Song Meaning
The lyrics of "Tomorrow" immediately plunge us into a speaker's urgent desire for a fresh start, a chance to "Get it right." There's a palpable sense of anticipation, a belief that if something can be found "inside," an undeniable "joy" will follow. This opening sets up a hopeful, almost desperate, plea for self-correction.
Yet, this initial optimism quickly gives way to a profound sense of regret and a bleak outlook on a lost relationship. The repeated refrain, "Maybe in a million years / Maybe in a million tears / She will come back to you," uses hyperbole to underscore the near impossibility of reconciliation. This stark reality is juxtaposed with the speaker's confession: "It ain't right / To hurt you / But I still do," revealing a deep internal conflict and a baffling inability to break destructive patterns. The self-identification as "such rebel" hints at a defiant, perhaps self-sabotaging, nature.
The most striking craft element here is the shifting perspective. While the opening is in the first person, much of the song addresses a "you" – "What else are you gonna do," "The reason you're so afraid," "you had it all." This suggests the speaker is not just lamenting a lost love, but perhaps confronting their past self, or an internal voice of judgment. This internal dialogue creates a powerful sense of introspection, as if the speaker is forced to acknowledge that "There's no where else to stand / No one to lend a hand" in facing their own consequences.
Ultimately, these lyrics are effective because they capture the raw, messy reality of regret and the painful process of self-reckoning. The stark contrasts between hopeful deferral and fatalistic acceptance, combined with the intimate, self-addressing perspective, create a deeply personal narrative. The repeated phrases and the final, crushing realization that "time will tell / That you had it all" leave the listener with a lingering sense of missed opportunities and the heavy weight of past choices.