"Lightyears" by Enter Shikari follows a moment of digital memory collapsing into something almost physical. A face on a screen, just pixels, suddenly brings back 1998 and a younger self jumping off a harbour wall, and the longing to speak to that boy becomes overwhelming. Past and future meet in the present, where absence still carries warmth. The repeated admission that the other is not here but can still be felt lightyears away turns distance into a kind of closeness, and the song ends inside that ache, grateful and unresolved.
Lightyears Lyrics by Enter Shikari
Even though you are not here
I can still feel you lightyears away
Even though you are not here
I can still feel you lightyears away
I feel your sudden presence strike me like a hit and run
Now I’m a shadow longing for the sun
Can you shine down on me
And take me far away?
I know you’re just a bunch of pixels dancing on my screen
But I swear it’s ’98, I’m feeling evergreen
Jumping off the harbour wall
Will you follow me?
‘Cause I’m standing at the meeting point of two eternities
The future and the past diverge here in front of me
Even though you are not here
I can still feel you lightyears away
Even though you are not here
I can still feel you lightyears away
The static flickers and it triggers something deep inside
Time unravels for a moment and we’re unified
You still shine down on me
After all these years
I’m thrown of balance by the vertigo, as if that’s me?!
My heart, it swells like the timpani
I feel a surge of love for that little soul
I wish I could tell him now
Wish I could tell him now, wish I could tell him now
Wish I could tell him now, wish I could tell him now
Wish I could tell him now, wish I could tell him now
Wish I could tell him now, wish I could tell him now
‘Cause I’m standing at the meeting point of two eternities
The future and the past diverge here in front of me
Even though you are not here
I can still feel you lightyears away
Even though you are not here
I can still feel you lightyears away
‘Cause I’m standing at the meeting point of two eternities
The future and the past diverge here in front of me
Even though you are not here
I can still feel you lightyears away
Even though you are not here
I can still feel you lightyears away
Even though you are not here
I can still feel you lightyears away
Even though you are not here
I can still feel you lightyears away
