Above the Clouds of Pompeii Lyrics
We built our home out on the slopes
Pompeii beneath, she lay above
And how she haunted our home
How she haunted our home
You were a God in my eyes
Above the clouds, above the skies
You were a God in my eyes
You were a God
[Verse 2]
You took me walking through the town
Showed me the statues underground
Said, "Just don't they look at peace?"
Sometimes I wish that was me
I was the son you always had
Tugging at your coat while you were sad
I was the son you always had
I was the son you always had
[Chorus]
Don't cry
Hold your head up high
She would want you to
She would want you to
Please just don't cry
Hold your head up high
She would want you to
She would want you to
You said, "Stay in the car and wait
There's just some things I have to say"
Don't you know I miss her, too?
I miss her just as much as you
So, my father and my son
As you end what she's begun
You'll lie patient by her side
With roses red come lilies white
[Verse 4]
I was too young to understand
The flowers slipping from your hands
I was too young to understand
I was too young to understand
I was too young to understand
The flowers sleeping in her hands
I was too young to understand
I was too young to understand
[Chorus]
Don't cry
Hold your head up high
She would want you to
She would want you to
Please just don't cry
Hold your head up high
She would want you to
She would want you to
And just don't cry
Hold your head up high
She would want you to
She would want you to
Please just don't cry
Hold your head up high
She would want you to
She would want you to
About
Some insight from lead singer and songwriter Andrew Davie:
‘My Dad and I went on a trip to Pompeii together when I was a kid and it made a really big impression on me. It’s a deeply personal song to me and to other people as well so talking about it too much will only ruin people’s own interpretations. It was one of the first songs I wrote where I never actually wrote it down. I wrote it in my head over the course of a month and that process removed a lot of the pressure of staring at a blank page which I used to do a lot. I played it to Kev and Joey in the back of a van on our first tour and we’ve been playing it ever since.’
-from an interview with Clash
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
