JARED LETO: "Someone once said... "Work is the bridge between dreams and reality". So just be warned: if you have big dreams, be ready for a ton of work."
"City Of Angels" is track #4 on the album Love Lust Faith + Dreams.
Writer(s): Jared Leto
Producer(s): Steve Lillywhite, Jared Leto
This is the short film version directed by Jared Leto (man, he does everything) featuring various stars.
Writer(s): Jared Leto
Producer(s): Steve Lillywhite, Jared Leto
This is the short film version directed by Jared Leto (man, he does everything) featuring various stars.
For the uninterrupted version, here is the lyric video for easier viewing.
Alternatively, I also highly recommend the acoustic version which can be found on Spotify.
Alternatively, I also highly recommend the acoustic version which can be found on Spotify.
Introductory Note
This is a song that has stayed in my head for weeks till now, and listening to it still gets me every time. There's just something in its melody and tune, coupled with the instrumentals and powerful lyrics that deliver a message --- chase your dreams. And it hits hard. Not sure whether many of you have heard this song, but let me tell you it does deserve to be heard, and maybe a few times more, and then you will get addicted :p. Highly recommended. Do it, it's just a few minutes, right? Yeah... it turned to many more minutes for me as I repeatedly clicked replay... In terms of a song, it's a whole package that needs to be unpacked, and it can contain many possibilities in interpretation. For example, the chorus have the same words as they repeat, but they may be interpreted differently depending on the flow and position, as well as the emotion it portrays, but that, you'll see later.
What's the song about?
So, this song is about Jared Leto's (lead singer) journey to chasing his dream in the city of angels, AKA Los Angeles (Spanish for The Angels). Why Los Angeles? 'Cos that's where Hollywood is, you know, the magical home of the rich and famous.
When Jared Leto won the Oscar award for Best Supporting Actor (yes, this guy acts too) for his performance in Dallas Buyer Club (which this song is featured in), he talked about a teenage girl who was pregnant with her second child in his speech. It was tough as imagined. She was a high school drop-out and a single mom, the world seemed to be at odds with her. As her kids gradually grew, she told them to be creative, to work hard and to do something special, and her kid did, the boy turned out to be Leto. He later went on to dedicate the award "to all the dreamers out there around the world...I want to say, we are here, and as you struggle to make your dreams happen, to live the impossible, we're thinking of you tonight." The relevance here is in the motivation that he wrote this song, and he thanked his mother for pushing his back, for telling him to do something special.
The video itself, feature various stars such as Kanye West, Lindsay Lohan, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Selena Gomez as they discussed about their life and journey in Hollywood, providing an insight we rarely see in the commonplace media. The main premise is that L.A. has been a magical place. To them, it was a starting point for them to chase their dreams. It is the place where they can achieve it. It is where they met the wonderful people they eventually work with. It is where they met their love. It is where they start to raise their families. To them, L.A. is the best place on Earth.
The title, "City of Angels"
Besides its translation from the Spanish meaning of Los Angeles, the literal understanding is that the city is described to be populated by angels. Angels protect, acts as guardians, and it seem to describe the people whom Leto and the other stars have met in L.A., angels have helped them along every step of the tough road to where they are now. At the same time, angels are also represent goodness and purity, which may connotate that everyone in L.A. are like themselves, who just want to try their best and succeed in their pure pursuit for their wildest of dreams. Another significance may be the fact that Leto and the other stars regard this as their home, where they are absolutely positive of comfortable in, and thus everyone in this city seem like angels, instead of just normal, flawed human beings.
Unpacking the Lyrics
There was truth
There was consequence
Against you, a weak defense
Then there's me, I'm seventeen
Looking for a fight
I believe here he was talking to his mother, how she faced such a harsh reality (truth) and that her foolish actions have led to her predicament of having to raise two children single-handedly since her teenage years (consequence). Everything seemed to be difficult enough, but then there's a young Jared Leto in his rebellious age at seventeen. Instead of having grown to be more sensible as one would expect or his mother would have hoped, he's looking for fights and causes more trouble.
All my life I was never there
Just a ghost running scared
Here our dreams aren't made–
They're won.
He reflects about his whole life, that he's never been the boy that his mother wished him to be. He was a soulless person who did nothing, as if he was 'never there' and just like a 'ghost'. Here he follows 'ghost' with 'running scared', which provides a twist in words, as we are usually scared of ghosts, but this time he's a ghost and even he is scared. Perhaps he's afraid of just facing the big world, or just of himself, he doesn't know what's ahead of him. "Dreams aren't made, they're won" is an excellent line that illustrates the ton of work one has to do in this competitive world, to achieve the big, flighty dreams. Just having thoughts simply will not suffice.
