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.
All the stories have been told
Of kings and days of old
But there's no England now (there's no England now)
All the wars that were won and lost
Somehow don't seem to matter very much anymore
All the lies we were told (all the lies we were told)
All the lies of the people running round
Their castles have burned
I see change
But inside we're the same
As we ever were
Living on a thin line, ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line)
Living this way, each day is a dream
What am I, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Now another century nearly gone (no, no)
What are we gonna leave for the young?
What we couldn't do, what we wouldn't do
It's a crime, but does it matter?
Does it matter much? does it matter much to you?
Does it ever really matter? yes, it really, really matters
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Then another leader says
"Break their hearts and break some heads"
Is there nothing we can say or do?
Blame the future on the past
Always lost in bloody guts
And when they're gone, it's me and you
Living on a thin line, ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line, ooh
Of kings and days of old
But there's no England now (there's no England now)
All the wars that were won and lost
Somehow don't seem to matter very much anymore
All the lies we were told (all the lies we were told)
All the lies of the people running round
Their castles have burned
I see change
But inside we're the same
As we ever were
Living on a thin line, ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line)
Living this way, each day is a dream
What am I, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Now another century nearly gone (no, no)
What are we gonna leave for the young?
What we couldn't do, what we wouldn't do
It's a crime, but does it matter?
Does it matter much? does it matter much to you?
Does it ever really matter? yes, it really, really matters
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Then another leader says
"Break their hearts and break some heads"
Is there nothing we can say or do?
Blame the future on the past
Always lost in bloody guts
And when they're gone, it's me and you
Living on a thin line, ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line, ooh
Lyrics submitted by ramius5783, edited by sokorny
Living on a Thin Line Lyrics as written by Dave Davies
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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The song is about the fall of England from greatness in the mid 20th Century,
@BARDRICK I don't agree, they seem more worried about ensuring that future generations have a peaceful society and don't have to endure the wars that the English had throughout a lot of the 20th century.
@sokorny That doesn't explain the sense of lamentation or the lines about no more England. It alludes to a sense of being lost. The lyrics ask people if traditional sources of meaning matter to them anymore; we assume the answer is "no" and the lyrics then ask us what is left to do.<br /> <br /> As for your "future generations," the lyrics allude to castles--the lives, lies, stories, meanings, and traditions passed down through generations. So the question seems to be, what are we passing down to the next generation? Nothing, is the answer (there's no England now.)
I think this song uses the metaphor of war and castles to talk about the precariousness of life. We can surround us with goods and merits, spending time and efforts of our lives to achieve goals that, in the end, are just fruitless or can vanish as thin air.
Otherwise is also good to symbolize the value of human life: we rarely realise the luck of being alive, except when we risk to fall from the thin line!
Producers of the Soprano couldn't choose a better song! Gangsters' life can be risky and exciting for some aspects, but they follow a wrong path: when they are successful they can be rich and powerful, but they keep on been empty inside, no value nor consolation can fullfil that hole! The charachters of the series must really feel in this way the lyrics of the song!
It has nothing to do with living on a "thin line," as in paycheck to paycheck. The thin line is a moral one. Meaning, what good is it to exist as individuals if we have no sense of national or social or cultural identity? Without these traditional anchors, an individual is left floundering in life with nothing but a sense of meaninglessness. Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
@James03 <br /> <br /> Ohhhh yesssssssss.. Tradition or not, I just BEG FOR MORE, MORE, MORE.<br /> <br /> SEXUALLY.
I think this song was on the sopranos?
Not sure, but it certainly is good!
Yup, this song was on The Sopranos. Used during the rolling credits at the end of an episode (Can't remember the episode though).
episode 'University'. good song, great idea to play in the scene in the stripbar, right after the murder of the stripper.
o jesus! so awesome in the stripclub. i just finished the sopranos the other day-i'm gonna miss it so bad. awesome song.
Could this song have anything to do with the Falklands war? Some of the lyrics could be directed at Thatcher. Any Kinks fan who knows when this song was first recorded? (Saw this on Sopranos, also)
@Coolgangster It's not a dig at Thatcher because she did nothing wrong. The lyrics appear to bemoan the loss of a uniquely English identity and sense of mission that could have reasserted our place in world history, as the Iron Lady attempted to do.
It's funny how this song is mostly found by watching The Sopranos. I love that show... have every single season!