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.
Jesus, the world is falling to pieces
Will you come back and be our hero and release us?
And if so, will you get your own show?
And we'll be saved and well-behaved
And you'll be famous
Here's to the future that was
Everything you thought it'd be but
Was it anything you thought of?
Here's to the future that was
Thomas, a new century is upon us
You were enlightened but you weren't very honest
I know it was a long time ago
And things change and people change
And both have changed us
Here's to the future that was
Everything you thought it'd be but
Was it anything you thought of?
Here's to the future that was
Samuel, your son is quite a handful
His grades are bad, he can't do math,
And he tends to ramble
Our tests show that he's a bit slow
If he receives the help he needs
He'll ride the same bus
Here's to the future that was
Everything you thought it'd be but
Was it anything you thought of?
Here's to the future that was
Will you come back and be our hero and release us?
And if so, will you get your own show?
And we'll be saved and well-behaved
And you'll be famous
Here's to the future that was
Everything you thought it'd be but
Was it anything you thought of?
Here's to the future that was
Thomas, a new century is upon us
You were enlightened but you weren't very honest
I know it was a long time ago
And things change and people change
And both have changed us
Here's to the future that was
Everything you thought it'd be but
Was it anything you thought of?
Here's to the future that was
Samuel, your son is quite a handful
His grades are bad, he can't do math,
And he tends to ramble
Our tests show that he's a bit slow
If he receives the help he needs
He'll ride the same bus
Here's to the future that was
Everything you thought it'd be but
Was it anything you thought of?
Here's to the future that was
Lyrics submitted by BlueAndStarry
The Future That Was Lyrics as written by Josh Joplin
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think this is one of the most comlpex songs on the cd. And I can't believe more people can't get into his music. Anyway, I think this song is about taking whatever comes your way. In each verse, a short story is described about a future that is much different than the one expected. It's all done sort of optamistically, like, "oh well, it's not what I expected, but it'll do." Until the last line when he says, "here's to the future that was fine." Like, "why couldn't things just go the way they were planned? It would make things alot simpler."
I love how the 1st verse depicts the state of the world today. If Jesus came back tomorrow, yeah we would all want to be saved, but no one would really want to quit what they were doing. It's very much an ignorant paradox.