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 don't know if we'll make it home
All we can do for now is hope
I don't know if we'll make it home
Water all around could swell and wash us all away
Away
And if we never said I'll be on land again
This will be one last song I will not forget
And if you drown
You won't even make a sound
You'll just swallow water down
At the bottom you'll find out
That it's quiet when you drown
I'm losing track of all the days
Lost inside a life boat
Drifting out with all the waves
The waves
And some will find their way by looking towards the sky
And some will leave their fate up to these ocean tides
And if you drown
You won't even make a sound
You'll just swallow water down
At the bottom you'll find out
That it's quiet when you drown
And when you drown
You'll never even make a sound
And when you drown
You're gonna swallow water down
The water gets so heavy
The water gets so heavy
The water gets so heavy
The water's heavy when you drown
You won't even make a sound
You'll just swallow water down
At the bottom you'll find out
That it's quiet when you drown
You'll never even make a sound
You'll just swallow water down
At the bottom you'll find out
That it's quiet when you drown
All we can do for now is hope
I don't know if we'll make it home
Water all around could swell and wash us all away
Away
And if we never said I'll be on land again
This will be one last song I will not forget
And if you drown
You won't even make a sound
You'll just swallow water down
At the bottom you'll find out
That it's quiet when you drown
I'm losing track of all the days
Lost inside a life boat
Drifting out with all the waves
The waves
And some will find their way by looking towards the sky
And some will leave their fate up to these ocean tides
And if you drown
You won't even make a sound
You'll just swallow water down
At the bottom you'll find out
That it's quiet when you drown
And when you drown
You'll never even make a sound
And when you drown
You're gonna swallow water down
The water gets so heavy
The water gets so heavy
The water gets so heavy
The water's heavy when you drown
You won't even make a sound
You'll just swallow water down
At the bottom you'll find out
That it's quiet when you drown
You'll never even make a sound
You'll just swallow water down
At the bottom you'll find out
That it's quiet when you drown
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Yo La Tengo
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,
I think Autopilot Off often talk about topics like religion or faith, but rather then speaking of them directly, they use hidden clues and you have to search for them inside the lyrics. Maybe the band was inspired by Bad Religion a bit, after all, they've done a pretty good cover of Generator :-)
To me, this song is about life and being surrounded by uncertainty. The motive of ocean is very important here. When you turn the "autopilot off", it's like sailing into great wide open - you don't know what to expect, what to do, where to go. You can be destroyed by waves at any moment, and you'll never have the chance to call for help - because "you won't even make a sound".
"I'm losing track of all the days Lost inside a lifeboat, drifting out with all the waves, the waves!"
I think this is about living in stereotype. Everyday's the same, repetition's taking over, and you can't escape it, because you have no other choice, as you are alone in the middle of the ocean of your problems.
Here comes the "faith" part;
"And some will find their way by looking towards the sky And some will leave their fate up to these ocean tides"
"looking towards the sky" - faith. Religious faith, to be accurate. For many people, it's the universal solution, it gives their life a purpose, a meaning. They need to believe there's someone watching over them, that there's a better place to be, or that better days will come. I'm not against it, though I'm not a believer, I'm agnostic, and I think (and also appreciate) that the songwriter doesn't put himself into a position of some kind of judge, he just states the fact.
However, there are also people who don't have the will to fight and they rather choose to remain passive and leave their fates up to the circumstances.
"The water gets so heavy" living under pressure, it's getting worse and you are close to drowning.
In the end, the message of this song could be that whatever happens, you have to fight against the pressure - you should make a sound, you shouldn't give up, there's no solution in waiting for some "divine intervention" (which is another great song, heh) or giving up to determination, because no one really cares, when you drown. Take control. Or try, at least.