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.
I'll kill you in my dreams
I turn the other cheek during the day
I'll kill you all
The subculture of my dreams
Is waiting for me to fall asleep
I know you're scared you should be
I know you're scared
Hero
Dreamer
This attic of my mind
These feelings I can't hide
I can't share
I feel alone ah yeah
The subconscious keeps me here
I fell in love with a balladeer
I saw your tongue it licked my heart
They called you queer
Hero
Dreamer
Hero
They called you queer
They called you queer
They called you queer
They called you queer
I turn the other cheek during the day
I'll kill you all
The subculture of my dreams
Is waiting for me to fall asleep
I know you're scared you should be
I know you're scared
Hero
Dreamer
This attic of my mind
These feelings I can't hide
I can't share
I feel alone ah yeah
The subconscious keeps me here
I fell in love with a balladeer
I saw your tongue it licked my heart
They called you queer
Hero
Dreamer
Hero
They called you queer
They called you queer
They called you queer
They called you queer
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Ok, im a huge live fan. I think I got this song figured out. Ed is scared. The subconcious can be scary as fuck when there are things there you don't want to come to terms with. Ed is having some doubts here about his sexuality. Not because he's gay but because he's human and there really is no such thing as gay or straight. There is no definitive line there. He's scared and ashamed: "this attic of my mind these feelings i cant hide i cant share i feel alone". and then there is the reference to falling in love with a balladeer, and that word is rather old and back in the day there werent many female balladeers. the subconcious keeps me here i fell in live with a balladeer i saw your tounge it licked my heart they called you queer". the they called you queer reference is his ego reffering to his heart being licked and its yelling at the balladeer, calling it queer. because lets face it even the most open minded people like myself are a bit homo-phobic. Well thats my view on it. im sure it will make some people a bit uncomfortable but I know Live's music pretty well and my knowledge of the subconscious is at best mediocre. But this makes sense to me. lemme know what you think or you can call me a queer. namaste webb
This song is about Kurt Cobain.
Kurt Cobain hated people and liked being asleep because then he wouldn't have to deal with them.
Kurt Cobain was a singer/songwriter - a balladeer.
When Kurt was in high school people called him queer.
This was the first Live album to be released after Kurt's death.
This song fucking rocks! is one of my fave songs by Live!
the hardest song on the album, and by far the closest thing to modern rock. this isnt necessarily a knock on it, since not all modern rock is poor. this song has the dips and hooks on it give it the feeling of wandering, and the lyrics add to that impression. because the guitar is sporadic and unpredictable to a discomfort, it adds to the mood of the song. the lyrics give a feeling of suppression and reclusiveness, like an outcast seen by ed as a marvel and by others as a freak.
Okay im a huge live fan and I think I got this song down. Ed is in a battle with a part of himself he doesn't want to come to terms with. During the day its easy, but at night or whenever he is in his subconscious wether it be through dreaming or other means, this part of him is not so easy to ignore. i had this all typed up and it got deleted so ill just make it short. ed is questioning his sexuality. read the song or listed to it and keep that in mind. namaste webb
On the DVD that came with Live's CD "Awake" their greatest hits, Ed give an interview. He says something like "I don't even know what half of Secret Samadhi means"....he went on to say "They were very friendly with the gardener."
I'm gonna say this is definately one of the songs he was talking about haha.
I've always thought this song was about a homosexual ("they called you queer") who was constantly abused for his lifestyle. While he doesn't react directly to peoples' taunts ("I turn the other cheek during the day") he actually dreams of revenge ("I'll kill you all in my dreams").
The verse describes that in this man's mind he's a lone hero driven by a ballad singer ("balladeer") whose song has touched him ("I saw your tongue, it licked my heart").
To sing of a love so strong, that every cell in my body aches for it when it is missing. Emotion so powerful it could make a grown man cry. I would then be a balladeer.
If I were to sing a song of a longing, pining and paining for this love, if you dogs call me queer, I would curse you and in my dreams kill you.
If you were to believe my songs, you may fall in love with my words, because they licked your heart because you know such love. Because you love more than is acceptable.
The subconscious keep you there. In love like the balladeer.
All you people thinking this is about him struggling with his sexuality are way off the mark. He's straight, married for 23 years, and has 3 kids.
The song is about being bullied, and dreaming of revenge. "I turn the other cheek during the day, I'll kill you all". The bullies call him queer. He's an artistic guy that's into music "I fell in love with a balladeer" and people push him around as a result. So he's alone, but in his imagination he's the hero that stands up to them, and the psycho that kills them to get revenge.
It's pretty on the nose, IDK how anyone got "questioning his sexuality" out of it.