Isakov, Gregory Alan - Liars Lyrics






You take the big one
And I'll take his brother
Let's get this over with
'Cause I'm late for work

Do you remember when we were young
The swing sets, the costumes
The dirt in the sun
I sold all my baseball cards to buy me some clothes
That's how it goes
That's how it goes, and that's how it goes

And I keep on thinking
It's time to move on
Move out to the city so huge
Meet me some people

Seems these old hills
They keep on calling
The clouds 'round here talk
Man, I been listening
I sold all these clothes to buy me this land
Now I'm sorta happy most of the time
Most of the time

Been riding lots of trains
The same ones as you
How come you get to talk to everybody
I'm just looking out my window at the night view

You keep on pointing out my halo
Your big pointy finger
The six-fingered hand
I sold all this land
To buy me some dreams
Just like those movies we played when we were kids

Now we're just liars
Now we're just liars
Now we're just liars
Now we're just liars





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Isakov, Gregory Alan Liars Comments
  1. S.... w....

    One of my favourites. Unbelievable with the orchestra

  2. S.... D....

    Glad I found this gem, one of the best songs I have heard!

  3. I.... D....

    For context, I also live in Boulder, CO.

    I remember watching this a while ago, and I was thinking, "Huh. This was recorded at Red Rocks. Cool." And then, about a year later, I learned that he also lives in Boulder.
    I was just like, holy crap. We live in the same city.

  4. T.... G....

    Well. Damn. Gorgeous. Goosebumps.

  5. S.... G....

    Where have I been? I just found you and your genius - your songs are beautiful, poetry to music, and nothing like anything I have ever heard or...felt. You have magic in your songs, your work is amazing!!

  6. L.... H....

    Where can I get to see this guy/band live in 2020.. Anyone..???

  7. g.... v....

    There is something with the sound of his music that sends me to a different place to think about life in a very calm way and it made me feel so great.

  8. T.... R....

    Just WOW!

  9. A.... ....

    nik zebiiiiii pure art ya zebi

  10. K.... &....

    Perfect arrangement.

  11. S.... B....

    the feeling this man must have to play music like this in front of all those people sitting still and listening with their soul..must be a great feeling. you can see the band is happy by the way they are playing and the effort that is put into each song!!! i love this band!!!!

  12. R.... F....

    Amazing masterpiece

  13. F.... R....

    The buildup to this song is one of the best I’ve ever heard. Gregory Alan Isakov is by far, one of the most underrated musicians in the history of music.

  14. K.... ....

    This song reminds me of my two little boys when they were young - brothers - friends - soulmates. Now all has changed. I'm not really happy most of the time now, most of the time - just sad. Times have changed...dreams are gone - never realized - sadly broken into pieces, now. I have my memories and miss my boys most of the time now and try not to even think of what might have been. So sad to see a sad husband and dad, too. That's how it goes, that is how it goes, though. Thanks so much!

  15. A.... -....

    Bestmusician ever

  16. F.... B....

    I saw this live in the Denver Performing Arts Center...

    Then again at Red Rocks.



    It's an experience I'll never forget.

  17. s.... ....

    This is phenomenal.

  18. P.... K....

    Absolutely great song! Made me to cry... Thank you!

  19. L.... C....

    this is first time I hold my breath for 5 minutes and 16 seconds

  20. a.... ....

    Brilliant.

  21. M.... B....

    beautiful

  22. I.... ....

    Mr Gregory Alan Isakov's creativity, talent -- and a needless string of heartfelt adjectives -- gently brings me, through his music, back to my heart and often to joy-filled tears. This amazing ever-bubbling reality and its beauty in the middle of the current apparent chaos.

  23. J.... S....

    He is the poet of today music.

  24. �.... k....

    Orospu çocuğu !
    Edit: sana orospu çocuğu dememeliydim. Ama beni çok üzdün ..

  25. G.... D....

    Best band ever!!

  26. N.... A....

    Shivers. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

  27. L.... R....

    Makes me wanna watch Barfly.

  28. W.... L....

    Don't think the orchestra got into the mix. It has to have an entry a link to a middle turn return to the beginning. Greg and his supports made the turns separate from the orchestral. Needs more work on this challenge. My opinion only.

  29. T.... a....

    Just turn that violin player loose and let him run......love it!

  30. T.... T....

    Just so moving. Incredible. Makes me look back on a life I never had.

  31. L.... K....

    Serene, wistful, sombre, powerful. So many words to describe this masterpiece. Simple in the beginning before ending on an emphatic crescendo of musical bliss. Bravo and Kudos to Sir GAI and the Warriors of The Colorado Symphony

  32. L.... d....

    The open sea is were I want to be.to again walk with you on that sandy beach. To feel the warmth of your hand again in mine.love of my life.oh love of my life..

