It starts out like a season in reverse
A way to set your mind above and over words
(Like) attached means (your) identity
Erases things so how can we record?
Distress call code-word is I wanna live
He makes it up as it goes and it goes away
To places he can only hide in other peoples minds
He makes it up as it goes
Your rational mind's insane Taste the sound you make
When the light from the sun (Or the story that never gets sold) Is your mother
With an effortless smile you pervade to be
Always in-between aisles (They said you must stare to see) An optimistic Daring me
would you trade your soul for gold?



Lyrics submitted by aimstrious

Track duration: 03:30


Living Together song meanings
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  • 0
    My Interpretation:I think this song is about selling his soul to the devil
    Flag 5footstepson November 19, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:*That moment when you first experience doubt, and that things are no longer the way they seemed*
    Flag FractledMindon January 05, 2012   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:Original content stanzas:

    It starts out like a season in reverse
    A way to set your mind above and over words
    Attached means identity
    Erases things so how can we record?

    Distress call code-word is "I wanna live"
    He makes it up as he goes and it goes away
    To places he can only hide in other peoples' minds
    He makes it up as he goes
    It goes away

    Your rational mind's insane
    Taste the sound you make
    The light from the sun
    The story that never gets old
    The light from the sun is your mother
    Attached means identity
    Erases things so why should we?

    With an effortless smile you prevade to me
    And in-between aisles
    They would say you stare to see
    With an effortless smile you prevade to me
    Always in-between aisles optimistic daring me
    Would you trade your soul for gold?
    Would you trade your soul?
    Would you trade?


    Interpretation:

    "It starts out like a season in reverse
    A way to set your mind above and over words
    Attached means identity
    Erases things so how can we record?"

    When we view love, we see gradual signs of it blossoming; but a season in reverse is time in regression; taken in context, with the next two lyrics ("a way to set your mind above and over words / attached means identity") the singer is stating that dependent relationships require personality change to adapt and confrom to become the person who you're attached to wants you to be. In other words: for one in this mindset, to keep a relationship healthy, they have to pretend to be the person they tell others they are.

    The line "erases things so how can we record" is a reflection of this; when in such a mental modality, there is no furthering of the self (e.g. recording new memories and associating them to who you are and want to be), but rather you are regressing in an attempt to fit yourself into the mold provided.


    "Distress call code-word is "I wanna live"
    He makes it up as he goes and it goes away
    To places he can only hide in other peoples' minds
    He makes it up as he goes
    It goes away"

    A police officer in distress will create a distress call; it is a number which converts to a set of code-words. For example, a code "417" is the code-word for "man or woman with a gun." The singer is stating that he is calling for help; while he doesn't want to be an empty pair of shoes, he wants to live within this relationship, so he keeps up the persona that he's created. Gradually, the call for help goes away; he has made up his personality to fit this relationship, and this persona only really exists in other peoples' minds, who think that is genuine. But for the person who makes up this persona, such work is exhausting; to maintain such a face, it drains one's emotions. As soon as the interaction is over, the fascade disappears; it goes away.

    "Your rational mind's insane
    Taste the sound you make
    The light from the sun
    The story that never gets old
    The light from the sun is your mother
    Attached means identity
    Erases things so why should we?"

    This stanza is the singer asking those who are in such a similar place to question their position. "Your rational mind's insane / taste the sound you make" is an open plea for a person in this situation to hear what they're saying -- and if they realized that they were being this massively discongruent, would they want to actually keep doing it? To view this another way: we view the sun as eternal. It never gets old, it stays constant, and it never lies to fit in. A genuine personality is healthy, nuturing ("your mother"); but if you're attached to someone, your identity is tied to what they want you to be. You become a new person, and lose the old in the process; you run against the genuine that you should be.

    "With an effortless smile you prevade to me
    And in-between aisles
    They would say you stare to see
    With an effortless smile you prevade to me
    Always in-between aisles optimistic daring me
    Would you trade your soul for gold?
    Would you trade your soul?
    Would you trade? "

    In this stanza, the singer reflects on the nature of why someone does this. The essential statement is that with a woman's smile, his soul is awakened; the woman stares to see if he is compatible with her. The singer sees visions of marriage when he sees her; this is why he states that it is "in-between aisles" (or, if you account for a church's architecture, in the middle aisle). It's an optimistic feeling when someone first feels like there is a connection; it's a silent plea for one partner to feel compatible with the other. Thus, the singer states: "Would you trade your soul for gold?", or to view it another way: would you give up who you are, to be with someone you are completely infatuated with?

