Neil Finn

Neil Finn Official Website

Locked Out
Neil Finn

I’ve been locked out
I’ve been locked in
But I always seem to come back again
When you’re in that room
What do you do
I know that I will have you in the end

And the clouds they are crying on you
And the birds are offering up their tunes
In a shack as remote as a mansion
You escape into a place where nothing moves

And I’ve been locked out
And I know we’re through
But I can’t begin to face up to the truth
I wait so long for the walls to crack
But I know that I will one day have you back

And the hills are as soft as a pillow
And they cast a shadow on my bed
And the view when I look through my window
Is an altarpiece I’m praying to for the living and the dead

Twin valley shines in the morning sun
I send a message out to my only one

And I’ve been locked out and I know we’re through
But I can’t begin to face up to the truth
And I wait so long for the walls to crack
But I know that I will one day have you back

And I work with the bees and the honey
Every night I circle like the moon
And it’s an act of simple devotion
But it can take forever when you’ve got something to prove
I’ve been locked out
And I’ve been locked out

UK Promo poster 1994 / Koji Kumada collection

Song appears on:

Crowded House - Together Alone (1993 album)

Live: Fangradio broadcasts 2020-2021

Locked Out was directly inspired by a book that I read called ‘Bliss’ by an Australian author, Peter Carey. There’s elements of me in there too and it concerned a guy who was estranged from his lover and, in order to win her back, spent ten years developing this special kind of honey in a neighbouring valley to where she lived so that he could, after ten years, take this gift of this very special honey to her. Her name was Honey in the book.

I was taken by that endurance aspect of love and not allowing yourself to be shut out forever. It’s about trying to win back somebody’s affection and realising that it’s going to take a lot of time and there’s a lot to prove.
— Neil Finn
Neil: We filmed our video for this song in Wales. We ran like crazy men through the village for a whole day. I had the worst plimsolls.

Nick: I also remember being nailed to a wall in these little harnesses and my nail snapped out of the wall and I fell straight onto the ground.

Neil: It’s in the video.

Nick: I could have really hurt myself and I remember somebody in the crew bursting into hysteric laughter when it happened. Extraordinarily unprofessional, but at the same time - it was funny!

Neil: Which kind of sums us up.
— Neil Finn and Nick Seymour

Video: Crowded House - Locked out - ballad version (live)
Roundhead Studios webcast, 16 November 2016.
Sorry, due to rights issues beyond our control, this video is not available for viewing in the United States and Canada.

Previously available on Singles:

Copyright © 2024 Neil Finn.