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 not Jesus though I have the same initials
I am the man who stays home and does the dishes
And how was your day?
Is that woman still trying to do your head in?
A man told me to beware of thirty-three
He said
"It was not an easy time for me"
But I'll get through
Even though I've got no miracles to show you
I'd like to make this water wine
But it's impossible
I've got to get these dishes dry
I'll read a story if it helps you sleep at night
I've got some matches if you ever need a light
Oh, I am just a man
But I'm doing what I can to help you
I'd like to make this water wine
But it's impossible
I've got to get these dishes dry
And I'm, I'm not worried that I will never touch the stars
'Cause stars belong up in heaven
And the earth is where we are
Oh, yeah
And aren't you happy just to be alive?
Anything's possible
You've got no cross to bear tonight
No, not tonight
No, not tonight
I am not Jesus though I have the same initials
I am the man who stays home and does the dishes
And how was your day?
Is that woman still trying to do your head in?
A man told me to beware of thirty-three
He said
"It was not an easy time for me"
But I'll get through
Even though I've got no miracles to show you
I'd like to make this water wine
But it's impossible
I've got to get these dishes dry
I'll read a story if it helps you sleep at night
I've got some matches if you ever need a light
Oh, I am just a man
But I'm doing what I can to help you
I'd like to make this water wine
But it's impossible
I've got to get these dishes dry
And I'm, I'm not worried that I will never touch the stars
'Cause stars belong up in heaven
And the earth is where we are
Oh, yeah
And aren't you happy just to be alive?
Anything's possible
You've got no cross to bear tonight
No, not tonight
No, not tonight
I am not Jesus though I have the same initials
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Amazing
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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Before I start my babble, I love the line about touching the stars.
OK, here I go. I think that roughly translated, it's like "I'm not perfect. I'm not the best partner, the best lover, the best person, but I'm me. This is who I am, and I'll do everything I can to make our life together good."
What do you think? Lol.♥
This song is an incredible metaphore from Jarvis. It's about realizing that at a certain age you are not the human you would have like to be. When he sings about the water into wine, it refers in transforming his own life into something else. Then you look at the mirror, and you just 'stay home and do the dishes'.
Lovely song this. I love the bit about never touching the stars. It seems hopeful in a dire situation. Or it could just be that Jarvis realised that he had the same initials as Jesus and thought it was mildly interesting.
I agree with all the comments here.
The song also resonates with my experience of the tension involved with being in a relationship with someone who really believed in god while you are a complete atheist.
You can't offer them the comfort of agreeing with them that when we die we will live on because you just don't believe it and that frightens them because a conception of death as nothing is scary to them. But the only comforts you can give them are earthly. You care about their fear of death but at the same time wish you could make them see it your way.
Also, Jarvis treats the subject with humour and pathos whilst maintaining a sensitivity towards religion. Lovely, truly lovely.
I think this song is about wanting to do anything and everything for that one person and realizing that even love doesnt enable you to perform literal miracles.I think that the song is about letting go of the idealization of the power of love and accepting that small acts (reading stories,washing dishes, lighting up a cigarette) are the most meaningful thing one can do for others.
Agree, it's lovely. The melancholy on this song, and also A Little Soul, gets me every time.
Loads of references to the God-man Jesus here:
-'The same initials' -Thirty three is thought to be Jesus' age when he suffered death for us and came out the other side -One of the most famous of his miracles was turning water into wine -Bearing a cross is what he told his followers that they all must do, as well as doing it himself
And if you like, there's the references to earth and heaven, story-telling (the parables) and light ('I am the Light of the World'). But maybe I'm pushing a bit too hard here.
I agree with others that this is mainly about Jarvis' getting to the prime of his life and realising that it's mostly quite ordinary, but goodness is still possible in unspectacular ways.