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 is a car parked where the block begins
And there are people singing praises
Say, "It's all because of him"
And there is a bird perched on a frayed, wet wire
And his voice sings out for a lover
But it's covered by the choir of voices
Reaching way beyond the rafters
With devotion, they perform these sacred tasks
They cross themselves and offer up their checkbooks
Slight suffering is not too much to ask
Besides, we all are making money
And we are all fucking alone
And we don't know what we are doing
Maybe just buying us some hope
Because we know that we are lonely
Yeah, lonely, that's for sure
And the older ones are coughing
And the older ones are dying
Maybe we are all dying
I pass a graveyard on my way to work
Today I saw two dozen white roses
On a fresh new mound of dirt
And I wondered about the occupant
When the darkness finally swallowed him
Was he calm and content?
Or was he sweating in a struggle to keep breathing
Ripping apart the sheets that dressed his bed
Crying out loud for someone to help him
And collapsing on his back, all pale and dead?
Maybe it's me who's this unstable
Always obsessed about the end
Why can't I let what happens happen?
And just enjoy the time I spend
Oh, how I wish it was so easy
But when there is no point to anything
It can get a bit confusing
Why is that I keep going?
Why is that we keep going?
And there are people singing praises
Say, "It's all because of him"
And there is a bird perched on a frayed, wet wire
And his voice sings out for a lover
But it's covered by the choir of voices
Reaching way beyond the rafters
With devotion, they perform these sacred tasks
They cross themselves and offer up their checkbooks
Slight suffering is not too much to ask
Besides, we all are making money
And we are all fucking alone
And we don't know what we are doing
Maybe just buying us some hope
Because we know that we are lonely
Yeah, lonely, that's for sure
And the older ones are coughing
And the older ones are dying
Maybe we are all dying
I pass a graveyard on my way to work
Today I saw two dozen white roses
On a fresh new mound of dirt
And I wondered about the occupant
When the darkness finally swallowed him
Was he calm and content?
Or was he sweating in a struggle to keep breathing
Ripping apart the sheets that dressed his bed
Crying out loud for someone to help him
And collapsing on his back, all pale and dead?
Maybe it's me who's this unstable
Always obsessed about the end
Why can't I let what happens happen?
And just enjoy the time I spend
Oh, how I wish it was so easy
But when there is no point to anything
It can get a bit confusing
Why is that I keep going?
Why is that we keep going?
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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Ebba Grön
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Yo La Tengo
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
jesus christ...
they cross themselves and offer up their checkbooks slight suffering is not too much to ask besides we all are making money and we are all fucking alone and we don't know what we are doing maybe just buying us some hope because we know that we are lonely yeah, lonely that's for sure
i think he is saying that he doesnt believe there is any thing out there and giving money just makes you feel like there must be something when deep inside you know there is not
this has to be one of bright eyes's best works... and as you cal tell by my name im a huge fan. especially the last vepse about the graveyard... really makes you think. bright eyes also has a kickass voice... they way he almost cries....
its awesome. it shows how we give up our happiness for money... i love conor
maybe it's me who's this unstable always obsessed about the end why can't i let what happens happen? and just enjoy the time i spend oh how i wish it was so easy but when there is no point to anything it can get a bit confusing why is that i keep going? why is that we keep going?
what the hell man...i always think about that. ugh freaky. people have faith because they want to believe that there is some higher meaning to life...some reason that they exist every day...but if there is nothing, why do we bother to go on?
That line really gets to me too. Just...why? I can understand if you fall in love and have a family, that you'd want to be there for them. But if you can't see yourself doing those things, then what's the point of living?
this song is so brilliant it makes me fucking sick. it's ridiculous. this song amazes me....i always think about that shit too, glad to know i'm not alone. one of bright eyes' most amazing works.
yeah, this song brings up a message that a lot of people wonder about.
this song is brillant.
I always wondered if there would be some kind of "life" after death, but never really thought of what I would actually feel when I died. It's scary. I'm not afraid to die, I'm afraid to think there could be something worse than this. But now in digital ash he says that death=freedom, I remember the same thing in a couple of songs like from a balance beam, one foot in front of the other, train under water, there must be more but that's all i can remember. Oh, on Method acting he says "I made peace with the fallen leaves, I see their same fate on my own body" so I think he has changed his view on death. Still this is a special song for me, this was the first BE song I liked.
yeah, lonely that's for sure and the older ones are coughing and the older ones are dying maybe we are all dying
what does this bit mean huh? huh?