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.
To Carthage then I came as a young boy lost in the promise
Of the steady beating heart of the metropolis
But I spent so long beneath the dim street lighting
That I strained my eyes and lost the finesse of my fine hand-writing
It’s not like I need it these days – my letters home have been getting shorter
I can’t concentrate if I can’t secure a source of clean water
But there’s never a drop to drink in the concrete furrows
My anger is Vesuvius casting its shadow
I spent too long walking across bridges failing to appreciate the sweating river’s flow escaping,
Leaving the city streets tinderbox-dry and oh-so-tempting
My fatigue is San Andreas shuddering slow
I mark my lintel with bloodstains
And dream of suburbs up in flames
Every evening when I arrive back at home
And finally lock my front door,
Carthago Est Delenda,
And the pavements are beaches once more
But in the morning when my alarm wakes me,
The concrete is back in its place
As I trudge through the streets at the break of day,
It’s the river that calls me away
The river flows outside of town,
Away from dirt, away from crowds,
And if I could follow it to the sea
I’d wash the sweat right off of me
So break my legs and weigh me down,
Throw me in, but I won’t drown –
I’ll float away, go down the stream
The river flows outside the city
Of the steady beating heart of the metropolis
But I spent so long beneath the dim street lighting
That I strained my eyes and lost the finesse of my fine hand-writing
It’s not like I need it these days – my letters home have been getting shorter
I can’t concentrate if I can’t secure a source of clean water
But there’s never a drop to drink in the concrete furrows
My anger is Vesuvius casting its shadow
I spent too long walking across bridges failing to appreciate the sweating river’s flow escaping,
Leaving the city streets tinderbox-dry and oh-so-tempting
My fatigue is San Andreas shuddering slow
I mark my lintel with bloodstains
And dream of suburbs up in flames
Every evening when I arrive back at home
And finally lock my front door,
Carthago Est Delenda,
And the pavements are beaches once more
But in the morning when my alarm wakes me,
The concrete is back in its place
As I trudge through the streets at the break of day,
It’s the river that calls me away
The river flows outside of town,
Away from dirt, away from crowds,
And if I could follow it to the sea
I’d wash the sweat right off of me
So break my legs and weigh me down,
Throw me in, but I won’t drown –
I’ll float away, go down the stream
The river flows outside the city
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frank sez:
""to carthage then I came" is the first line of St Augustine's City Of God, which details his arrival in the city, descent into hedonism and final redemption through Christianity (among other things).
the pavements / beaches thing is another quote - one of the more famous may 68 slogans in Paris was "dessous les paves la plage" - underneath the paving stones, the beach.
it's a song about being sick of the city, wanting to get washed away by the river."
"Carthago delenda est" is a latin phrase meaning Cathage must be destroyed (Carthage being an ancient african city). So the title would be carthage is destroyed.
Perhaps he wishes for the destruction of the city thats destroyed him.
anyone read Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami? I've just realised the common theme of a river being the only way of escape and symbolic of freedom from a stifling city... random point :S
The title of this song is "Carthago Est Delenda" not "Carthagio"!