Lost in the city of angels
Down in the comfort of strangers
I found myself in the fire burned hills
In the land of a billion lights
This is the chorus. Besides the wordplay of being 'lost' in Los Angeles, it is also a common trope --- small kid lost in a big city. However, not just any city, but a city of angels. Although the city is populated by people whom he can walk among and with, he feels better and safer in the 'comfort of strangers'. The significance here is how this alludes to people often playing safe and choosing not to pursue their dreams, because they feel it is so risky, and in the process of that, they feel like they're in a stranger zone, like they're not where they are supposed to be and not doing what they're supposed to do.
Leto finds himself in the 'fire-burned hills, in the land of a billion lights'. This probably suggests how everyone in this city is shining bright in their own little ways, those who succeed are brighter than others and thus gain the attention, but Leto's way of lighting up, is by being on a precarious, disastrous, burning hill, which is not exactly best place to be in, mind you. I could go on further, and say that the use of 'fire' here on 'hills', where the high altitude and terrain means the fire spreads very easily, would eventually engulf him if he stays too long. In other words, if he stays too long supposedly playing safe by pursuing something other than his dream, he might instead be in immense danger. Beautiful irony isn't it?
Bought my fate straight from hell
Second sight has paid off well
For a mother, a brother and me
I believe here he describes his origin and him being born to a tough environment where his mother had to raise him and his brother all by herself, but as he reflects back to his past and takes a second look, a 'second sight', he realizes that reflecting upon oneself, as well as taking another perspective of life (which could also explain 'second sight') gives him much better options, and in the end developed well for his family.
The silver of a lake at night
The hills of Hollywood on fire
A boulevard of hope and dreams
Streets made of desire
Now, he sees L.A. in a different light. Where previously he perceives L.A. as a tough place to fit in, he now appreciates its beauty in its surroundings. He has taken another perspective in life and sees things he could not see before in this city he grew up in. The seemingly mundane lake now seems to have a beautiful silver glimmer and the famed Hollywood hills now seems to be burning, which alludes to him hoping to stand on not just any hill, but the Hollywood hills, the most acclaimed of all. And he sees it clear. His path of hope and dreams is described as a beautiful boulevard (which is wide and pretty, showing how hopeful he is), and as he walks on the streets, it has not only become a hope, it has become a 'desire' to one day, stand on those famed hills of Hollywood, and make it big, step by step.
Lost in the city of angels
Down in the comfort of strangers
I found myself in the fire burned hills
In the land of a billion lights
I found myself in the fire burned hills
In the land of a billion lights
(Of a billion lights, of a billion lights, of a billion lights...)
In this chorus, it's the same words again. BUT, I highly believe the intended meaning here might have changed, as the story has progressed, or it could be just me over-thinking. Firstly, I believe at this point he has already started working towards his dream, and being 'lost' here could mean being lost in happiness, enjoying what he's doing and it has come to a point where he even feels encouraged and supported by people he doesn't even know personally, therefore, 'comfort of strangers'. Secondly, The hills he is standing on now, the Hollywood hills, is burning and fueled with his fiery passion, thus the imagery of fire, and it continues burning, because of the 'billion lights' from the city of L.A. that has given him their support to make that fire, that passion burning bright.
Angels
Angels
He shows his appreciation for all of them, likening them to angels in a gentle, soft voice.
I am home, home, home, home
He switches to a climax and by the repeated shout of 'home', he declares L.A. to be truly where he feels the most comfortable, happy, proud and confident.
Lost in the city of angels
Down in the comfort of strangers
I found myself in the fire burned hills
In the land of a billion lights
One life, one love live
One life, one love live
One life, one love live
One life, one love
Here he is already successful, and gives his insight on how people should live their lives, that everyone obviously only has one life, SO DO WHAT YOU LOVE, AND LIVE.
The city of angels
The city of angels
The city of angels
The city of angels
He ends with an outro of declaring L.A. as truly the city of angels, once again using repetition to create emphasis, and ending it with soft, gentle voices to portray his calm and serenity at where he is now in his life.
Ending Note
Whew, that has been a long analysis, albeit a really enjoyable one. It has allowed me to see this song deeper, so I'm glad for that. Indeed, a song's melody will be the first and most direct approach to the listener, but what makes a song golden is its lyrics, and here you can see Leto's outstanding work in his portrayal of his journey to achieving his dream despite a tough start, and it is truly inspirational. It is amazing not only in its underlying message, but the clever, technical placement and usage of words that make the song all the better. In truth, many other songs are like this too, you just got to delve deeper, and you realize, there's so many layers to unwrap. Anyway, hope this has been enjoyable to read and not too boring haha, but hey, this song's just simply too great and I can only hope I have captured Leto's intentions and emotions well.
