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.
The king's crossing was the main attraction
Dominoes are falling in a chain reaction
The scraping subject ruled by fear told me
Whiskey works better than beer
The judge is on vinyl, decisions are final
And nobody gets a reprieve
And every wave is tidal if you hang around
You're going to get wet
I can't prepare for death any more than I already have
All you can do now is watch the shells
The game looks easy that's why it sells
Frustrated fireworks inside your head
Are going to stand and deliver talk instead
The method acting that pays my bills
Keeps the fat man feeding in Beverly hills
I got a heavy metal mouth that hurls obscenity
And I get my check from the trash treasury
'Cause I took my own insides out
It don't matter 'cause I had no sex life
All I want to do now is inject my ex wife
I've seen the movie and I know what happens
It's a Christmas time
And the needles on the tree
A skinny Santa is bringing something to me
His voice is overwhelming, but his speech is slurred
And I only understand every other word
"Open your parachute and grab your gun
Falling down like an omen, a setting sun
Read the part and we turn out fine
It's a hell of a role if you can keep it alive
But I don't care if I fuck up
I'm going on a date with a rich white lady
Ain't life great?
Give me one good reason not to do it (because we love you)
This is a place where time reverses
Dead men talk to all the pretty nurses
Instruments shine on a silver tray
Don't let me be carried away
Don't let me be carried away
Don't let me be carried away
Dominoes are falling in a chain reaction
The scraping subject ruled by fear told me
Whiskey works better than beer
The judge is on vinyl, decisions are final
And nobody gets a reprieve
And every wave is tidal if you hang around
You're going to get wet
I can't prepare for death any more than I already have
All you can do now is watch the shells
The game looks easy that's why it sells
Frustrated fireworks inside your head
Are going to stand and deliver talk instead
The method acting that pays my bills
Keeps the fat man feeding in Beverly hills
I got a heavy metal mouth that hurls obscenity
And I get my check from the trash treasury
'Cause I took my own insides out
It don't matter 'cause I had no sex life
All I want to do now is inject my ex wife
I've seen the movie and I know what happens
It's a Christmas time
And the needles on the tree
A skinny Santa is bringing something to me
His voice is overwhelming, but his speech is slurred
And I only understand every other word
"Open your parachute and grab your gun
Falling down like an omen, a setting sun
Read the part and we turn out fine
It's a hell of a role if you can keep it alive
But I don't care if I fuck up
I'm going on a date with a rich white lady
Ain't life great?
Give me one good reason not to do it (because we love you)
This is a place where time reverses
Dead men talk to all the pretty nurses
Instruments shine on a silver tray
Don't let me be carried away
Don't let me be carried away
Don't let me be carried away
Lyrics submitted by Mopnugget, edited by Jate, Fclssns3, ian1774721, Mellow_Harsher, dogcity, TheBee, sloathe, allaf
King's Crossing Lyrics as written by Steven Paul Smith
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Likely no one will read this as it will be pg 8 of the comments but I haven't seen this suggested anywhere else (unless I missed something) so here goes...
What if the king is Elliott? The king is crossing from a junkie to straight, or from life to death. His 'subject' tells him whiskey is better than beer if your aim is to be a junkie or to kill yourself with drink.
Then what if the judge is also Elliott? He is the one on vinyl after all. And he is the one making the decisions (to die, to use drugs or both). Then he's saying if anyone hangs around with me their going to get hurt (by the tidal wave), there is no escape.
Then he says he's ready for death and that he expects it to come - the shell game of his life is already in play, the dominoes are already lined up...it's going to happen, he just doesn't know when.
But he knows why: The record industry and drugs. He knows his disatisfaction with his life, with getting paid to 'take his own insides out' or bare his heart and soul on his records for money, will eventually lead him to 'fuck up' and use drugs again. He knows how that 'movie' will end, he will OD.
The last verse has a dual meaning for me. On the one hand it alludes to the results of an overdose (or a suicide attempt for that matter) in that he is in the hospital fighting for his life. But it also reminds me of the record version of 'Pretty Mary K'. In both he's a soldier who is taken with the beauty of the nurses and who is relying on the nurses care to save him. There is something like a plea for nurturing care by women in both songs.
And yes, the time reverses bit is meaningful in light of what happened, but likely doesn't mean what it feels like. I think it means that if he is saved by the nurses, then the inevitability of his death by OD is stopped.
ya freja I always thought that "The King's Crossing" described the passing of a figurehead - basically how he portrays himself throughout the context of the song - as if the public feasts on watching their celebs deteriorate and go... it's the latest fashion. Elliott, Amy Winehouse, Kurt C., everybody loooovvvvesss to see a celeb destroy themselves...
I think the part about time reversing is an allusion to yet another relapse into usage, or at least coming to a point where you seem to want to use again despite having tried to come clean for the nth time.
King's Crossing is a neighborhood in Portland. I like what recidivist says about how it's used in the song. He had gotten famous but still fell back into addiction. What I get from the song is that he's saying it was inevitable that he would go back to using and eventually kill himself.