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.
Yeah the rain came
I said hey buddy,
Buddy the streets are a snake skin
I belong
Out there walkin'
Nobody's stoppin' to bother me
They hide
Outside, the ceilings
Cryin -
Listen to the sound
Of the gutters runnin'
Wash this dirty town
All fronts and no backs
Give me my time
Let me be
Outside
Under the ceiling
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me
Outside you know
I listen to the sounds
Of the gutters runnin
Wash this dirty town
All fronts and no backs
Give me my time
Let me be
Outside
Under the ceilings
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me
I said hey buddy,
Buddy the streets are a snake skin
I belong
Out there walkin'
Nobody's stoppin' to bother me
They hide
Outside, the ceilings
Cryin -
Listen to the sound
Of the gutters runnin'
Wash this dirty town
All fronts and no backs
Give me my time
Let me be
Outside
Under the ceiling
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me
Outside you know
I listen to the sounds
Of the gutters runnin
Wash this dirty town
All fronts and no backs
Give me my time
Let me be
Outside
Under the ceilings
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me
Cryin'
Yeah, all over me
Lyrics submitted by iheartnitz
My Time Lyrics as written by Perry Farrell Eric Adam Avery
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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One of my favorite JA songs. I want to surf.
I love this song, I can totally relate to the feelings of wanting to be alone with the rain, when people are giving you stress.
What does this mean: All fronts and no backs
i think it means everyone in the town is shallow & superficial. all appearances and no substance.
"All fronts, no backs" means to keep moving forward in life, as opposed to backwards. onward.
I think like much of the early JA songs, not only can this song simply be interpreted literally, peace of mind found walking out in the rain with no one around, but it's also infused with allusion and metaphor, usually exploring anti-religious sentiments. This song, like many others, embraces mother nature (see Ocean Size, Had A Dad, Up The Beach). There is a draw toward mother earth (...umm mother ocean?). It's quite pagan. This is in stark contrast to the embracing of Christian beliefs, in which people live for tomorrow when they reach heaven. Themes like this are typical of JA songs (the existence of God, of good and bad, right and wrong, etc.,). So Perry's "time" is not when the sun is shining (symbolic of rays beaming down from the heavens), but when mother nature cries down upon the earth, cleansing the "dirty town" (a baptism?). And so, while the faithful seek shelter, this one percenter hits the snake skin streets of the dirty town with nobody around to bother him.