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 spend the afternoon in cars
I sit in traffic jams for hours
Don't push me, I am not OK
The sky is blue most every day
The lemons grow like tumors they
Are tiny suns infused with sour
Lonely as a cloud
In the Golden State
The coldest winter that I ever saw was
The summer that I spent
The only substance is the fog
And it hides all that has gone wrong
Can't see a thing inside the maze
There is a bridge adored and famed
The golden spine of engineering
Whose back is heavy with my weight
Lonely as a cloud
In the Golden State
The coldest winter that I ever saw was
The summer that I spent
Be still this old heart
Be still this old skin
Drink your last drink
Sin your last sin
Sing your last song
About the beginning
Sing it out loud
So the people can hear
Let's go!
Be still this sad day
Be still this sad year
Hope your last hope
Fear you last fear
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
Let's go!
My falling shape will draw a line
Between the blue of sea and sky
I'm not a bird, I'm not a plane
I took a taxi to the gate
I will not go to school again
Four seconds was the longest wait
Four seconds was the longest wait
Four seconds was the longest wait
Four seconds was the longest wait
Four seconds was the longest
I sit in traffic jams for hours
Don't push me, I am not OK
The sky is blue most every day
The lemons grow like tumors they
Are tiny suns infused with sour
Lonely as a cloud
In the Golden State
The coldest winter that I ever saw was
The summer that I spent
The only substance is the fog
And it hides all that has gone wrong
Can't see a thing inside the maze
There is a bridge adored and famed
The golden spine of engineering
Whose back is heavy with my weight
Lonely as a cloud
In the Golden State
The coldest winter that I ever saw was
The summer that I spent
Be still this old heart
Be still this old skin
Drink your last drink
Sin your last sin
Sing your last song
About the beginning
Sing it out loud
So the people can hear
Let's go!
Be still this sad day
Be still this sad year
Hope your last hope
Fear you last fear
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
Let's go!
My falling shape will draw a line
Between the blue of sea and sky
I'm not a bird, I'm not a plane
I took a taxi to the gate
I will not go to school again
Four seconds was the longest wait
Four seconds was the longest wait
Four seconds was the longest wait
Four seconds was the longest wait
Four seconds was the longest
Lyrics submitted by The Writing Writer
Jumpers Lyrics as written by Corin Lisa Tucker Carrie Rachel Brownstein
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I believe this song is a story about someone who committed suicide by jumping off the Golden gate bridge, "The golden spine of engineering". The person killing them self is most likely a student because of the line “I will not go to school again”. The student was bored with their trivial life, “I sit in traffic jams for hours don’t push me, I am not OK” and wishes their life had more meaning. When she sings "I’m not a bird, I’m not a plane" she's saying, (1) She can't fly ;) and (2) She is no super hero, meaning she is human and is flawed like the rest of us. Two other lines in the song that lead me to believe that the character is committing suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate bridge are “my falling shape will draw a line between the blue of sea and sky” and “four seconds was the longest wait”. To me, “my falling shape will draw a line between the blue of sea and sky” is an obvious reference to someone jumping off a bridge seeing as how there is water under a bridge and the form of the body would in fact create a line between the sea and sky, unless, they did a belly flop. “Four seconds was the longest wait” would probably be a rough estimate of the time from when the person jumped off the bridge until they made contact with the water. Since this would lead to death, it would most likely seem like “the longest wait.” Whether or not this song is metaphor for something, I don’t know, could be.
@mattd23 I think you're right. The title is "Jumpers" - but I think it it written from both perspectives. Those who jumped and those left behind who watched.
The song is about suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge. Based on an article in The New Yorker, iirc.
Pretty sure bugoff is kidding. This song is definitely about... well, what everyone else said--a girl jumping and killing herself. Brilliant song, everything from the awesome guitar licks to the awesome Corin/Carrie harmonizing, to the best drummer ever, to the insane lyrics. I only wish I didn't get into them so late... I hope they get back together. One of my favorite bands.
@mfactor Well they did get back together, new album coming out. Congratulations from the future.
@mfactor They are on tour now. And if you can't go see them, watch them on YouTube. Thanks to NPR. youtube.com/watch
I love this song and Sleater-Kinney. I'm seeing them in February. Yay.
As for the song, to me it has a lot of 'time' references and metaphors to describe it.
I have to agree with you on that. It certainly does have lots of references towards "time". This is a living metaphor then again all of Sleater-Kinney's songs are metaphors in general. The song has an awesome guitar. Simplistic yet unique. Completely reflects the nature of the song. Escape from a sad life.
my bad guitar track. Bad grammar.
-Lotus
Wow, my last post in Xtra long.
makes sense, i didn't see it like that
@interpol2221 fuck interpol
wow.
i never thought about it like that before. thank you.
but seeing as how in the video clip for this song. the girl commits suicide.. it would be logical..can't see how i diddn't pick it up earlier.
Hence the title 'Jumpers', i guess.