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.
Half underwater, I'm half my mother's daughter
A fraction's left up to dispute
The whole collection, half of the price they're asking
In the halfway house of ill repute
Half accidental, half painful instrumental
I have a lot to think about
You think they're joking? You have to go provoke him
I guess it's high time you found out
It's half biology and half corrective surgery gone wrong
You'll notice something funny if you hang around here for too
Long ago in some black hole before they had these pills to take it back
I'm half Jill and half Jack
Two halves are equal, a cross between two evils
It's not an enviable lot
But if you listen you'll learn to hear the difference
Between the halves and the half knots
When I let him, when I feel the stitches getting sicker
I try to wash him out but like they say, 'The blood is thicker'
I see my mother in my face but only when I travel
I run as fast as I can run but Jack comes tumbling after
And when I'm brave enough and find a clever way to kick him out
And I'm so high, not even you and all your love could bring me down
On 83rd he never found the magic words to change this fact
I'm half Jill and half Jack
I'm halfway home now, half hoping for a showdown
'Cause I'm not big enough to house this crowd
It might destroy me but I'd sacrifice my body
If it meant I'd get the Jack part out
See Jack, run Jack, run Jack, see Jack
See Jack, run Jack, run Jack, see Jack
See Jack, run Jack, run Jack, see Jack
See Jack, run Jack, run Jack, run Jack, run
A fraction's left up to dispute
The whole collection, half of the price they're asking
In the halfway house of ill repute
Half accidental, half painful instrumental
I have a lot to think about
You think they're joking? You have to go provoke him
I guess it's high time you found out
It's half biology and half corrective surgery gone wrong
You'll notice something funny if you hang around here for too
Long ago in some black hole before they had these pills to take it back
I'm half Jill and half Jack
Two halves are equal, a cross between two evils
It's not an enviable lot
But if you listen you'll learn to hear the difference
Between the halves and the half knots
When I let him, when I feel the stitches getting sicker
I try to wash him out but like they say, 'The blood is thicker'
I see my mother in my face but only when I travel
I run as fast as I can run but Jack comes tumbling after
And when I'm brave enough and find a clever way to kick him out
And I'm so high, not even you and all your love could bring me down
On 83rd he never found the magic words to change this fact
I'm half Jill and half Jack
I'm halfway home now, half hoping for a showdown
'Cause I'm not big enough to house this crowd
It might destroy me but I'd sacrifice my body
If it meant I'd get the Jack part out
See Jack, run Jack, run Jack, see Jack
See Jack, run Jack, run Jack, see Jack
See Jack, run Jack, run Jack, see Jack
See Jack, run Jack, run Jack, run Jack, run
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Yeah, I never even thought of hermaphrodites until I read it here. But then again, I thought she was singing "Half JEW, half jack", so it made more sense if it was about her parents. The only thing I found confusing was what 'jack', was a metaphor for. I thought maybe someone who was dead, like drowned as in the "half underwater". Then I checked out the different meanings of 'jack', and it seems like a pretty sneaky name.
My theory that Amanda was a little jewish-ish was supported by her guest-appearance on the golem! record.