Half Moon Bay by Train Lyrics Interpretation

Half Moon Bay is a song by Train that I just really love, it speaks to my heart and it is so beautiful. The beach at Half Moon Bay is one of my favorite beaches to go to, I truly love that place. So here are the lyrics to the song with my interpretation of what they mean to me.

“Don’t see a threat, but I think I better warn ya, gonna fall in love if you go to California…” Well I think this means what it says, its like, just so you know, you will fall in love if you go there, it’s going to happen, so there’s no threat but if you really don’t want to fall in love…think again. ‘Cause it will happen. “I did, and this is how I know…” sounds like he’s had experience with this! He went to California and fell in love. “By the beach north of San Jose…” Okay this has to be my favorite line because I’m from San Jose and I love hearing it mentioned in a song! I happen to really like “the beach north of San Jose” and having San Jose used as a reference point in this sing is just awesome. Best ling! I love it! “Met the right girl and it sounds cliché, but, we decided not to take it slow…” sounds like he fell right in love like he said would happen! And fast too! “I said ‘Why wait, you’re my soulmate…”- sounds like he is pretty positive that he has found the right one- “took her by the hand in the Golden State…” I love hearing California described as the Golden State, for so many reasons. It’s seriously the best. And the main reason why I love the term ‘Golden State’ is because of the golden color of the hills in the summer. I love when the hills are gold. I think it’s beautiful. I love it so much. “Now that you’re mine, things are gonna be fine…” sounds like he feels that together, everything will be okay and good. “First came love, then a baby carriage, hardly knew the people at my own marriage…” well he wasn’t joking about not taking it slow, that’s for sure! “But an open bar can open your mind…” Okay does that mean he got drunk? I don’t know, maybe that’s what he meant by ‘open your mind’…I have no idea! “You save my life with every word you say…” sounds like he pretty much lives to hear her speak! Sounds like a lot of love to me! “You shine your light for me to find the way…” This probably means that his love is a beacon to him and guides him, and implies that he would be lost without her. But I think that maybe this line was drawing an allusion to the lighthouse near Half Moon Bay, because lighthouses guide by shining a literal light so ships can find the way. He could be metaphorically comparing love to a lighthouse. That’s so beautiful! “Just hold me tight and cross your heart to stay…” Love and hold on to me, physically and metaphorically too, as in don’t leave me, stay with me forever. And cross your heart to stay. He means promise with all your heart to never ever leave me. Cross your heart to stay! “Here with me, born to be, every part of you in Half Moon Bay.” Stay here with me is what he says. And then he says that he feels that he was always meant to love her, every part, in Half Moon Bay. It means that he sees that everything has lined up for him: he was born for this, all of it, and he’s in the right place where it was meant to be: the “beach north of San Jose,” Half Moon Bay. “Up in Tiburon where the girls are warm…” I have no idea what he means by ‘where the girls are warm…’ and maybe I don’t want to know, nut Tiburon is a city just north of San Francisco, it’s across the bay and across the Golden Gate Bridge, and it’s probably 45 minutes to an hour north of Half Moon Bay. I’ve been there in a Limo at night. Oh, and ‘Tiburon’ means ‘shark’ in Spanish. “We stay inside while the rain clouds form and, thank God for rainy days like these…” It doesn’t really rain that much in this part of California though it rains a normal amount in the winter. He could be referring to the fog, or marine layer, that rolls in off the ocean frequently. He likes rainy days, and they stay inside as the clouds form. “And just when the time has come to retire, baby starts crying so we dance by the fire, always does the trick, ya better believe…” By retire, he means go to bed. As soon as he is about to go to bed, the baby starts crying so they dance by the fire, and that calms him down. Who burns fires in California? Even in the winter? And especially near the beach…I don’t even know! But maybe ‘fire’ was included in order to allude to passion or burning love. Perhaps the mention of fire was more to create a romantic undertone and a subconscious idea of love. Now this is out on a limb but there are always wildfires going on in California. More about the California/ Golden State/ Bay Area love theme. Fire! “You save my life with every word you say, you shine your light for me to find the way, just hold me tight and cross your heart to say, here with, me born to be every part of you… Why go slow if it’s nice and steady…”good question! - “We all know it’s in the stars already, oh ohh, oh ohh…” Love is already written in the stars for them, it is meant to be so they shouldn’t worry. “Why say no if yes feels right, you’ve just got to go to where you feel like home…” Home is the Bay Area. Sometimes, you’ve just got to be home. “Don’t see a threat, but I think I better warn ya, gonna fall in love if you go to California; I did and this is how I know…You save my life with every word you say, you shine your light for me to find the way, just hold me tight, and cross your heart to stay, here with me, born to be, every part of you…You save my life, with every word you say! You shine your light so I can find my way! Just hold on tight, and cross your heart to stay! Here with me, born to be, every part of you in Half Moon Bay! ...Half Moon Bay…Haalllfff….ooh, Half Moon Bay…” <3