In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
And folded in this scrap of paper
Is a land I grew in
Think of every town you've lived in
Every room, you lay your head
And what is it that you remember?
Do you carry every sadness with you
Every hour your heart was broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with you
A man is walking on the highway
A woman stares out at the sea
And light is only now just breaking
So we carry every sadness with us
Every hour our heart were broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with us
But I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
I am carrying this scrap of paper
That can crack the darkest sky wide open
Every burden taken from me
Every night my heart unfolding
My home
Torn from the map of Michigan
And folded in this scrap of paper
Is a land I grew in
Think of every town you've lived in
Every room, you lay your head
And what is it that you remember?
Do you carry every sadness with you
Every hour your heart was broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with you
A man is walking on the highway
A woman stares out at the sea
And light is only now just breaking
So we carry every sadness with us
Every hour our heart were broken
Every night the fear and darkness
Lay down with us
But I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
I am carrying this scrap of paper
That can crack the darkest sky wide open
Every burden taken from me
Every night my heart unfolding
My home
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such an amazingly beautiful song...
This song is quite pretty. Am I correct that it is the one for the Liberty Mutual commercial where the people are doing nice things for others in a perpetuating circle?
@kaleidoscopeeyes8 ; You are correct! Most people don't remember that commercial.This song always stuck in my head.
i love this song and the artist. the singer has such a simple yet beautiful voice.
I love the progression of the verses and how the order of the subjects tells a part of the story. I like that she starts out describing herself and her own growth. And by the fifth verse, the subject changes from "I" to a collective "we", and everyone she's met along the way influences each subsequent verse.
I think that each group of people in each verse relate to one another in sort of the same way that the commercial depicts how people connect.
i think shes saying that people always seem to look far away for guidance and comfort, when thats never the right place to get them. its like the people in the song are looking outward for answers or happiness, looking to other places. but no matter where you go, your troubles will still be with you. and i think she says that its not some faraway place or thing that can comfort you when you go to sleep every night, it can only come from your home, from within. anyway, extremely powerful song. makes me all teary-eyed sometimes.
yes :)
Anyone have thoughts on what this song is about? It seems a little like she is saying that she always has a piece of her home with her, and that makes her feel better. Most of the song talks about thinking/dwelling on all the pain in our lives, but at the end, she brings up the map of Michigan (her home) and how it can open up a dark sky and take away burdens. I might be way off, but either way, I LOVE this song.
Beautiful. I like the faster version from Rabbit Songs more than the version from Birds, Beasts, and Flowers.
Is this the original version of these lyrics? There are a couple of other versions of this song mentioned in this thread, are the lyrics the same in those versions? I remember reading it as a poem in a news letter quite awhile ago and liked it so much I copied it down in a notebook. I heard it sung on the TV commercial and subsequently looked it up on the internet, but half the words that I copied from the poem version were missing, and what is really weird is that the idea that seems to be intended in the TV ad is more along the lines of the poem I copied down years ago. Does anyone know anything about this song and writer beyond what is already posted, specifically are the lyrics derived from a longer work. I still have the notebook but would like to wait to see if I can find any corroboration first, before posting the version that I have, as it is hand copied and from a very unofficial source to begin with. Thank you for any information.
My copy of Rabbit Songs predates the insurance commercial by several years. These are the lyrics as they appear on the album. The lyricist for the band, Dan Messe, said he wrote this song for his parents for their anniversary.
This is awesome poetry.
This is one of the best songs I've ever heard by a female singer.