Introduction

How’s It Going To Be is a song by the American rock band Third Eye Blind. It was released in 1997 as the third single from their debut album, Third Eye Blind. The song was written by the band’s lead singer, Stephan Jenkins, and it became one of their most popular songs, reaching number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Lyrics

She said, “It’s cold”

It feels like Independence Day

And I can’t break away from this parade

But there’s got to be an opening

Somewhere here in front of me

Through this maze of ugliness and greed

And I seen the sun up ahead

At the county line bridge

Saying all there’s good and nothingness is dead

We’ll run until she’s out of breath

She ran until there’s nothing left

She hit the end, it’s just her window ledge

Well, how’s it going to be

When you don’t know me anymore

How’s it going to be

When you’re sure I’m not there

How’s it going to be

When there’s no one there to talk to

Between you and me

‘Cause I don’t care

How’s it going to be

How’s it going to be

Where we used to laugh

There’s a shouting match

Sharp as a thumbnail scratch

A silence I can’t ignore

Like the hammock by the doorway we spent time in swings empty

Tell me now where did you go

Now that I need you

And I been out here waiting

A quarter of that time

And I seen the sun up ahead

At the county line bridge

Saying all there’s good and nothingness is dead

We’ll run until she’s out of breath

She ran until there’s nothing left

She hit the end, it’s just her window ledge

Well, how’s it going to be

When you don’t know me anymore

How’s it going to be

When you’re sure I’m not there

How’s it going to be

When there’s no one there to talk to

Between you and me

‘Cause I don’t care

How’s it going to be

How’s it going to be

And I’m sorry for the honesty

But I had to get this off my chest

See, I’m coming to terms with what I am

I guess I was running from something

I was running back to you

But I’m running to you now

It’s a long road that has no end

Well, how’s it going to be

When you don’t know me anymore

How’s it going to be

When you’re sure I’m not there

How’s it going to be

When there’s no one there to talk to

Between you and me

‘Cause I don’t care

How’s it going to be

How’s it going to be

Meaning

The lyrics of How’s It Going To Be are about a relationship that has fallen apart. The narrator is asking his former partner how things will be now that they are no longer together. He wonders how he will feel when he no longer knows her, when she is sure he is not there, and when there is no one there to talk to between them. The song is a reflection on the pain of losing someone you love and the uncertainty of what comes next.

Story Behind the Song

Stephan Jenkins, the lead singer of Third Eye Blind, wrote How’s It Going To Be about his own experiences with heartbreak. He has said that the song was inspired by a relationship he had with a woman who was struggling with addiction. He wrote the song as a way to process his feelings about the situation and to try to understand what was happening. The song became a hit and has resonated with many people who have gone through similar experiences.