“Lightning Crashes” Lyrics & Meaning (Live)

Lightning Crashes was everywhere back in the mid 1990s.

You couldn’t escape it.

And most didn’t want to.

Both my brother and I bought the Throwing Copper album after hearing this song.

But we had no idea as to the Lightning Crashes lyrics meaning at the time.

Now that I know what Live was singing about, it adds something extra to the song. Keep reading to learn what exactly the lyrics to Lightning Crashes mean.

 

Lightning Crashes Lyrics And Meaning

Lightning Crashes was a song released by Live back in 1994. It appeared on their second album, Throwing Copper. The song has a special meaning for the band. they wrote it around the time a dear friend tragically lost her life in a car accident.

Their high school friend Barbara Lewis died after being in a collision with a drunk driver. The song is a tribute to her and her selflessness as an organ donor. It is centered around the cycle of life and its key events such as birth, death, and reincarnation.

The lead singer of Live, Ed Kowalczyk, wrote Lightning Crashes when he was just 21 years old. Still living at his mother’s house, Kowalczyk wrote this song while sitting in his brother’s bedroom.

The band first performed Lightning Crashes a month before its official release date on September 24, 1994, at Woodstock 94. The song’s popularity is largely due to its music video.

Back in the mid 90’s, MTV played a big part in music fans viewing the latest music videos. Live found their Lightning Crashes music video being played on repeat across MTV. The song also dominated the radio and peaked at number 6 on the US mainstream top 40.

Kowalczyk originally wanted the band’s music video to be shot in a hospital to highlight the cycle of life and to show people passing and babies being born. However, in the end, the music video was shot in downtown LA in an old mansion. I believe the music video still portrayed the cycle of life quite clearly, even without the hospital setting.

 

Lightning Crashes Lyrics

 

Verse 1

Lightning crashes, a new mother cries
Her placenta falls to the floor
The angel opens her eyes, the confusion sets in
Before the doctor can even close the door

Verse 2

Lightning crashes, an old mother dies
Her intentions fall to the floor
The angel closes her eyes, the confusion that was hers
Belongs now, to the baby down the hall

Chorus

Oh, now I feel it comin’ back again
Like a rollin’ thunder chasing the wind
Forces pullin’ from the center of the earth again
I can feel it

Verse 3

Lightning crashes, a new mother cries
This moment she’s been waiting for
The angel opens her eyes, pale blue colored iris
Presents the circle, puts the glory out to hide, hide

Chorus

Oh, now I feel it comin’ back again
Like a rollin’ thunder chasing the wind
Forces pullin’ from the center of the earth again
I can feel it
I can feel it

Oh, now I feel it comin’ back again
Like a rollin’ thunder chasing the wind
Forces pullin’ from the center of the earth again
I can feel it

I can feel it comin’ back again
Like a rollin’ thunder chasing the wind
Forces pullin’ from the center of the earth again
I can feel it

I can feel it comin’ back again
Like a rollin’ thunder chasing the wind
Forces pullin’ from the center of the earth again
I can feel it

I can feel it
I can feel it

 

Lightning Crashes Meaning

Kowalczyk had a spiritual side after previously exploring writings from an Indian spiritualist. This ended up having a positive impact on the band’s philosophy and influencing much of their music.

In Kowalczyk’s own words: the song “is about life and the beauty of it.” It helps to make us aware of its beauty and to never take our life for granted.

It’s clear from the lyrics that Lightning Crashes is a spiritual song. The line “This moment is stillness” reflects the Buddhist ways of being present in the moment and having a sense of mindfulness.

The song has even been referred to by some as poetry. It has resonated with millions of people worldwide, since we all experience the cycle of life. This might take the form of goodbye to an elderly family member or welcoming a newborn into the family.

These experiences in life can be emotional periods for all and Lightning Crashes brought out an emotional reaction in listeners. This song has been played at major life events, such as a weddings, christenings and funerals, due to its emotional attachments.

The line “an old mother dies, her daughter cries” alludes to the reality of aging and the difficulties people face when growing old.

I also believe this has an even deeper message about the difficulties adult children face when witnessing their parents becoming older and slowing down in life. It can be quite upsetting to watch parents age, knowing just like everything else, life must at some point come to an end.

The song also reflects different people’s life journeys and how their life cycle may be different from others.

For example, the line “but poverty stole her youth” highlights the unfairness of the world, which helps us to appreciate the life we do have and to be empathetic and compassionate to those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

 

Lightning Crashes Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts

With some songs, the lyrics don’t matter. That’s usually the case when they have no real significance. But when the lyrics have a deeply personal meaning to the person who wrote them, that can make a song extra special.

That is the case with the Lighting Crashes lyrics meaning. The fact that Ed Kowalczyk wrote the song about the loss of a close friend, but that it also touches on the universal theme of the life cycle, made the song impactful to just about everyone. It is also why this is the biggest hit Live ever scored.

We have many lyric breakdowns like this one. Another one worth checking out comes from Lady Gaga. We analyze the lyrics to Bloody Mary and their meaning to see what this complicated, yet beautiful, song is all about.