  33. S.... P....

    You take the big one
    And I’ll take his brother
    let’s get this over with
    ’Cause I’m late for work

    Do you remember when we were young
    The swing sets, the costumes
    The dirt in the sun
    I sold all my baseball cards to buy me some clothes
    That’s how it goes
    That’s how it goes, and that’s how it goes

    And I keep on thinking
    It’s time to move on
    Move out to the city so huge
    Meet me some people

    Seems these old hills
    They keep on calling
    The clouds ’round here talk
    Man, I been listening
    I sold all these clothes to buy me this land
    Now I’m sorta happy most of the time
    Most of the time

    Been riding lots of trains
    The same ones as you
    How come you get to talk to everybody
    I’m just looking out my window at the night view

    You keep on pointing out my halo
    Your big pointy finger
    The six-fingered hand
    I sold all this land
    To buy me some dreams
    Just like those movies we played when we were kids

    Now we’re just liars
    Now we’re just liars
    Now we’re just liars
    Now we’re just liars

  34. J.... L....

    What a fucking video...wow

  35. T.... ....

    "Mountain Spiders!"

  36. J.... D....

    i wish they would just show the concert part straight through and not keep cutting to the music video style one of them playing. its almost like they are liars ;)

  37. S.... S....

    I’d like to see the whole clip of the campfire scene

  38. z.... ....

    Magnifique !
    Decouvert grace au podcast les pieds sur terre !

  39. e.... c....

    some red dead redemption vibes

  40. T.... ....

    There's something about this song that I always come back for more. I wish it was longer.

  41. S.... B....

    Can't stop listening to this soulful voice of Gregory. I really lost count how many times i watch the video in a day...the cinematography is equally grasping.. *you keep on pointing out...Are we just liars..??* Gives goosebumps 🙏🙏 thank u Gregory and Colorado symphony! #gregoryalanisakov #respect

  42. e.... ....

    I wonder what he meant by six fingered hand?

  43. J.... H....

    Transcendent!

  44. s.... t....

    The most incredible music ever!

  45. k.... ....

    that was fricken amazing! Where the hell have I been?

  46. A.... S....

    It's time to move on

  47. F.... Q....

    We're on a million views now <3

  48. b.... c....

    The guys a gem, hard to top this.

  49. F.... Q....

    Why cant I find a person in my place who knows gregory :(

  50. A.... C....

    BEAUTIFUL

  51. C.... P....

    Didn't see the build up coming at the end of this song. So happy I stuck around

    C.... P....

    Me too! I was liking it ok then it got amazing!

  52. T.... C....

    you take the big one
    and i'll take his brother
    let's get this over with
    'cause i'm late for work
    do you remember when we were young
    the swing sets, the costumes
    the dirt in the sun
    i sold all my baseball cards to buy me some clothes
    that's how it goes
    that's how it goes, and that's how it goes
    and i keep on thinking
    it's time to move on
    move out to the city so huge
    meet me some people
    seems these old hills
    they keep on calling
    the clouds 'round here talk
    man, i been listening
    i sold all these clothes to buy me this land
    now i'm sorta happy most of the time
    most of the time
    been riding lots of trains
    the same ones as you
    how come you get to talk to everybody
    i'm just looking out my window at the night view
    you keep on pointing out my halo
    your big pointy finger
    the six-fingered hand
    i sold all this land
    to buy me some dreams
    just like those movies we played when we were kids
    now we're just liars
    now we're just liars
    now we're just liars
    now we're just liars

  53. B.... P....

    Omg, just discovered you guys!

  54. j.... ....

    Arguably the best lyricist/writer/poet alive today. He’s got an immense
    gift for conveying thoughts, emotions and experiences through words.

  55. l.... ....

    204 people have no soul.

  56. p.... ....

    this makes me feel so many things.
    I am so grateful I got to hear this live in Paris last December. one of the best days of my life

  57. k.... o....

    I'm a songwriter and this is the kind of music I've always wanted to make...but can't. It seems so simple, but is damn near impossible. Same with Iron and Wine. Pandora is filled with people making the effort and failing miserably.

  58. P.... ....

    Wow...I have goose bumps a day later. Lucky to have him coming to my town soon. Wish he could bring the symphony.

  59. T.... P....

    There is maybe 6-8 songs I've heard in my entire life (40+ years) that I can FEEL in my BONES.

    This is one.

    T.... P....

