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.
There was a stage and a pier up in western Massachusetts,
And the kids came from miles around to get messed up on the music.
And she drove down from Boden with a carload of girlfriends,
To meet some boys and maybe eat some mushrooms
And they did and she got sick
And now she's pinned and way too shaky.
She don't wanna tell the doctor everything she's taken
The paramedics hovered over her like a somber mourning family
They gave her activating charcoal, they flooded her with saline
Her:
"I got really hot and then I came to in the chillout tent,
They gave me oranges and cigarettes."
He was rough around the edges:
He'd been to school, but never finished,
He'd been to jail, but never prison.
It was his first day off in forever, man
The festival seemed like a pretty good plan,
Cruise some chicks and get a sun-tan.
And his friend gave him four, but said only take one,
But then he got bored and ended up taking all four.
Ah, so now my man ain't that bored anyways,
The paramedics found him: he was shaking on the side of the stage.
Him:
"Everything was spinning and I came to in the chillout tent,
They gave me oranges and cigarettes."
Her:
"I got really hot and then I came to in the chillout tent"
Both:
"They gave us oranges and cigarettes."
She looked just like a baby bird, all new and wet and trying to light a Parliament
He quoted her some poetry, he's Tennyson in denim and sheepskin.
He looked a lot like Izzy Stradlin.
They started kissing when the nurses took off their IVs,
It was kinda sexy, but it was kinda creepy.
Their mouths were fizzy with the cherry cola,
They had the privacy of bedsheets
And all the other kids were mostly in comas.
Her:
"He was kinda cute, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that boy again."
Him:
"She was pretty cool, we kinda kicked in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that girl again."
Her:
"He was kinda cute, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that boy again."
Him:
"She seemed pretty cool, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that girl again."
And the kids came from miles around to get messed up on the music.
And she drove down from Boden with a carload of girlfriends,
To meet some boys and maybe eat some mushrooms
And they did and she got sick
And now she's pinned and way too shaky.
She don't wanna tell the doctor everything she's taken
The paramedics hovered over her like a somber mourning family
They gave her activating charcoal, they flooded her with saline
Her:
"I got really hot and then I came to in the chillout tent,
They gave me oranges and cigarettes."
He was rough around the edges:
He'd been to school, but never finished,
He'd been to jail, but never prison.
It was his first day off in forever, man
The festival seemed like a pretty good plan,
Cruise some chicks and get a sun-tan.
And his friend gave him four, but said only take one,
But then he got bored and ended up taking all four.
Ah, so now my man ain't that bored anyways,
The paramedics found him: he was shaking on the side of the stage.
Him:
"Everything was spinning and I came to in the chillout tent,
They gave me oranges and cigarettes."
Her:
"I got really hot and then I came to in the chillout tent"
Both:
"They gave us oranges and cigarettes."
She looked just like a baby bird, all new and wet and trying to light a Parliament
He quoted her some poetry, he's Tennyson in denim and sheepskin.
He looked a lot like Izzy Stradlin.
They started kissing when the nurses took off their IVs,
It was kinda sexy, but it was kinda creepy.
Their mouths were fizzy with the cherry cola,
They had the privacy of bedsheets
And all the other kids were mostly in comas.
Her:
"He was kinda cute, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that boy again."
Him:
"She was pretty cool, we kinda kicked in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that girl again."
Her:
"He was kinda cute, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that boy again."
Him:
"She seemed pretty cool, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
And I never saw that girl again."
Lyrics submitted by kemekongka
Chillout Tent Lyrics as written by Tad Jason Kubler Craig Finn
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"he's tennessean in denim and sheepskin."
I think that should be Tennyson, as in the poet.
heh, I've been to a few festivals that had chill out tents for the people who get too strung out, but I've never heard it used as a setting for a love/hook-up story before. Craig Finn's is one damn creative songwriter.
"She looked just like a baby bird, all new and wet and trying to light a Parliament He quoted her some poetry, he's Tennyson in denim and sheepskin He looked a lot like Izzy Stradlin They started kissing when the nurses took off their IVs It was kinda sexy, but it was kinda creepy Their mouths were fizzy with the cherry cola They had the privacy of bedsheets And all the other kids were mostly in comas"
This is probably my favorite verse in a song ever. It is so clever and funny but in a very off beat sort of way. Craig Finn is absolutely brilliant and is such a great writer. I feel like he should write a book.
Probably my favorite song right now. I lovelove Craig Finn's stories.
"She looked just like a baby bird, all 'new and lemonshot a lot of polymer'(?)"
Well I don't know what the hell that's supposed to mean, but I know that this is what he's singing:
"...all new and wet and trying to light a Parliament"
Craig is a ridiculously amazing poet.
thankyou both kindly, it's hard being ESL.
comments:
"piet" = "P.A." "activating charcoal" = "activated charcoal"
For those that don't know, the guest male vocals are by David Pirner of Soul Asylum, and the guest female vocals are by Elizabeth Elmore of The Reputation/Sarge.
heh. the only reason i know this is because i go there, but it's "bowdoin," not "boden".