What does Hanging By a Moment mean?

Lifehouse: Hanging By a Moment Meaning

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Album cover for Hanging By a Moment album cover

Song Released: 2001


Hanging By a Moment Lyrics

Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Sep 16th 2011 !⃝

    I believe that both interpretations holds some truth. An interpretation is what you yourswlf takes from something...not by definition as it really is or what it was intended to be. One would assume that this song was about a girl because of the plain language it uses and not everyone knows that this is a Christian band. On the other hand, we must not focus on just what is before us. You could search deeper and dive into the spiritual aspect of the song and decide for yourself what it means to you. No interpretation is wrong...it is opinion and point of view. :)

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    Samuel
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    Apr 1st 2009 !⃝

    I can actually see where you religious people are coming from!!
    But i also believe that as the songwriter was writing this, he must have added some of the song just specifacally for a girl!!
    I mean, of course you can make his words into what you want to believe, i mean hey i can say that this song is about me in Math class, wanting the right answer, but im not getting it. I could say that this song revovled around a rabbit, begging it to come to me.!!
    Doesnt mean im right!! Anyway i personally believe that Miss Anonynoums is right, and i must say that i was totally inpressed with her interpretation!! it help, like have all the rest.

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    wvhunter1968
    click a star to vote
    Nov 2nd 2008 !⃝

    This song is absolutely a crying out to God, as said by Jason Wade in a phone interview. But he also said, its his words, but you can interpret them as you want. Its a song written about a subtle cry to secular masses to understand what he understands about getting closer to God. Its easy to interpret this as a song about loving a girl...if you read like 2 or 3 of the lines, but look deep into the song and you will see that Jason Wade is talking about his faith in God. Jason has been fairly wishy-washy concerning his exact interpretation, but he has eluded to his faith being an inspiration for many of his songs, especially off of this debut album. Unfortunately, either pressure from his record company or his own falling from Grace I see his music moving more and more toward secularism and more away from the church.

    Here's how I see the verses interpreted......

    Desperate for changing
    Starving for truth
    I'm closer to where I started
    Chasing after you
    ***I believe starvin for truth would indicate he is confused partially by 'religion' and he is hoping to find the "real God" the real truth. He is in a quest in this song.**

    I'm falling even more in love with you
    Letting go of all I've held onto
    I'm standing here until you make me move
    I'm hanging by a moment here with you
    ***I believe he wants to let go of his 'religious affiliations' and wants only the pure Christian God that the Bible talks of. He's held onto religion for too long and he's waiting for God to tell him what He is truly about. He awaits moment by moment to do God's will"***

    Forgetting all I'm lacking
    Completely incomplete
    I'll take your invitation
    You take all of me now...
    ***As a Christian, one of the first steps is humbling yourself down and realizing you are a sinner, accepting God's invitation to know Christ personally and knowing that without Him you are not worthy to make it into heaven. That is the reason Christ died, thinking you can do more is prideful and cheapens His death. Thats the invitation Jason is taking and talking about. As a mortal human we will always be lacking...we will always be incomplete, he realizes God is the only answer to fill these gaps in his life and wants to give himself completely to Jesus/God/Holy Spirit.***

    I'm falling even more in love with you
    Letting go of all I've held onto
    I'm standing here until you make me move
    I'm hanging by a moment here with you
    I'm living for the only thing I know
    I'm running and not quite sure where to go
    And I don't know what I'm diving into
    Just hanging by a moment here with you

    There's nothing else to lose
    There's nothing else to find
    There's nothing in the world
    That can change my mind
    There is nothing else
    There is nothing else
    There is nothing else
    ***After you give yourself and accept Jesus as your savior there is nothing else to lose, nothing else to find...pretty explanatory. The line that clinches it is "There is nothing in this world that can change my mind"...obviously nothing in this world would mean the only other...which is God's kingdom. Nothing about THIS world will make Him change his mind about God.

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 21st 2020 !⃝

    READ HIS response when asked, there's your answer, thanks, Google...

    This song has often been interpreted to be about God. Is there a religious element to it?

    I didn't really think about it when I was writing it. I knew at the end of it that it was a love song, and I kind of come from that world, so it can be interpreted as a spiritual song or a love song. I feel like people have just been taking it for whatever they want it to be through the years -- which I'm totally fine with, because I think that music should be interpreted how the listener wants to interpret it.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 22nd 2018 !⃝

    My interpretation of the this says to me someone is on the brink of suicide, and they're reaching out for help with the dark thoughts that have entered their mind

    My theory on this goes like this:

    Desperate for changing starving for truth
    closer to where I started, chasing after you...

    When you look at this first part of the song. In the person's mind, he's contemplating ending his life. He wants to change. But he can't. He's on the brink... And he's chasing after that demon.

    Then there's this part:

    I'm falling even more in love with you
    Letting go of all I've held onto
    I'm standing here until you make me move
    I'm hanging by a moment here with you

    The guy is falling deeper into his depression, and letting go of everything he's known in his life. And has reached the crossroads of ending his life, or to continue on living.

    The next part:

    Forgetting all I'm lacking
    Completely incomplete
    I'll take your invitation
    You take all of me now

    Right here.... the guy is coming to terms about himself. The voices in his head are telling him to end his life. He accepts it... And is prepared to end it all.

