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.
…And when the world will stay the same,
but your place in relation to it has changed,
and when the word begins to lose
its power to restore and soothe,
and when the blackness starts its spread
from behind your tired head,
what taxes now was once your wealth,
what sucks and aches become your health.
…And when the night spreads into day,
in one unbroken spread of gray,
and when the darkness fills the space
between the bone and skin of your face,
and seeps between your skull and brain,
as input filters through its stain,
the tightness in your brow contains
what poisoned yesterday but now sustains.
…And when the night begins its flow,
and you watch yourself give up control,
when what was cold now keeps you warm
and you watch your outer self transform,
and the one you love
keeps the faith that you can rise above,
but if you've kept faith with yourself,
you might admit that you could use some help.
Remove yourself and study close,
when next the dark begins its flow.
If clinical the problem be,
remove yourself and you will see.
When next the blackness flow begins,
I eat your pills, you eat my sins,
and take me back to prouder days,
but please don't take my anger away.
And I don't pray.
But I humble myself.
I am on my knees today.
I don't pray.
Woooh. Wooh.
but your place in relation to it has changed,
and when the word begins to lose
its power to restore and soothe,
and when the blackness starts its spread
from behind your tired head,
what taxes now was once your wealth,
what sucks and aches become your health.
…And when the night spreads into day,
in one unbroken spread of gray,
and when the darkness fills the space
between the bone and skin of your face,
and seeps between your skull and brain,
as input filters through its stain,
the tightness in your brow contains
what poisoned yesterday but now sustains.
…And when the night begins its flow,
and you watch yourself give up control,
when what was cold now keeps you warm
and you watch your outer self transform,
and the one you love
keeps the faith that you can rise above,
but if you've kept faith with yourself,
you might admit that you could use some help.
Remove yourself and study close,
when next the dark begins its flow.
If clinical the problem be,
remove yourself and you will see.
When next the blackness flow begins,
I eat your pills, you eat my sins,
and take me back to prouder days,
but please don't take my anger away.
And I don't pray.
But I humble myself.
I am on my knees today.
I don't pray.
Woooh. Wooh.
Lyrics submitted by hollyhoxnj, edited by dicerly
St. John the Divine Lyrics as written by Jeffrey Pierce
Lyrics © COHEN AND COHEN, Word Collections Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I think these are the correct words, they sound right to my ears.
And when the world will stay the same But your place in relation to it has changed And when the word begins to lose Its power to restore and soothe And when the blackness starts its spread From behind your tired head What taxes now was once your wealth What sucks and aches becomes your health
And when the night spreads into day In one unbroken spread of gray. And when the darkness fills the space Between the bone and skin of your face Seeps between your skull and brain As input filters through its stain The tightness in your brow contains What poisoned yesterday but now sustains
And when the night begins its flow And you watch yourself give up control When what was cold now keeps you warm And you watch your outer self transform And the one you love Keeps the faith that you can rise above But if you've kept faith with yourself You might admit that you could use some help
Remove yourself and study close When next the dark begins its flow The clinical the problem be Remove yourself and you will see When next the blackness flow begins I eat your pills, you eat my sins You take me back to prouder days But please don't take my anger away
I don't pray But I humble myself I am on my knees today I don't pray
No, this song like most Ted Leo stuff is about his surroundings. St John the Divine is a church in New York.
He's paralleling religion and anti-depressants. It's a stinging social commentary as most Ted Leo stuff is.
Ted, as anyone else that's been forced to choke back SSRIs can tell you that the loss of emotion (hate and anger being the strongest a human posesses) is terrifying, especially for an artist who needs to draw on them.
And I really doubt he'd be very anti-drug ;)
it most certainly is
I am on my knees today
I am surprised no one has mentioned St. John of the Cross.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_John_of_the_Cross
He was a 16th century christian mystic who authored the Dark Night of the Soul. It's commonly referenced concept for a dark (depressing, fearful, lonely, etc) period one must go to attain some necessary personal rebirth.
Just a thought, from which you add some more meanings if you like.
Am I the only one that hears 'i am on my knees today' instead of 'i am on my way today'? I've listened to the song some 100 times and still hear 'knees'.
blackstarguitar, I 100% agree with you (inaccurate lyrics on this site!? Who'd have thought it!)
From looking on Timorousme.org, I guess this song has some references to the Gospel of John in the New Testament. Similar lines, themes, etc.
I think it's an anti-drug song.
The first verse is key: "the world will stay the same but your place in relation to it has changed," refers to hallucinations.
" And when the word begins to loose its power to restore and soothe" is about how you begin turning to drugs more and more for comfort.
"Well taxes now was once your wealth. When tucks and aches becomes your health," is basically about addiction, and how you begin to need the drug.
The next two verses just talk about the spread of the addiction, and how things are getting "blacker".
I'm not totally sure how the last verse relates, but there's my interpretation :)
I do hate how this site tends to post innacurate lyrics.
St. John --> St. John's Wort --> Anti-depressant
Toad and stk137's comments make sense together, if the commentary on anti-depressants is that they deprive people of St. John's necessary dark period. What I'm wondering is if Ted thinks anti-depressants are just over-diagnosed, or completely wrong in all cases.