Yesterdays

The speaker looks back on a past when they were not told or shown many things. Now they are learning, but that awareness brings a sense of age and loneliness. The repeated claim that yesterday has “nothing” for them suggests a decision to keep moving rather than live in regret or nostalgia, though the past still remains present in memory.

“Old pictures” stand for memories that cannot simply be erased: the speaker still sees them, even as time “fades the pages” of a personal book. “Prayers in my pocket” may suggest carrying hope or private wishes, while having “no hand in destiny” implies feeling unable to control what happens. The speaker’s refusal to “plant my feet” conveys restless forward motion, not necessarily confidence.

The lyrics hold a tension between rejecting the past and being unable to forget it. Saying yesterday has nothing to offer may be a way to protect oneself from painful memories, rather than proof that the past no longer matters. The line about things being better if people “let them be” is also open to interpretation: it may advise accepting what cannot be changed, or suggest that trying to interfere can make things worse.