From the Bruce Hornsby Flicted album in 2022. Co-written with Chip deMatteo.
Bucket List features: Bruce Hornsby (piano, violin, bass, vocals); J.T. Thomas (mellotron); Gibb Droll (guitar); J.V. Collier (bass); Nicholas Gallas (clarínet)
Bucket List meaning
Bruce Hornsby’s song “Bucket List” explores themes of unfulfilled ambitions, emotional stagnation, and the existential weight of time. The lyrics delve into feelings of fatigue in both personal relationships and the broader context of life’s aspirations. The “bucket list” metaphor captures the sense of missed opportunities, symbolising things left undone or dreams that seem increasingly unreachable as time passes.
The theme of emotional stagnation
The opening lines, “They say it takes work to keep a love strong / But my love and I are listless and weary,” reflect the emotional exhaustion that can occur in long-term relationships. The words “listless” and “weary” suggest a lack of energy or enthusiasm, as if the characters in the song have grown tired of trying to maintain their connection. The use of “laid-back and languid” adds to this image of emotional inertia, highlighting the contrast between the early passion in a relationship and the gradual decline into indifference.
Bruce touches on the complexity of long-term love, recognising that maintaining passion comes at a cost. The “well-paid words from the therapist” imply that attempts to reignite passion, perhaps through counselling or external advice, have not been successful. This highlights the disconnect between theoretical solutions and the real, lived experience of emotional struggles.
The hole in the bucket list
The metaphor of a “hole in my bucket list” is central to the song. A bucket list traditionally refers to a list of things one hopes to achieve before death, often filled with life-affirming activities. However, Bruce describes the hole in his bucket list, symbolising dreams that feel unreachable, drained by time or circumstance. The phrase suggests a sense of futility, as if no matter what is added to the list, it can never be fulfilled.
This is reinforced in the lines “What can I say when I can’t find the words? / What should I do when I don’t have the strength?” These questions express a feeling of helplessness, as if the speaker has lost the motivation to pursue their ambitions. The recognition that “time is too short to go to great lengths” underlines the pressure of time, emphasising the limits of human energy and focus as life progresses.
Midlife crisis and the search for purpose
The lyrics also reflect a deeper existential crisis. The question, “Do I have what it takes to fly out of the fog?” speaks to a midlife reflection, where the speaker is considering whether they have the energy or drive to rediscover their purpose. The options presented—”Get a new hobby, job, a mistress, a dog”—reflect common responses to this sense of personal dissatisfaction, where people seek external changes to fill an internal void. However, the mention of “eating and drinking and binging and lounging” suggests that, despite these options, the speaker feels trapped in cycles of passivity.
Bruce captures the frustration of feeling stuck in life, particularly in how it intersects with personal passions. The phrase “The cost of a passion is a passionate price” indicates that maintaining strong desires and ambitions requires significant effort and emotional investment. The song questions whether the speaker has the capacity to pay that price anymore.
The passage of time
The reflection on time is a key element of the song. The lines “Time was slow / The future long / When we were young / We didn’t know / Most of our song / Would not get sung” capture the wistfulness that often comes with age. When young, time seems abundant, and the future appears to stretch endlessly ahead. However, as life moves on, the realisation dawns that not every aspiration will be achieved, and many dreams will remain unsung.
This reflection echoes a broader cultural theme of reckoning with mortality and the limits of life. The song taps into the human experience of reflecting on missed opportunities and the tension between youthful dreams and the reality of middle age, where time begins to feel more finite.
Bruce’s “Bucket List” is a poignant exploration of emotional weariness, unfulfilled ambitions, and the passage of time. The song reflects the internal struggles of reconciling dreams with reality and grappling with the existential weight of life’s limitations. Through its powerful metaphors and questions, “Bucket List” speaks to the universal experience of facing the gap between what one hoped for and what one has managed to achieve.