I wake up every night (to the sound)
To the sound of breaking glass
Got troops in the bed
And tanks in the hall
I kidnapped and held for ransom (the one in me)
The one in me that you loved
We wait for the fall
And put emotional bullet holes in the wall
And we both, (we both) keep sending signals all is well
Wish you were here

Honeymoon In Beirut
Although I keep on sending postcards
From heaven (tell me)
Why do I stay (I don't know)
Honeymoon In Beirut
And we still keep pretending
Sixes are sevens (tell me)
Why can't we say
There is no honeymoon
This is no honeymoon, no (no)
This is no honeymoon
There is no honeymoon, no (no)

Honeymoon in Beirut
There are no peace talks pending
No quarter given (there's just)
Blood on the bed
Where there used to be love

Strategy and maneuvers (have replaced)
Any love that was here
We have dinner in silence
And bullets with beer
I don't know what you want (my defeat)
Or complete surrender
Or peace in our time
While in bed we draw the battle line
And we sit, out in the rain
Writing cards to friends back home
The weather is fine

Honeymoon In Beirut
Although I keep on sending postcards
From heaven (tell me)
Why do I stay (I don't know)
Honeymoon In Beirut
And we still keep pretending
Sixes are sevens (tell me)
Why can't we say
There is no honeymoon
This is no honeymoon, no (no)
This is no honeymoon
There is no honeymoon, no (no)

Honeymoon in Beirut
There are not peace talks pending
No quarter given (there's just)
Blood on the bed
Where there used to be love

And we stand out in the rain
Smiling as we sink like stone
And hope for the end (whatever it is)

Honeymoon In Beirut
Although I keep on sending postcards
From heaven (tell me)
Why do I stay (I don't know)

Honeymoon In Beirut
And we still keep pretending
Sixes are sevens (tell me)
Why can't we say
There is no honeymoon
This is no honeymoon, no (no)
This is no honeymoon
There is no honeymoon, no (no)

Honeymoon in Beirut
Although I keep on sending postcards
From heaven (tell me)
Why do I stay, (I don't know)
Honeymoon in Beirut
And we keep pretending
Sixes are sevens
Why can't we say

Honeymoon in Beirut...
Tell me why do I stay

Honeymoon in Beirut...
Tell me why do I stay

(total playing time 4:26)

Song Facts: This appears on Rock of Life, Legendary, and Anthology (written in rock)

Rick played part of this song in Milwaukee on 5/7/04. 

 According to US

 I've been doing some serious listening to the ROL CD in the past month. I mean REALLY listening. Do you know what I found out? This is a great song! (I can hear the chorus of "Duh, Michelle" right now) It just came up and smacked me in the brain recently. I feel like I finally figured out what everyone was raving about...that I could finally join the party or something.

This song is so multifaceted. This is the part that truly amazes me. Every time I listen to it I keep getting something else out of it. I don't know if it's because I'm at the near-age Rick was when this was recorded, or what exactly attributes to this new found realization of what a great song this is, but I guess I'm just gonna have to keep on listening to it to find out.

"I wake up every night to the sound of breaking glass, got troops in the bed and tanks in the hall" Right from the get-go, this song gives out a double meaning. I always used to relate this segment of the song to a relationship perspective...there is glass breaking because someone threw something breakable during an argument, and you are sleeping with the enemy who obviously is sending in back up soon. Although being the mother of a son, I can relate the breaking glass and troops in the bed and tanks in the hall to other, more material objects. Said son is knocking something over (again) and there are little GI Joe figurines all over the place. I've gone to bed with unknown and unseen toys in it, and found them at 2am.

"I kidnapped and held for ransom the one in me that you loved" Again, the participants in this relationship have changed. Whether it's the marriage itself or parenthood that made them change, they are no longer the person you thought they were.

"Keep sending signals all is well, wish you were here" You want everyone to view your new marriage as picture perfect. Or, you want everyone to think parenthood is the best thing on the planet and you are handling it fabulously. I have been victim to both sides of this statement. I was the first of my friends to be married and while it wasn't disastrous, it certainly wasn't a cakewalk. I wasn't about to admit that to anyone. We were also the first couple to have a baby. I think the reason you want your friends to be parents also is because misery loves company :-) But again, you want the world to think everything is perfect.

The whole chorus has Rick telling it like it is. "Although I keep on sending postcards from heaven tell me why do I stay (I don't know)" I think it's because no one likes to admit defeat. "Why can't we say there is no honeymoon, this is no honeymoon". 

I could dissect the rest of the song this way, but I think you get my drift where I'm going. This is the best relationship/marriage/parenting song I think Rick has ever written. The melody strings you along with the words wanting you to keep on listening. You want to find out if there is bliss at the end. 

I'm pretty sure that this would have been a bona-fide hit for Rick had RCA promoted it, regardless of Rick's ATV accident. I never understood the abrupt cancellation of the tour and the sudden..nothingness...that came after this song was released. I don't ever recall hearing it on the radio. I never even saw (or knew there was) a video for this song until 1997. I don't think I've seen Rick perform this song live. It's a damn shame. - Michelle P.

Lyrically, this is such a brilliant song. It says so much
and so poetically. Comparing the marriage/relationship to a war zone
really paints a picture.
I really liked the line "I kidnaped and held for ransom the one in me that you loved".....I'm not even sure I can convey clearly what I take that to mean. The "holding for ransom" part leads me to believe that he's being a certain way on purpose, as part of the strategy. I'll be the guy you fell in love with, if you do this (what it is that he wants) for me.
"Sending signals all is well" - don't we all do that? So often when marriages fall apart, it comes to a surprise to the other people because things *seemed* fine.
"I don't know what you want (my defeat)
Or complete surrender" - Is all the love gone and now it's just a battle to determine "the winner", or is the fighting for a purpose.

"Smiling as we sink like stone" - again, pretending all is well, even though it's far from it.
"And hope for the end (whatever it is)" - After so long of wanting it to be worked out, you just want it over, whether it's a good thing or not.

I wish there was less background singing going on here. I can see why this would be such a hard song to sing live. Some of the really important phrases are sung as a background part, and I think they needed to be more upfront in the song - "my defeat" for example. I'm not sure I would have picked up on some of the lines if I hadn't been looking at the lyrics while I was listening. - rlh