“A Thousand Years” Lyrics & Meaning (Christina Perri)

A Thousand Years will be familiar to any fan of The Twilight Saga film series.

And, to be honest, I’m a bit surprised at how many people ask about the song’s meaning.

I always felt the A Thousand Years lyrics meaning was quite obvious.

But perhaps it is not.

Or perhaps people are asking about the double meaning.

Though I don’t think that is a hard one to grasp either, considering the movie for which the song was written.

Nevertheless, we will happily dive into the meaning of Christina Perri’s song below.

 

A Thousand Years Lyrics And Meaning

A Thousand Years is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Christina Perri. It was written by Perri and record producer David Hodges for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, which was the fourth installment in The Twilight Saga vampire film series.

A Thousand Years was first released as a digital download on October 18, 2011, and serves as the second single for the movie after It Will Rain by Bruno Mars.

Perri went on to re-record the song with vocals from Steve Kazee for the soundtrack to The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2.

A Thousand Years was written specifically by Perri and Hodges to be about the love affair between the characters of Edward and Bella in the Twilight Saga novel and subsequent film series.

The song debuted at number 63 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and eventually reached its peak at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Perri’s second top 40 hit.

The lyrics are fairly straightforward, as you will see when we get to the meaning below. First, here they are in full, right after the music video.

 

A Thousand Years Lyrics

Verse 1

Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave?
How can I love when I’m
Afraid to fall?
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt
Suddenly goes away somehow

One step closer

Chorus

I have died every day waiting for you
Darling, don’t be afraid, I have loved you
For a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

Verse 2

Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything
Take away
What’s standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this

One step closer

Chorus

I have died every day waiting for you
Darling, don’t be afraid
I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

One step closer
One step closer

Chorus

I have died every day waiting for you
Darling, don’t be afraid
I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

 

A Thousand Years Meaning

Perri was already a huge fan of the Twilight series when the opportunity to write for Twilight Saga series came to her via Atlantic Records. She was asked to write a song for Edward and Bella’s wedding scene.

She and co-writer Hodges penned the lyrics, which captured Edward and Bella’s love poignantly, and the song was chosen for the movie soundtrack.

The lyrics tell of someone who has been waiting their entire life to fall in love. And now that they have found that special someone, they are a bit apprehensive about the situation.

But, despite the apprehension, they are stating their intention to love that special someone forever and not let fear prevent their love from blossoming.

The song’s title is a common metaphor used when describing eternal love and has been used by poets and artists for many years. The clever thing behind the choice of title for the song here is that the song was written specifically for a vampire movie.

And vampires are said to live forever, which also means they can love forever. While humans cannot possibly live, or love, someone for that amount of time, a vampire could.

The song works perfectly well away from the context of the movie, but fans of the much-loved vampire series have also been able to appreciate the song’s double meaning within the context of vampires’ immortality.

While lines like “I have died every day waiting for you. Darling, don’t be afraid. I have loved you for a thousand years, I’ll love you for a thousand more,” sit perfectly within the framework of a pure love song, knowing the vampire context elevates them even further.

 

Additional Questions

Below, we will answer some common questions related to the A Thousand Years lyrics meaning. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask them in the comments below.

What is the mood of the song A Thousand Years?

A Thousand Years is a song in which a lover expresses her love for another, only to be weighed down by a tiny doubt of acceptance. This song was written about the love story of Bella and Edward from The Twilight Saga, and each lyric of this song oozes the mood of eternal love.

What is Christina Perri famous for?

Christina Judith Perri is an American singer and songwriter, signed to Atlantic Records. Her debut single, Jar of Hearts, was featured on the television series So You Think You Can Dance in 2010. Soon after, Perri released her debut album, The Ocean Way Sessions.

Which Twilight movie is the most successful?

The Twilight Saga’s New Moon made $700 million, Eclipse earned $698 million, and Breaking Dawn—Part 1 pulled in $712 million.

 

A Thousand Years Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts

The A Thousand Years lyrics meaning talk about someone who has finally found that love they have been waiting for forever. And now that they have found it, they state their intention to love the object of their affection forever, despite some apprehensions.

Of course, given that the “person” in question is a vampire, a being that famously lives forever, the idea of eternal love takes on an additional weight.

When most of us talk about our love lasting “a thousand year” we really just mean the 60 or so years until we die. For the vampire in this Christina Perri hit, it really is a thousand years. And more.

This song talks about a love that was meant to be. We do a similar breakdown about one that was just never right from the start, but the singer does not want to end it anyway. See our look at the lyrics and meaning of Glycerine by Bush for more.

We also have an article like this about the lyrics and meaning of Riptide, Vance Joy’s huge hit, in which he sings about a woman with whom he would like to be in a relationship.

Finally, you should check out our breakdown of the Kiss From A Rose lyrics and their meaning. That song is the quintessential romantic, yet also dark, song.