    May I ask what are the others? If it's not too personal. I'm curious.

    T.... P....

    @Tereza Radová what are yours?

    Liars would definitely be one for me too. Drive Darling - BOY will always have a place in my heart, as well as Conrad - Ben Howard.

    T.... P....

    I'd also like to know what the others songs are.

  60. T.... P....

    OMG... this song is INCREDIBLE! Now THIS.... THIS is AMERICA!

  61. k.... ....

    Wow, a whole symphony, that should explain it all.

  62. A.... ....

    Amazing. No other words.

  63. R.... L....

    There are two brothers in this story. The responsible one (who has a job) is still protective of the wild
    one (even though it means getting in brawls on his way to work). The narrator’s self-survivalistic upbringing is evidenced by his stoic willingness to engage in a street fight with the same casual energy of household chores. It is also indicated by the first transaction of the song: selling his childhood baseball cards for clothes. He has resigned himself to this lot in life (“that’s how it goes, that’s how it goes, that’s how it goes”).

    With each transaction, he sells one item to gain another, each with escalating value. But when considering what each item represents, every transaction loses value. It wasn’t just baseball cards he gave up, it was the innocence of childhood: swing sets, costumes, and playing in the dirt on sunny days. The clothes were probably for a job or an education; when he sold those clothes to get the land, he had to cash in years of job-earnings or his degree. But obtaining the land that had once called to him only resulted in him being “sort of happy most of the time.” Now he hears something higher calling to him (“the clouds round here talk man, I been listening”). So that’s why he wants to “move on” again, this time maybe to the city. Something bigger, more opportunity, new people. To do this however, he must give up the permanency and security represented
    by land ownership.

    This new life entails a lot of travel. More ground covered but confined in the small spaces of “lots of trains.” With every move, he brought his brother with him (“same ones as you”). He was the one making all the sacrifices while his brother shared in the reward. And now he resents that his being the responsible & good one afforded his brother the freedom to be the more social & wild one (he’s stuck “looking out the window” while his brother “gets to talk to everyone.”) His brother brings attention to the virtue of the narrator (“pointing out my halo,”) and whatever the brother’s intentions, the narrator perceives it as a slight or even as a grotesque accusation (“big pointy finger from a six-fingered hand”). He feels cornered into being
    the good brother.

    So, he’s made a series of bad trades (though they seemed responsible at the time) to get him where he is now, looking out into the darkness from a train window considering what it has all cost him: the innocence of childhood, years of savings and labor, even the old familiar land he thought would bring him happiness. And what did this last costly trade-off get the narrator? He’s trying to recapture what was lost a long time ago: the unrealistic, ethereal dreams of childhood aspirations (“dreams just like those movies we played when we were kids.”)

    But they’ve been untrue to themselves, trading in who they are - to become who they think they should be. So long as the lie remained unspoken, it could be believed. But finally, in the cold darkness of this
    moment, he admits to himself what he’s known for a long time.

    R.... L....

    I think the “big pointy fingers, six fingured hand” means money/salary that his brother earns and how it makes the narrator insecure...

    R.... L....

    Uummmmmm... What... Hey, this is too much to take. Artists are many but of this magnitude are scarce.. U r a giant.

    R.... L....

    @Fanni Matandare Ron Scott wrote the song with Isakov. I don't know who arranged the composition for the Colorado Symphony, but it was the convergence of these three artistic forces that produced this painful masterpiece.

    R.... L....

    I wouldn't focus so much on an explanation to almost any song.
    In doing so, we fail to hear the songs, the blending of words,
    and miss the multiple possibilities of meanings.
    I also recommend not reading the lyrics if you truly want to hear the songs in more dimensions than a singular one... <3
    *nod*

    R.... L....

    I understand the two “brothers” as one person, dueling.

  64. J.... H....

    How can something so dark be so enlightening?

  65. D.... V....

    suddenly im a liar

  66. S.... F....

    SORRY.....not nearly LONG ENOUGH!!!

    S.... F....

    MESSIAH by Helena Softley...finally up on Spotify after an eight year dispute.

    Pleeeease play this f*cking song...i lost eight years of my life to get it released.

    S.... F....

    Was it worth those eight years...YES...every bloody second.

  67. H.... ....

    ÜSTADDDDDD

  68. B.... M....

    4:45 Man, he was really going to town on that bow!

  69. P.... B....

    I'm brought to a different world, one I would never discover <3

  70. E.... W....

    hi this is elliot winwood he knows my family

  71. D.... D....

    This is awesome - just listening and even more so when watching the footage. Brilliant.

