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.
Inline bowline, inline bowline
Inline bowline, inline bowline
First you tie it around your hand
You showed me so I would understand
It's the handiest knot,
It wasn't in the book that I bought
Inline bowline, inline bowline
All who tie a knot at the game
We all were glad that he came
We toyed with tyin' the noose
No one knew he'd give it use
Inline bowline, inline bowline
Inline bowline, inline bowline
Did he think that he was nothing?
Only ending his life was left to try
Over turned over I'm left to sing
Really, why? Really, why?
Really, why? Really, why?
I use it to tie up my canoe [use it to tie my canoe]
I've used it to tie my shoes [used to tie my shoes]
It's handy on a whim [handy on a whim]
This knot is tied to him
Tied to him
Tied to him
Tied to him
Inline bowline, inline bowline
Inline bowline, inline bowline
Inline bowline, Tied to him etc..
Lyrics submitted by neko-chan
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Obviously about a friend that commits suicide, but I get the feeling that the rope/knot is a bigger metaphor for something else. I'm not sure though? It can't be that simple, with a BNL song.
@rokbom Took me all these years to find out it was about someone who hung himself, but looking at the lyrics, it was so obvious!<br /> I think the rope's significance in this song is from the friend. In the first verse, he teaches the character who kills himself how to make that knot, and when he found out his friend hung himself using that knot, he couldn't help but feel guilty.<br /> <br /> Imagine buying your friend a gun and taking them out to a shooting range. Later, you find out your friend shot himself with that gun that you bought him. You would probably feel really guilty and sad. But you didn't know your friend was going to do that.