On an ending note, hope everyone is doing well where they are. All of us have dreams, let us lead life knowing that we have at least tried to live 'em. Living the dream, ah yes, that's the dream.
As Leto sings,
This is a song that has stayed in my head for weeks till now, and listening to it still gets me every time. There's just something in its melody and tune, coupled with the instrumentals and powerful lyrics that deliver a message --- chase your dreams. And it hits hard. Not sure whether many of you have heard this song, but let me tell you it does deserve to be heard, and maybe a few times more, and then you will get addicted :p. Highly recommended. Do it, it's just a few minutes, right? Yeah... it turned to many more minutes for me as I repeatedly clicked replay... In terms of a song, it's a whole package that needs to be unpacked, and it can contain many possibilities in interpretation. For example, the chorus have the same words as they repeat, but they may be interpreted differently depending on the flow and position, as well as the emotion it portrays, but that, you'll see later.
What's the song about?
So, this song is about Jared Leto's (lead singer) journey to chasing his dream in the city of angels, AKA Los Angeles (Spanish for The Angels). Why Los Angeles? 'Cos that's where Hollywood is, you know, the magical home of the rich and famous.
When Jared Leto won the Oscar award for Best Supporting Actor (yes, this guy acts too) for his performance in Dallas Buyer Club (which this song is featured in), he talked about a teenage girl who was pregnant with her second child in his speech. It was tough as imagined. She was a high school drop-out and a single mom, the world seemed to be at odds with her. As her kids gradually grew, she told them to be creative, to work hard and to do something special, and her kid did, the boy turned out to be Leto. He later went on to dedicate the award "to all the dreamers out there around the world...I want to say, we are here, and as you struggle to make your dreams happen, to live the impossible, we're thinking of you tonight." The relevance here is in the motivation that he wrote this song, and he thanked his mother for pushing his back, for telling him to do something special.
The video itself, feature various stars such as Kanye West, Lindsay Lohan, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Selena Gomez as they discussed about their life and journey in Hollywood, providing an insight we rarely see in the commonplace media. The main premise is that L.A. has been a magical place. To them, it was a starting point for them to chase their dreams. It is the place where they can achieve it. It is where they met the wonderful people they eventually work with. It is where they met their love. It is where they start to raise their families. To them, L.A. is the best place on Earth.
The title, "City of Angels"
Besides its translation from the Spanish meaning of Los Angeles, the literal understanding is that the city is described to be populated by angels. Angels protect, acts as guardians, and it seem to describe the people whom Leto and the other stars have met in L.A., angels have helped them along every step of the tough road to where they are now. At the same time, angels are also represent goodness and purity, which may connotate that everyone in L.A. are like themselves, who just want to try their best and succeed in their pure pursuit for their wildest of dreams. Another significance may be the fact that Leto and the other stars regard this as their home, where they are absolutely positive of comfortable in, and thus everyone in this city seem like angels, instead of just normal, flawed human beings.
Unpacking the Lyrics
There was truth
There was consequence
Against you, a weak defense
Then there's me, I'm seventeen
Looking for a fight
I believe here he was talking to his mother, how she faced such a harsh reality (truth) and that her foolish actions have led to her predicament of having to raise two children single-handedly since her teenage years (consequence). Everything seemed to be difficult enough, but then there's a young Jared Leto in his rebellious age at seventeen. Instead of having grown to be more sensible as one would expect or his mother would have hoped, he's looking for fights and causes more trouble.
All my life I was never there
Just a ghost running scared
Here our dreams aren't made–
They're won.
He reflects about his whole life, that he's never been the boy that his mother wished him to be. He was a soulless person who did nothing, as if he was 'never there' and just like a 'ghost'. Here he follows 'ghost' with 'running scared', which provides a twist in words, as we are usually scared of ghosts, but this time he's a ghost and even he is scared. Perhaps he's afraid of just facing the big world, or just of himself, he doesn't know what's ahead of him. "Dreams aren't made, they're won" is an excellent line that illustrates the ton of work one has to do in this competitive world, to achieve the big, flighty dreams. Just having thoughts simply will not suffice.
Lost in the city of angels
Down in the comfort of strangers
I found myself in the fire burned hills
In the land of a billion lights
This is the chorus. Besides the wordplay of being 'lost' in Los Angeles, it is also a common trope --- small kid lost in a big city. However, not just any city, but a city of angels. Although the city is populated by people whom he can walk among and with, he feels better and safer in the 'comfort of strangers'. The significance here is how this alludes to people often playing safe and choosing not to pursue their dreams, because they feel it is so risky, and in the process of that, they feel like they're in a stranger zone, like they're not where they are supposed to be and not doing what they're supposed to do.