    So, if you want to view the song in a more A->D comparison: view it in this order: stanza 4, 1, 3, 2. The singer sees a woman he wants to be with: he sees marriage with her, but to get there, he has to trade his soul (personality). He sets his mind above and over the words which will allow him to create the persona; but an outsider would tell the singer that he should reflect on the nonsense he's telling others. But the personality is already too entrenched; there is little chance for relief or escape, and instead will remain the person that is seen in other peoples' minds.
    Flag Entryon May 06, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:For a long time now, this is how I've taken the last lyric... On the coheed tour, Anthony turned the last line into "Would you trade your soul for gold, or would you give it up for fucking nothing?" And of course a lot of people would say, ok he means he's an atheist and he's comparing gold to "fucking nothing", but I think he meant it differently, even if he wasn't sure why he said it. I think he wanted to pose the question, would you give up your soul, your life, your value only if you gained something in return, or would you give it up not expecting anything in return? as in asking us to figure out how selfish we really are if we judged ourselves. Anthony is an extremely deep, kind-hearted person and I don't believe he's out to try to get people to reconsider their religions by writing the lyrics to this album, but to reconsider their personal motivations and determine if selfishness is guiding their lives or agape love for others is guiding their lives. It seems clear that organized religion is thought to be a catalyst for creating people with this self-centered, hypocritical nature based on the imagery in all the songs. They all sort of express the confusion, anger, and sorrow he likely has felt while coming to terms with all this. The songs turned out like they did maybe because his life made him care and consider these things at the time the songs were written.
    Flag omgbenon November 10, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is genius.
    Flag SweiftTigaaon July 24, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:My dad is in the entertainment industry and he knows plenty of people who have
    "Traded their souls for gold"

    They never started off with a moral foundation or base

    Why would they end with one?
    Flag DeadFloydon May 21, 2010   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction:can we please change the lyrics to:

    "with an effortless smile, you've proven to be always in between aisles..."

    A. prevade is not a word
    B. if you meant pervade, it still doesn't make sense.

    thanks :D
    Flag bmesickon May 21, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i can guarantee this song is not specifically about religion. it probably does apply tho...
    i always loved the 'inbetween aisles' part, just because when i was younger i didn't think it could be about what i know it is now...
    anthony green is not a religious man, although i'm sure he has an interesting viewpoint when it comes to that stuff.
    i, myself, think religion is a crock, but it is interesting to think about how many people can get sucked into something they have no proof of.

    this song is about human nature, most simply put.

    Flag conortiffinon February 13, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Before I post this, to all of the people who are arguing over whether it is christian or not, it doesn't matter. Anthony said it best himself in his interview with Synthesis.net in July 2007. He is going to write songs about what he wants, and everyone who hears them will have his/her own personal take on the song. Their OWN interepretation. He accepts it.

    Personally, I don't think this song is anti-spiritual, but talking about dislike to organized religion. Like there is a God, but organized religion destroys the truth. Please note that I am not talking about christianity, but organized religion as a whole. I am a Christian, in the fact that I believe a lot of what they teach. But I also feel the Bible is more of a book of guidelines rather than a book of absolute fact. I personally do not care if anyone (religious or non-religious) agrees with me. I have taken a lot of theology classes and actually a decent understanding of different religions. And through all that time I formed my own opinions. Some of my opinions have spilled into my interpretation of this song. I won't deny that. But I don't think all organized religion is bad, I just think people cling to it as an escape. Rather than finding their own way to worship God. With that I will break down what the song means to me, (if you agree- cool, if not- remember this is my opinion not yours):

    "It starts out like a season in reverse
    A way to set your mind above and over words
    Attached means identity
    Erases things so how can we record?"

    I think this is talking about how people look to organized religion to look for answers. But they don't always go to it for the right reasons. Then they conform to the religion and loose their indivualism because they now classify themselves as a group. (Living Together) And they think that doing so will erase their sin forever.

    "Distress call code-word is 'I wanna live'
    He makes it up as he goes and it goes away
    To places he can only hide in other peoples' minds
    He makes it up as he goes
    It goes away"

    I think this is talking about how people turn to religion in fear of what there is after death. So they join a church looking for answers. But those who run the religion make up new rules and meanings over time.

    "Your rational mind's insane
    Taste the sound you make
    The light from the sun
    The story that never gets old
    The light from the sun is your mother
    Attached means identity
    Erases things so why should we?"

    I think this is saying that those who take what they hear, see, and sense to form their own personal beliefs are looked down on by those who believe strictly what the organized religions teach. Even if the things the organized religion teach don't make sense to the person.

    With an effortless smile you prevade to me
    And in-between aisles
    They would say you stare to see
    With an effortless smile you prevade to me
    Always in-between aisles optimistic daring me
    Would you trade your soul for gold?
    Would you trade your soul?
    Would you trade?

    I think this statement is about the people who are trying to get him to believe in their ideas. You know, the people who push their religious beliefs on other people. They are asking him to trade his self being for "gold". I personally do not think it is real gold since AG is known for using metaphors. I think the gold refers to all the promises religious groups will promise you if you worship God in heir way. Much like how Catholics preach that you must attend mass and confession to stay sinless, in order to get to heaven. Like I said earlier, maybe it is because I have my own beliefs that I am not going to change just because someone tells me something else. I am not going to forget all that I believe just because someone else tells me I am wrong. Whatever man. That is kind of the feeling I get when I hear the outro.
    Flag DNDellion November 24, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:truthfully i agree with robert maxwell
    i think that he has a point
    Flag EsKoBaRRon October 19, 2009   Link

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