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.
We can have a day from here, if you'll take your heart!
Put some faith in ideals, the bank cards will all turn around
And rent will pay itself, you can sleep tonight.
Little boys in sweat-shops who will again be children
And tonight they'll eat the lions share!
Bombing skies will sing silent
And the anger turn to laughter.
And on the crucifix Christ doesn't admit
His own sin was a martyr for.
Your shoulders just as heavy
There is no mercy from three holes
And being bored of my life.
Rob the promise and direction given to me,
We're bound to self righteous living.
But tonight... it's all or nothing tonight.
But tonight... away!!!
It's all or nothing!
Is that the way it is starting or is that the way it declines?
Is that the way you're thinking or at least all you know is best!
The possibilities you got, the possibilities you give...
Is this justified living or is it out of sight?
Fingers rapping on the counter, patience wearing thin.
It's just another work week, arthritis at 18
for a minimum living.
Who has time to breathe?
Catch it before it's over, catch it before it eats you.
Hello perspective this is just the human condition.
It's universal love my god I think it's spreading!
They'll kick you when you're down,
Push you down when you're stumbling.
Another day of dying is just evolution.
You said freedom was a hope
Away an hand or a hard push,
Is this inclusive thinking? We run by a thread,
Tongue in cheek idealists.
And I'm not giving up the claim that I can save the world
And all I need is my friends!
Put some faith in ideals, the bank cards will all turn around
And rent will pay itself, you can sleep tonight.
Little boys in sweat-shops who will again be children
And tonight they'll eat the lions share!
Bombing skies will sing silent
And the anger turn to laughter.
And on the crucifix Christ doesn't admit
His own sin was a martyr for.
Your shoulders just as heavy
There is no mercy from three holes
And being bored of my life.
Rob the promise and direction given to me,
We're bound to self righteous living.
But tonight... it's all or nothing tonight.
But tonight... away!!!
It's all or nothing!
Is that the way it is starting or is that the way it declines?
Is that the way you're thinking or at least all you know is best!
The possibilities you got, the possibilities you give...
Is this justified living or is it out of sight?
Fingers rapping on the counter, patience wearing thin.
It's just another work week, arthritis at 18
for a minimum living.
Who has time to breathe?
Catch it before it's over, catch it before it eats you.
Hello perspective this is just the human condition.
It's universal love my god I think it's spreading!
They'll kick you when you're down,
Push you down when you're stumbling.
Another day of dying is just evolution.
You said freedom was a hope
Away an hand or a hard push,
Is this inclusive thinking? We run by a thread,
Tongue in cheek idealists.
And I'm not giving up the claim that I can save the world
And all I need is my friends!
Lyrics submitted by b-pot, edited by Logicalrust
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The song just isn't a "what-if" rhetoric either; it's definitely the work of a angsty teen, if I do say so! (Kidding, hah)
All or nothing definitely has very quick changes in mood/feeling; starting off very optimistically, it takes a nose dive into.. well.. reality, I guess. But even after singing so many horrible and emotionless thoughts, it ends on "I'm not giving up the claim that I can save the world and all I need is my friends."
Thought-Teaser: The song "Burning Bridges" has the lyric: "The feeling's lost inside your vain big-headed dreams of grandeur. You're still stuck on trying to save the world." Contradicting thoughts? Or just different circumstances? (Or Maybe Burning Bridges is sung in a third-person perspective about himself, like "Searching for a Former Clarity".)
@Dynamic of Freedom
@Dynamic of Freedom Burning Bridges is def about herself