What you got, what you got in your hand
Father said to son
I got the whole world here, Daddy
Between my fingers and my thumb
Well, you take care of it, please
It's the only one
Well, it would take me a lifetime, old man
To undo what you've done

Oh, come on now, boy, think
What would Jesus do?
He'd shake his head like an angry mother spoke the boy
And say 'I did what I could do'
But you take care of it, please
It's the only one you got
And it'd take ten lifetimes, boy
To undo what I've done

Boy shrugged, walked away
The man stood and watched as he was leaving
Boy just walked away
The man stood alone thinking

One hand is bleeding and the other hand holds a gun
While everything is open, everything is shut down, down, down
Begin to ending is really just a go round and round and round
As I stand here the ground beneath is nothing more than one point of view

What you got, what you got in your hand?
Your secret's safe with me
Well, I found the truth, friend
Let me whisper in your ear
Take good care of it, please
It's the only one there is
Can I twist it, please?
Can I give it just a little twist?

Boy shrugged, walked away
The man stood and watched that boy disappearing
Boy just walked away
The man stood there twisting

One hand is bleeding and the other hand holds a gun
Everything is open, now everything is shut down, down, down
No one is hoping, even if you, even if you're sure
Never know it all, the ground beneath is nothing more than my point of view

Boy shrugged, walked away
The man stood and watched that boy as he was leaving
Boy just walked away
The man stood there twisting

One hand is open and the other hand holds a gun
But everything is open, now is everything coming down, down, down
No one is hoping, even if you, even if you know
You never know it all nothing more, nothing more than my point of view

Boy shrugged, walked away
The man stood and watched as he was leaving
The man stood there twisting


Lyrics submitted by steelphoenix3k

Raven song meanings
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41 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    Great song, Dave's voice is absolutely critical in it, in fact i would say that it is another instrument itself, as it is in all his songs. Im sad to see how few people have commented or even viewed the songs off of the Lillywhite sessions, or the upcoming cd "Busted Stuff". great song

    DMBbartender7on April 29, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    id just like to add that this song rules live in the new tour.. but the lyrics arent even close to what has been posted they have changed it all, def sounds awesome

    2Steppinon May 02, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    as far as i've been able to find, the lyrics have gone through three solid "evolutionary stages" - pre Summer So Far, Summer So Far (Lillywhites), 2002 tour. the lyrics above are the pre SSF ones (sure, these probably changed every night for quite some time). the SSF lyrics can be found at dmbml.com/music/lyrics/lillywhite.html way down at the bottom. the 2002 lyrics are as follows: Watcha got, watcha got In your hand Father said to Son I’ve got the whole world here, daddy ‘tween my fingers and my thumb.

    You take care of it please, For it’s the only one. But it’ll take me a lifetime, old man To undo what you’ve done.

    Undo what you’ve done. Oh come on now, the boy Now what would Jesus do. Shake his head like the angry mother spoke The boy and say, I did what I could do.

    You take care of these, For it’s the only one. And it’ll take you ten lifetimes, boy To undo what I’ve done.

    Boy shrugged, walked away, The man stood and watched As he was leaving. The boy just walked away The man stood and hold thinking.

    One hand is empty, The other hand holds the gun. Everything seems open, Everything is shut down, down, down Begin to (enter? end it?) Is it really just to go round, around, around And when it stop, yeah, its Nothing more than nothing more than My point of view.

    Watcha got, watcha got In your head? Your secret’s safe with me. Well, I found the truth My friend Let me whisper in your ear.

    Take good care of it please, It’s the only one there is Can I twist it, please, Can I give it just a little twist?

    But boy shrugged, and walked away, The man stood, and watched As he was leaving. The boy just walked away, The man stood alone twisting.

    One hand is empty, oh, The other holds the gun. Everything is open. Everything is shut down, down, down, No one is holding Even if, even if it’s (?), You never know at all, The ground beneath you’s nothing more Than one point of view.

    But boy shrugged and walked away, The man stood and watched As he was leaving. The boy just walked away, The man stood alone twisting.

