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.
My eyes with your vision
My choice but always your decision
My play with your direction
Well it's my lead but always your connection
But when I look into your eyes you don't believe me
B
I can see it in your eyes you don't believe
My words, your expression
My land, always your possession
My song, your production
MOBy expense is always your deduction
But when I look into your eyes you don't believe me
I can see it in your eyes you don't believe
And the face I see before me
Is both sides of a mirror
You really know you've got a hold on me
And the face you're looking into
Is both sides of a window
And any way you look you see through me
My fame, your reflection
My weakness always your protection
Well it's my terms on your conditions
And they're my tunes but they're your compositions
But when I look into your eyes you don't believe me
I can see it in your eyes you don't believe
My choice but always your decision
My play with your direction
Well it's my lead but always your connection
But when I look into your eyes you don't believe me
B
I can see it in your eyes you don't believe
My words, your expression
My land, always your possession
My song, your production
MOBy expense is always your deduction
But when I look into your eyes you don't believe me
I can see it in your eyes you don't believe
And the face I see before me
Is both sides of a mirror
You really know you've got a hold on me
And the face you're looking into
Is both sides of a window
And any way you look you see through me
My fame, your reflection
My weakness always your protection
Well it's my terms on your conditions
And they're my tunes but they're your compositions
But when I look into your eyes you don't believe me
I can see it in your eyes you don't believe
Lyrics submitted by Ice
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One of the things I have in mind is the rest of the album. Look at how many songs deal with a struggling and broken relationship. Look at where "You Don't Believe" is positioned, right between "Don't Answer Me" and "Dancing On A Highwire." It could be meaningless, but it's difficult to think so. A lot of words do seem to point at the interpretation of ARTIST VS INDUSTRY (record label), I just struggle to make it fit with the rest. I think the chorus comes from this: they say a symptom of lying is an inability to make eye contact, so when you make direct eye contact, you are telling the truth and the other party should believe you. Here he says the opposite is happening--he makes eye contact but is not believed. That's maddening. Maybe the song is about the frustration of everything going the opposite of the way it's supposed to and feeling completely out of control. The feeling of figuratively having everything taken out of your hands, and no matter what you do, it isn't good enough because some opposition "takes it away from you." I can certainly say I've felt all this in fights with my controlling, manipulative ex-wife and my later similar ex-girlfriend. I could tell her the absolute truth of what I meant or intended (or didn't) and get nowhere, and I did so not only to cool her off but to bring the situation under control (trying to be the calm, collected, rational man) but she wouldn't listen or believe and the fight and her wrath would keep going like an Energizer battery. You get that helpless, desperate feeling that says "I just can't win, no matter what I say or do," and the rest of the song seems to add up to that. An artist facing a record label could feel the same way. :-)