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.
Ah one two three four, one two three four
At sixteen she quit high school
To make a fortune in the promised land
She got a job behind the counter
In an all-night hamburger stand
She wrote faithfully home to Mama
Now Mama don't you worry none
From small things Mama, big things one day come
It was late one Friday
He pulled in outta the dark
He was tall and handsome
First she took his order, then she took his heart
They bought a house on the hillside
Where little feet soon would rock
Well from small things Mama, big things one day come
Oh, but love is fleeting
It's sad but true
When your heart is bleeding
You don't want to hear the news
She packed her bags
And with a Wyoming County Real Estate man
She went down to Tampa
In an Eldorado Grand
She wrote back dear mama
Life is just heaven in the sun
From small things Mama, big things one day come
Well, she shot him dead on a sunny Florida road
And when they caught her all she said
Was she couldn't stand the way he drove
Back home, dear Johnny prays for his Betty's parole
He waits high on the hillside where the lonely waters roll
At his feet and almost grown now
Blue eyed daughter and a handsome son
Well from small things Mama, big things one day come
Yeah, from small things Mama, big things one day come
At sixteen she quit high school
To make a fortune in the promised land
She got a job behind the counter
In an all-night hamburger stand
She wrote faithfully home to Mama
Now Mama don't you worry none
From small things Mama, big things one day come
It was late one Friday
He pulled in outta the dark
He was tall and handsome
First she took his order, then she took his heart
They bought a house on the hillside
Where little feet soon would rock
Well from small things Mama, big things one day come
Oh, but love is fleeting
It's sad but true
When your heart is bleeding
You don't want to hear the news
She packed her bags
And with a Wyoming County Real Estate man
She went down to Tampa
In an Eldorado Grand
She wrote back dear mama
Life is just heaven in the sun
From small things Mama, big things one day come
Well, she shot him dead on a sunny Florida road
And when they caught her all she said
Was she couldn't stand the way he drove
Back home, dear Johnny prays for his Betty's parole
He waits high on the hillside where the lonely waters roll
At his feet and almost grown now
Blue eyed daughter and a handsome son
Well from small things Mama, big things one day come
Yeah, from small things Mama, big things one day come
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love the verse "from small things, mama, big things one day come". i think he tries to say that we dont have to lose our hope, because every little thing (even if it seems to be insignificant) we start can become a great and big thing later.