  72. C.... C....

    I could listen to this and "The Trapeze Swinger" on a loop all day every day......Sigh.

    C.... C....

    I literally do that

    C.... C....

    I add the Stable Song too !

    C.... C....

    I do that + words + if I go I’m going + San Francisco

  73. C.... A....

    what I don't get is that his art and his heart..has little chance. ..SO EVERYBODY WHO HAS WRITTEN TELL YOUR FRIENds

  74. K.... A....

    If more people would just try to discover their own singing voice, more people could sing. But we've put singing into a box and so many of us are stuck inside.

  75. N.... T....

    Pure magic

  76. J.... ....

    why is this so perfectly beautiful? :_)

  77. C.... C....

    love the cabbage too !

  78. p.... ....

    wow, this is better than air.....thanks for sharing this song al fresco....

  79. I.... M....

    Sounds like Leonard Cohen

  80. J.... C....

    The DeViL

    J.... C....

    Im all for it

  81. B.... G....

    It’s like making love. Is it weird that I want them to keep playing until their fingers fall off, so the song never ends?

  82. n.... ....

    I revisited this song today because my partner had asked, "what's that Isakov song about the fight?" I had no idea what he meant, so he continued, "you know, the one where he says 'you take the big one and I'll take his brother..'". Of course he meant "Liars" but it fascinated me that his interpretation had been so different to mine. When I first heard it, I thought the first line was about a vaguely unhappy couple getting their kids ready for school and the song generally was about a painfully self-aware sort of ennui. It hadn't even occurred to me that there might be a different story there; I suppose that's the mystery and gift of a really good song delivered with honest emotion. It can hold something within it for all the various minds that encounter it.

    n.... ....

    And I came here to the comment section for answers on the meaning behind the lyrics, cause I too had the interpretation your friend has, which is that of two school friends that have to fight bullies but I know the lines that follow do not add to to it cause kids wouldnt be late for work. so basically its a mystery, but you keep listening, singing and playing it without realizing you don't really get the lyrics cause you just feel it and that's enough. haha

  83. M.... L....

    killing me with fucking painful Beautify!

  84. N.... M....

    Just listened to old live version from 2010. Man he polished this song so good. Was good then but he shaped the melody from it just perfectly and obviously the production with the colorado symphony is remarkable.

  85. T.... M....

    Now we're just Liars. Says it all.Powerful song.

  86. T.... M....

    This should really have 100million views and 100million likes. Good music is too complicated for most people, they turn to simple manufactured music and shy away from real, honest and spectacular music like Gregory Alan Isakov’s music, which makes you think, feel and love.

  87. M.... A....

    The orchestra part💗💗💗😭😭😭

  88. D.... T....

    I have 50 acres of bush, I played this album at twilight one evening during the winter down in the back 40. Awesome! I just listened to this again and tears flowed. Amazing artist. I heard him on an NPR interview just before this album dropped. I bought it the day it dropped. Told my partner about him and he said you already have his songs. I'm not a big follower of celebrity but I love singer song writer and to already have his music, in hindsight, doesn't surprise me.

  89. S.... F....

    "I sold all of my baseball cards to buy me some clothes... that's how it goes..."

  90. L.... E....

    I can't believe I get to go to Red Rocks in September and see this beautiful man :D

  91. A.... P....

    "You take the Big one I'll take His Brother"

  92. A.... R....

    Gregory makes me think of a life I never had, places I've never visited and people I've never met. It's like a dream. A nostalgic, beautiful dream.

    A.... R....

    Andrés Reyes you summed up my feelings about GAI’s music wonderfully. This is exactly how I feel

    A.... R....

    I've tried to explain it like that since the first time I heard his music. You said it perfectly. I'm so happy he's finally getting heard

    A.... R....

    @Dan DeLashmit Been a fan for four years now. Trying to make him known in Chile 😊

    A.... R....

    We all need to get into the space that he is God Bless you

  93. u.... ....

    Your music, from solo acoustic to in front of a grand orchestra, is some of the most beautiful life affirming music. It's the words, the music, and your delivery. Gets me in every song. Constantly brings tears to my eyes. You are one of my favorites. Please come to Louisville Kentucky on your next tour.

  94. J.... T....

    "i'm sort of happy most of the time..."

    J.... T....

    Me too.....

  95. P.... M....

    Wow!!! My eyes watered!!

  96. C.... C....

    I feel Love emanating out of my heart when I listen to Gregory A~

  97. L.... L....

    I get lost in this song, and I never want to go back 😢 beautiful

  98. M.... L....

    I wish Gregory Alan Isakov and Jose Gonzales play together soon. It will happen in this lifetime.