    One hand is bleeding, The other hand holds the gun. Everything is open, oh, Everything is shut down, down, down No one is holding, Even if, even if you know, You never know at all, The ground beneath you’s nothing more Than one point of view.

    But boy shrugged walked away, The man stood and watched As he was leaving. The man just stood there twisting.

    as Brian Pace says in an article at nancies.org, these lyrics have sections that seem to deal with priest abuse (article at nancies.org/articles/020518.php )

    HaikuWarriors41on May 26, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    as far as i've been able to find, the lyrics have gone through three solid "evolutionary stages" - pre Summer So Far, Summer So Far (Lillywhites), 2002 tour. the lyrics above are the pre SSF ones (sure, these probably changed every night for quite some time). the SSF lyrics can be found at dmbml.com/music/lyrics/lillywhite.html way down at the bottom. the 2002 lyrics are as follows: Watcha got, watcha got In your hand Father said to Son I’ve got the whole world here, daddy ‘tween my fingers and my thumb.

    You take care of it please, For it’s the only one. But it’ll take me a lifetime, old man To undo what you’ve done.

    Undo what you’ve done. Oh come on now, the boy Now what would Jesus do. Shake his head like the angry mother spoke The boy and say, I did what I could do.

    You take care of these, For it’s the only one. And it’ll take you ten lifetimes, boy To undo what I’ve done.

    Boy shrugged, walked away, The man stood and watched As he was leaving. The boy just walked away The man stood and hold thinking.

    One hand is empty, The other hand holds the gun. Everything seems open, Everything is shut down, down, down Begin to (enter? end it?) Is it really just to go round, around, around And when it stop, yeah, its Nothing more than nothing more than My point of view.

    Watcha got, watcha got In your head? Your secret’s safe with me. Well, I found the truth My friend Let me whisper in your ear.

    Take good care of it please, It’s the only one there is Can I twist it, please, Can I give it just a little twist?

    But boy shrugged, and walked away, The man stood, and watched As he was leaving. The boy just walked away, The man stood alone twisting.

    One hand is empty, oh, The other holds the gun. Everything is open. Everything is shut down, down, down, No one is holding Even if, even if it’s (?), You never know at all, The ground beneath you’s nothing more Than one point of view.

    But boy shrugged and walked away, The man stood and watched As he was leaving. The boy just walked away, The man stood alone twisting.

    One hand is bleeding, The other hand holds the gun. Everything is open, oh, Everything is shut down, down, down No one is holding, Even if, even if you know, You never know at all, The ground beneath you’s nothing more Than one point of view.

    But boy shrugged walked away, The man stood and watched As he was leaving. The man just stood there twisting.

    as Brian Pace says in an article at nancies.org, these lyrics have sections that seem to deal with priest abuse (article at nancies.org/articles/020518.php )

    HaikuWarriors41on May 26, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i think its about an adult finding a young boy smoking pot as a "way out" i dont know, i could be wrong...but thats just how i see it

    gottalovethehitson July 21, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Well...I agree this song is one of my favorites on the new Busted Stuff albulm....except I do like the Lilywhite version better. Queston: it's called Raven, why?

    Holladeeon July 27, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i think this is one of daves best songs, maybe my favorite on busted stuff. i think dave is the raven, watching this from his point of view.

    proudmonkeyon September 04, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    alright these lyrics posted and the ones on my cd are NOTHING a like

    rapunzel245on April 09, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I was irritated when I read peoples' interpretations of this song on nancies.org, some of them thought that Dave was sending a message about perversion among priests, that the "Father" Dave refers to was literally a priest. I don't think that Dave had any such intention.

    Butterfly546on June 26, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Interesting interpretations friends. I think this is more of a song about a father trying his best to lead the song in the right path in life, but he actually kills his dreams and takes away his youthful exuberance.

    While everything is open, everything is shut down, down down- This kid has his whole future in front of him, but really his future is limited from the restrictions and poisonous ideas from his father.

    The BEST part of the song I feel is when Dave initially says, the ground is nothing more than one point of view. I believe this point of view is that of his father. At the end the point of view changes to his very own. He is over the past and willing to open up to what the future has in store for him.

    rock on players.

    tms6879on May 19, 2004   Link

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