Leto finds himself in the 'fire-burned hills, in the land of a billion lights'. This probably suggests how everyone in this city is shining bright in their own little ways, those who succeed are brighter than others and thus gain the attention, but Leto's way of lighting up, is by being on a precarious, disastrous, burning hill, which is not exactly best place to be in, mind you. I could go on further, and say that the use of 'fire' here on 'hills', where the high altitude and terrain means the fire spreads very easily, would eventually engulf him if he stays too long. In other words, if he stays too long supposedly playing safe by pursuing something other than his dream, he might instead be in immense danger. Beautiful irony isn't it?
Bought my fate straight from hell
Second sight has paid off well
For a mother, a brother and me
I believe here he describes his origin and him being born to a tough environment where his mother had to raise him and his brother all by herself, but as he reflects back to his past and takes a second look, a 'second sight', he realizes that reflecting upon oneself, as well as taking another perspective of life (which could also explain 'second sight') gives him much better options, and in the end developed well for his family.
The silver of a lake at night
The hills of Hollywood on fire
A boulevard of hope and dreams
Streets made of desire
Now, he sees L.A. in a different light. Where previously he perceives L.A. as a tough place to fit in, he now appreciates its beauty in its surroundings. He has taken another perspective in life and sees things he could not see before in this city he grew up in. The seemingly mundane lake now seems to have a beautiful silver glimmer and the famed Hollywood hills now seems to be burning, which alludes to him hoping to stand on not just any hill, but the Hollywood hills, the most acclaimed of all. And he sees it clear. His path of hope and dreams is described as a beautiful boulevard (which is wide and pretty, showing how hopeful he is), and as he walks on the streets, it has not only become a hope, it has become a 'desire' to one day, stand on those famed hills of Hollywood, and make it big, step by step.
Lost in the city of angels
Down in the comfort of strangers
I found myself in the fire burned hills
In the land of a billion lights
I found myself in the fire burned hills
In the land of a billion lights
(Of a billion lights, of a billion lights, of a billion lights...)
In this chorus, it's the same words again. BUT, I highly believe the intended meaning here might have changed, as the story has progressed, or it could be just me over-thinking. Firstly, I believe at this point he has already started working towards his dream, and being 'lost' here could mean being lost in happiness, enjoying what he's doing and it has come to a point where he even feels encouraged and supported by people he doesn't even know personally, therefore, 'comfort of strangers'. Secondly, The hills he is standing on now, the Hollywood hills, is burning and fueled with his fiery passion, thus the imagery of fire, and it continues burning, because of the 'billion lights' from the city of L.A. that has given him their support to make that fire, that passion burning bright.
Angels
Angels
He shows his appreciation for all of them, likening them to angels in a gentle, soft voice.
I am home, home, home, home
He switches to a climax and by the repeated shout of 'home', he declares L.A. to be truly where he feels the most comfortable, happy, proud and confident.
Lost in the city of angels
Down in the comfort of strangers
I found myself in the fire burned hills
In the land of a billion lights
One life, one love live
One life, one love live
One life, one love live
One life, one love
Here he is already successful, and gives his insight on how people should live their lives, that everyone obviously only has one life, SO DO WHAT YOU LOVE, AND LIVE.
The city of angels
The city of angels
The city of angels
The city of angels
He ends with an outro of declaring L.A. as truly the city of angels, once again using repetition to create emphasis, and ending it with soft, gentle voices to portray his calm and serenity at where he is now in his life.
Ending Note
Whew, that has been a long analysis, albeit a really enjoyable one. It has allowed me to see this song deeper, so I'm glad for that. Indeed, a song's melody will be the first and most direct approach to the listener, but what makes a song golden is its lyrics, and here you can see Leto's outstanding work in his portrayal of his journey to achieving his dream despite a tough start, and it is truly inspirational. It is amazing not only in its underlying message, but the clever, technical placement and usage of words that make the song all the better. In truth, many other songs are like this too, you just got to delve deeper, and you realize, there's so many layers to unwrap. Anyway, hope this has been enjoyable to read and not too boring haha, but hey, this song's just simply too great and I can only hope I have captured Leto's intentions and emotions well.
On an ending note, hope everyone is doing well where they are. All of us have dreams, let us lead life knowing that we have at least tried to live 'em. Living the dream, ah yes, that's the dream.
As Leto sings,
"ONE LIFE, ONE LOVE, LIVE."
Thanks for reading,
Adrian
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