    After repeating the chorus.. you have this extension of it:

    I'm livin' for the only thing I've known
    I'm running and not quite sure Where to go?
    And I don't know what I'm diving in to.
    Just hanging by a moment here with you


    The man realizes he's got nothing left in life to live for. He sees the dark world he's about to enter. But has no idea what's in store. Again, he's at the crossroads of his life.

    And then lastly there's this last part:

    There's nothing else to lose
    There's nothing left to hide
    There is nothing in the world that can change my mind
    There is nothing else
    There is nothing else
    There is nothing else


    He's ready to end it all. No one can stop him from changing his mind on what he's about to do. He's got nothing else to live for.


    This theory is why I have a huge disdain for this song. Yes, you can think of it as a "love song" if you only focus on one part of the song. But when you dissect it, and look at the big overall picture... you'll see my theory.

    For the record, I've never contemplated suicide myself. I have lost a couple close friends and family members to suicide. So I would never tell anyone to end their life for any reason. If you are someone who's had thoughts of suicide... I would suggest reaching out to someone. Life is too fragile and precious to end it over anything.

  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 14th 2016 !⃝

    I knew it the first time I heard it it's a song I sing with all my love and being to the One who is love and God is love and to know love is to know God.....i cry with tears of Indescribable Joy for a love that is far beyond the capacity of my understanding my heart wide open with my hands reaching out starving and desperately yearning to hold my King ....

  7. anonymous
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    Jul 7th 2014 !⃝

    I've only heard this song on the radio once.
    I instantly knew it was a song about God without knowing the songs title, the name of the band or that they are a Christian band.

  8. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 1st 2014 !⃝

    Just a song about loving someone a lot and not wanting to ever give up because you know your supposed to be together.

  9. anonymous
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    Sep 16th 2012 !⃝

    For the longest time I had believed the lyrics to be as follows...

    "hanging by a moment you went through"

    but after reading the lyrics on this and a few other sites it has confirmed them to be
    ..

    "hanging by a moment here with you".

  10. anonymous
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    May 19th 2012 !⃝

    To a christian who is truly in love with Jesus it is quite obvious that jason wade wrote this song about his relationship with Christ. "Forgetting all im lacking. completely incomplete. Ill take your invitation. you take all of me." This has got Christ written all over it.

  11. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 18th 2011 !⃝

    They play christian rock!!! There! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_rock_bands

  12. anonymous
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    Feb 18th 2011 !⃝

    I never knew Lifehouse was a Christian band and I downloaded the song a long time ago not knowing it was a song about God. I always thought that the song was a little obscure. While listening to it on my way to work this morning, it totally hit me. Actually listening to the lyrics and being a Christian, it's obvious. For non Christians, it may not be. The parts where it sounds like he's singing about a girl is just the way Christians talk about Christ and his love (mostly in church as a lot of people who go to church are just Sunday Christians). I don't know why a lot of the interpreters who think that it's about a girl get so upset when a "religious" person tells them that it's about God. So you like a Christian praise song... Big deal. I'm sure there are tons of other songs about God you like and don't know it. Hey, I like secular music and I'm not ashamed of it. If you doubt me, bring the song lyrics to any pastor (preferably one who doesn't know who Lifehouse is) and ask him to read them. Any pastor worth his salt will probably get excited over the lyrics.

  13. anonymous
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    Dec 10th 2010 !⃝

    Love *is* spiritual. period.

  14. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 3rd 2009 !⃝

    spiritualism ruins so many songs that could be just beautiful love songs! a song is what the listener makes of it, if you see it as a crying out to god thats cool but at the same time when someone else see's it as a song about love don't tell them they're wrong.

    it's all in the interpratation

  15. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 2nd 2009 !⃝

    Well, according to Jason Wade, "Hanging by a Moment" is a spiritual song. It's about living for Christ, the only sure and certain thing in a Christian's life. It's about waiting on the Lord, waiting till He makes us move. It's not about a girl at all.

    And whoever posted the lyrics got them wrong. It's
    "I'm running and not quite sure where to go".

  16. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 2nd 2008 !⃝

    I'm sorry to disappoint everyone, but this song is not about a girl. Lifehouse is a Christian band. This song is about waiting for God. If you go back and listen to or read the lyrics, it's pretty easy to see that this is a cry out to God. That's really what this song is about.

  17. anonymous
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    Apr 25th 2008 !⃝

    It's about total devotion and hopelessness to the girl he loves. The person is willing to give up everything up to a point that he becomes like a slave to her. He believes that only this girl can change his life on a constant basis and finally lead him to meaning of life and truth.

  18. anonymous
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    Mar 29th 2008 !⃝

    Desperate for changing starving for truth closer to where I started, chasing after you...
    Means he loves a girl and wants to know if she loves him

    I'm fallin even more in love with you,letting go of all I've held onto...
    Hes falling in love with her and will give up anythin 2 be with her

    I'm standing here until you make me move, I'm hanging by a moment here with you.Forgetting what I'm lacking completely incomplete, I'll take your invitation you take all of me...
    Hes going to stay by her and love her till she makes him stop, he'll forget about his flaws because she makes him feel complete and he feels incomplete without her

    I'm living for the only thing I know, I'm running with a question where to go and idk what I'm tapping into,just hanging by a moment here with you...
    Meaning all he knows is her and he doesn't care where he's going or whats going to happen as long as he's with her

    Theres nothing else to lose,theres nothing else to find, there's nothing in the world that could change my mind...
    He doesn't care what he loses,he doesn't want anyone else and no one can change that.

    Basically in a nut shell this song is about in being in love. I LOVE THIS SONG


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