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.
Farewell to Ed
For Ed is dead
The careless boy
Laid to rest
A velvet floor
To place his head
An empty bed
A wooden chest
Still beautiful in death
The moisture fogs my breath
Two hundred lowered eyes
A hundred mute goodbyes
I never thought your threats would come good
You never did what you said you would
Your mum and dad
They look so old
All huddled up
In an inky cloth
I’m not surprised
This room is cold
It’s empty too
It’s stinks of loss
I sat with Dan and drank some beer
We hadn’t spoken since last year
I took his hand, led him upstairs
Silently drew his body near
I couldn’t see, missed you so much
Missed you so large I had to fuck
Between your sheets all charred with grief
The pillows painted with your dreams
I didn’t want to stop and think
I should’ve said a thousand things
Yeah, but, hey
Like we agreed
I will be brave
I will pour whisky
On your grave
Smoke cigarettes
Amongst the stones
Sprinkle champagne
Upon your bones
If burial restricts your view
I’ll bring the city here to you
I’ll pack the river and the clock
Wrap it into a picnic box
With golden bows
And crystal mugs
My dancing heels
Will feel the mud
We’ll disco boogie until the dawn
I’ll teach the village how to mourn
My living room
In future times
You’re just a face
Above my fire
A funeral sound
A distant chime
I’ll think of this
And I will cry
Perhaps I’ll drop my task
The sound of shattered glass
Thought I forgot at last
Some things just never pass
Easy to say
Hard to believe
There’ll come a day
That I don’t grieve
Until the time
My body leaves
I will regret
That you don’t breathe
For Ed is dead
The careless boy
Laid to rest
A velvet floor
To place his head
An empty bed
A wooden chest
Still beautiful in death
The moisture fogs my breath
Two hundred lowered eyes
A hundred mute goodbyes
I never thought your threats would come good
You never did what you said you would
Your mum and dad
They look so old
All huddled up
In an inky cloth
I’m not surprised
This room is cold
It’s empty too
It’s stinks of loss
I sat with Dan and drank some beer
We hadn’t spoken since last year
I took his hand, led him upstairs
Silently drew his body near
I couldn’t see, missed you so much
Missed you so large I had to fuck
Between your sheets all charred with grief
The pillows painted with your dreams
I didn’t want to stop and think
I should’ve said a thousand things
Yeah, but, hey
Like we agreed
I will be brave
I will pour whisky
On your grave
Smoke cigarettes
Amongst the stones
Sprinkle champagne
Upon your bones
If burial restricts your view
I’ll bring the city here to you
I’ll pack the river and the clock
Wrap it into a picnic box
With golden bows
And crystal mugs
My dancing heels
Will feel the mud
We’ll disco boogie until the dawn
I’ll teach the village how to mourn
My living room
In future times
You’re just a face
Above my fire
A funeral sound
A distant chime
I’ll think of this
And I will cry
Perhaps I’ll drop my task
The sound of shattered glass
Thought I forgot at last
Some things just never pass
Easy to say
Hard to believe
There’ll come a day
That I don’t grieve
Until the time
My body leaves
I will regret
That you don’t breathe
Lyrics submitted by sepata, edited by animepanda, emmy100000
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though i'm not sure whether it's really toast/task, you do realize toast also means: Noun
It's definitely 'Dan'; when Emmy played in Manchester she mentioned that a lot of people thought it was 'dad' and she was surprised that everyone seemed to have just accepted her apparently having sex wtih her dad... ;)
Beautiful song, though, isn't it? Those last two lines are just the killers, no pun intended.
I'm fairly sure this song is all about dealing with the suicide of a close friend. " i never thought your threats would come good you never did what you said you would
The song starts at the funeral and wake of the said friend "200 lowered eyes, a 100 mute goodbyes" "your mum and dad, they looks so old, all huddled up, in inky cloth(black) i'm not supprised, this room is cold, its empty too, it stinks of LOSS"
She then finds comfort in the arms of an old lover, because she just needs some distraction and dosen't want to think about whats happened ot just wants too feel good again "I sat with Dan and drank some beer, we haven't spoken since last year, I took his hand led him upstairs, silently drew his body near, I couldn't see missed you so much, missed you so much, i had to fuck" "I didn't want to stop and think, I should've said a 1000 things"
The song then changes tack and leaves the funeral behind and goes into her remembering her friend how he/she was ie remebering the good times, full of life. Its also her going to visit the grave and talking to her friend about whats been going on etc "like we agreed I will be brave, i will pour whiskey on your grave, smoke cigarettes among the stones, sprinkle champagne upon your bones" " if buriel restricts your view, i'll bring the city here to you" It then jumps well into the future and as anyone who's ever lost someone knows the thoughts of that person become less and less frequent but can then suddenly hit you like a brick and set you off oncemore. Here as said by usernames its a funeral sound(bell's chiming). "you're just a face above my fire, a FUNERAL sound a distant chime, i'll think of this and i will cry,perhaps i'll drop my TASK the sound of shattered glass"
Truly a beautiful song! Emmy has a poetry and honesty to her lyrics that i really love, very similar to Joni mitchell in that regard. Anyway thats my rant over :)
I imagined Edward as an ex-boyfriend, not just a close friend. The "threats" makes me think he threatened to kill himself if she ever ended the relationship. This also explains some of the guilt throughout the song.<br /> As for Dan, I wonder if he wasn't just a friend, but a relative of Ed's in town for the wake that she'd been introduced to. Maybe she slept with him because he looked like Ed.
I always thought it said "I sat with DAD and drank some beer" I always felt like this was about a death in the family.
can someone give me an explanation about the word "Deadward"? it's just a pun or it has a precise meaning?
then, i think that the exact title is "Edward is Dedward", without the A
:)
Dedward is just 'Dead' made to rhyme with 'Edward'. I don't think it's supposed to be clever. And I think it's 'I sat with Dan', not 'I sat with Dad', because her having sex with her Dad would be kind of wrong.
it is i sat with dad, because it's not her dad. it's edward's dad. & it is dedward, without the A :] x
beautifully sung and oddly idyllic grief is so painful and so simply described
it's definitely 'drop my task' not toast. seeing as toast does not rhyme with glass and is a bit silly - "oh no i have dropped my toast" - especially seeing as this is quite a beautiful and serious song she would not really be thinking about toast and dropping her task means losing concentration with what she's doing
theres no a in dedward. ask her and she'll tell you the same