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.
Feel the matress tense beneath me
Like the muscle of nonsleepy
Feathers flexing will defeat me
And it vexes me completely
And the hexes heat covertly
Like a slow low-flying turkey
Like a Texan drying jerky
But his meaty mitts can't hurt me
With my steely will compounded
In a mighty mound that's hounded
By the snap your steel string sounded
Just before your snores unwound it
And in store are dreams so daring
That the night can't stop from staring
And I'll swim sweetly as a herring
Through the ether, not despairing
Go to sleep, you stunning sky
Gently creep cunning by
A quiet hum is amplified
By your thumb
That you suck dry
Hundred raging waters snare the lonely sigh
Oh when you hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopeia
Hundred raging waters snare the lonely sigh
Oh when you hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
Oh oh, Cassiopiea
Like the muscle of nonsleepy
Feathers flexing will defeat me
And it vexes me completely
And the hexes heat covertly
Like a slow low-flying turkey
Like a Texan drying jerky
But his meaty mitts can't hurt me
With my steely will compounded
In a mighty mound that's hounded
By the snap your steel string sounded
Just before your snores unwound it
And in store are dreams so daring
That the night can't stop from staring
And I'll swim sweetly as a herring
Through the ether, not despairing
Go to sleep, you stunning sky
Gently creep cunning by
A quiet hum is amplified
By your thumb
That you suck dry
Hundred raging waters snare the lonely sigh
Oh when you hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopeia
Hundred raging waters snare the lonely sigh
Oh when you hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia
Oh oh, Cassiopiea
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The harp on this song is so gorgeous.
I agree with the lullaby/dream idea, and I think that this line is just flawless:
"Feel the matress tense beneath me like the muscle of nonsleepy."
That verse is just amazing and possibly my favourite of all her lyrics.