on February 14, 2010, provides a specific context for the song's emotional delivery. Performed before an audience, likely during his Awake tour, the live setting amplifies the song's vulnerability and power. Groban's vocal performance in this environment conveys the raw emotion embedded in the lyrics – the yearning, the gratitude for the present, and the underlying sorrow of future loss. The visual of a live concert captures a unique moment in time, mirroring the song's theme of treasuring the now, knowing that this specific performance, like the moments described in the song, is also a singular, unrepeatable event.

Ultimately, "Awake" is a moving ballad about living fully in the present within a cherished relationship, understanding its impermanence, and preparing to face a future where that connection might change or cease to be physically present. The final lines circle back to the power of memory – the unwavering promise to "remember all the love we shared today." It's a message that resonates deeply, speaking to the value of love, connection, and the profound impact a single moment, intensely lived, can have on a lifetime of memories, providing comfort and strength when facing the inevitable changes that time brings.