Cake - The Distance Meaning

Song Released: 1996

The Distance Lyrics

Reluctantly crouched at the starting line,
Engines pumping and thumping in time.
The green light flashes, the flags go up.
Churning and burning, they yearn for the cup.
They deftly maneuver and muscle for rank,
Fuel burning fast on an empty...

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   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Sep 10th 2016 !⃝

   I think it's about someone who died in the race, and his ghost still haunts the track. Morbid, I know.
2. anonymous

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   May 16th 2023 !⃝

   I think the verse “he’s riding on his horse” is the crucial clue - some of you youngsters
3. singerstargirl

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   Sep 11th 2020 !⃝

   I always thought it was about a group of men fighting for one woman. “Chuming and bumming, They yearn for the cup.” The men are chuming because they are friends, but “their prowess is potent and secretly stern” shows that they are all interested in her.
   
   She has chosen a Man and he is desperate to prove himself as worthy. “He’sGoing the distance.”
   
   I think the earthquakes he feels about it worse from living in leaving with no explanation. I wish they expanded more on this part of the song.
   
   I think the second verse regrets her decision. “She’s hoping in time that her memories will fade.” She took the relationship to the next level and now she wishes to undo sleeping with him. She was “ in her time of need which affected her judgment.
4. anonymous

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   Jun 12th 2020 !⃝

   My interpretation of this song is that it’s paralleled to sex. The pressure and anxiety of performing.
5. anonymous

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   May 3rd 2020 !⃝

   The song is about a racer who died on the track. He continues to race around the track, reliving the day that he died, and the day he lost the cup, and the lady he loved. He continues to circle the track, hoping that his luck will change, and he will be free from limbo.
6. anonymous

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   Mar 2nd 2020 !⃝

   This song can be seen many ways, but possibly the most accurate interpretation I have actually applies to my own life. The "racer" here is a male caught in gambling and addiction, constantly running from his fear of commitment. The woman he loves is pregnant/has given birth to his child, and so he runs away and feeds his addictions rather than changing his ways and supporting his family. He later decides to try being a father to his abandoned child, only to find that another man has taken his place. The racer continues to try and care for his child, all while knowing that he'll never make up for the time he lost.
   I interpret the song this way because I'm the bastard kid that was raised by a step-father until my father tried to take his place back after I'd already lived 17 years without him.
   
7. anonymous

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   Sep 28th 2019 !⃝

   The song is describing a few different types or races (car, foot, and horse), all converging into one. A victorious champion defeats the main character, leaving with the trophy and going home. However, the main character refuses to give up, and finishes the race even though he is slower than the others.
   
   This song reminds me of a tine I had to pass a fitness test, of which one part was running 2 miles in 20 minutes. One of the times I failed it, it was a clear, dusky night. The sun had literally gone down, and the moon had literally come up. While there was obviously no trophy, someone else would have definitly "long ago left with the cup" if there were one. Just like the character, I refused to quit, and was the one man "still driving and striving as fast as he can". I passed it not long after, due to lots of practice and this song echoing through my head.
8. anonymous

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   Oct 27th 2018 !⃝

   Sounds like someone doing heroin??

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. anonymous

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   Oct 27th 2018 !⃝

   Sounds like someone doing heroin??

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
10. anonymous

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    Jun 4th 2018 !⃝

    He's chasing around this woman and when he finally gets her, she dumps him later.
11. anonymous

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    Apr 18th 2018 !⃝

    I’m disgusted looking at all these and what they say about sex is not true this song is about a guy who likes to race and lost a race so he is practicing to win the next race and he is in a zone where his racing is all he is worried about and his girl is alone.
12. anonymous

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    Apr 18th 2018 !⃝

    I’m disgusted looking at all these and what they say about sex is not true this song is about a guy who likes to race and lost a race so he is practicing to win the next race and he is in a zone where his racing is all he is worried about and his girl is alone.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
13. anonymous

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    Mar 1st 2018 !⃝

    Sure it's about a dopefiend drugaddict going to buy some speed then he is going alone this race then finally he get the cup

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
14. anonymous

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    Sep 27th 2017 !⃝

    It feels like a song about trying to pick up girls in a bar. A bunch of guys have already hooked up and left with the best looking ones, but there's one guy left trying to find a straggler.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
15. anonymous

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    Jul 18th 2017 !⃝

    Sexual assault/date rape. Domestic abuse.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
16. anonymous

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    Oct 4th 2016 !⃝

    I think it's about sex.and the guy trying to not hurry up too fast.and she's waiting but cannot orgasm either.all alone in her time of need.theutrwftrying to orgssm together. Going the distance.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway