Cover art for California by CHVRCHES

California

Producer

Aug. 27, 20211 viewer18.1K views

California Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Waste a month, waste a year
Waste the time you could've been here
Count the debt, count the tears
Count the truths and all of my fears

[Pre-Chorus 1]
I didn't want to be cynical
Passing place for the soul
You were never predictable
Now I need to let it go

[Verse 2]
Found the song, played it back
Heard your voice under the feedback
Found a tape that was blank
Saw your face fading into black

[Pre-Chorus 2]
I know love is delusional
And I hate when I'm wrong
Yours was never conditional
And now I need to get it gone

[Chorus]
No one еver warns you
You'll die in California
Falling in a dream, you lеt, let go
No one ever seems to say, say so
No one ever tells you
There's freedom in the failure
Dying in a dream feels like home
No one ever seems to say, say so
[Verse 3]
Close my eyes, close my heart
Close the book I never meant to start
Say your name in the dark
No one said it would be this hard

[Pre-Chorus 3]
I didn't go to the funeral
Heard you cry on the phone
Your voice was so beautiful
And now I need to let it go

[Chorus]
No one ever warns you
You'll die in California
Falling in a dream, you let, let go
No one ever seems to say, say so
No one ever tells you
There's freedom in the failure
Dying in a dream feels like home
No one ever seems to say, say so

[Bridge]
God bless this mess that we made ourselves
Pull me into the screen at the end and
God bless this mess that we made for ourselves
Pull me into the screen at the end
[Outro]
Pull me into the screen at the end
Pull me into the screen at the end
To the screen at the end

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

This song bio is unreviewed
Genius Annotation

Starting with a dignified The Cure bassline, “California” is one of Screen Violence’s greatest victories. In this breakup song dedicated to Hollywood, Lauren captures how difficult it is to leave the past behind and how good it feels to finally leave it there. It recognizes the solace of imperfection and reveals that the secret to survival, sometimes, is giving up.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did CHVRCHES say about "California"?
Genius Answer

Everyone who moves to LA does a California song, so we were conscious of not doing that. But no one ever makes songs about the dark side of what happens if you get stuck here and you’re a failure and your entire life almost becomes somewhat meaningless and you have to retreat. Lauren came in with those lyrics and it was like, “I guess we’re going there.” The juxtaposition with the sound makes sense with that meaning—if it was all about how great it was to live in LA, it would be a terrible mistake.

Live Performance
Genius Answer

Comments