Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
A hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
Lord I'm one, Lord I'm two, Lord I'm three, Lord I'm four
Lord I'm five hundred miles from my home
Five hundred miles, five hundred miles, five hundred miles, five hundred miles
Lord I'm five hundred miles from my home
Not a shirt on my back, not a penny to my name
Lord I can't go home this away
This way, this way, this way, this way
Lord I can't go home this away
If you miss the train I'm on you will know that I am gone
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
A hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
Lord I'm one, Lord I'm two, Lord I'm three, Lord I'm four
Lord I'm five hundred miles from my home
Five hundred miles, five hundred miles, five hundred miles, five hundred miles
Lord I'm five hundred miles from my home
Not a shirt on my back, not a penny to my name
Lord I can't go home this away
This way, this way, this way, this way
Lord I can't go home this away
If you miss the train I'm on you will know that I am gone
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
Lyrics submitted by pieligero
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Blue
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
This song is done in the style of many old negro spirituals, many of which had a double meaning in aiding the escape of slaves. This one sounds more like a marching tune for escaped slaves to be singing on the road, though, since the meaning would be difficult to mistake. (My interpretations are in parentheses.)
If you miss the train I'm on (the Underground Railroad), you will know that I am gone (I've run away from Master) You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles (That's how far the local slave-catchers will chase me)
...
Lord I'm one, Lord I'm two, Lord I'm three, Lord I'm four, Lord I'm five hundred miles from my home (That's roughly how far it is to the Free States/Canada)
...
Not a shirt on my back, not a penny to my name (This is a grueling journey) Lord, I can't go home this-a-way (because if I do, Master will beat me to death)
@Inyarear This so nothing to do with slavery but it can work as a metaphor for slavery. It’s about railroaders. Watch Rocky Mountain Express (on 4k or regular Blu Ray.) It’s incredible.