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.
Dear Mr. President
Come take a walk with me
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly
What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why?
Dear Mr. President
Were you a lonely boy? (Are you a lonely boy?)
Are you a lonely boy?
(Are you a lonely boy?)
How can you say
No child is left behind?
We're not dumb, and we're not blind
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell
What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh
How do you sleep at night?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Dear Mr. President
You'd never take a walk with me
Would you?
Come take a walk with me
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly
What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why?
Dear Mr. President
Were you a lonely boy? (Are you a lonely boy?)
Are you a lonely boy?
(Are you a lonely boy?)
How can you say
No child is left behind?
We're not dumb, and we're not blind
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell
What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh
How do you sleep at night?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Dear Mr. President
You'd never take a walk with me
Would you?
Lyrics submitted by hotarunohaka
Dear Mr. President Lyrics as written by William Mann Alicia Moore
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Wow this song is a big slap in the face to the president you know what some people give him a hard time but you know what its not helping when we have men in iraq and people are saying that they should not be there and then insulting the president telling him to pull them out and then this stupid statement
Let me tell you about hard work Minimum wage with a baby on the way Let me tell you about hard work Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away Let me tell you about hard work Building a bed out of a cardboard box Let me tell you about hard work
that just pisses me off cause you know what we think that everyone has had to work hard for what they got and that nobody but the president got stuff a little easyer this is just a song for all the stupid demacrats out there who hate the presidint and its not his fault that there are homeless i would rather him put armor and better weapons to protect our troops over in iraq then give the homeless $5.00 a week for food or some crap like that
wow such a bush supporter. GET OVER IT! Bush is about to be gone anyways. Now there is a "demicrat" (learn how to spell it right by the way) president
what would pink know about hard work? shes never written a song and pulls in millions per album for some unbeknownst reason. bush wasn't that bad was he?
bahah ya'll are haters. pink is amazing so get over it. <br /> and this song tells the truth about bush. <br /> even though he's not in office anymore,<br /> obama is NOT gonna do any better than him.<br /> have you HEARD what he plans to do?! <br /> HE'S GOING TO DESTROY US!
umm pink usually writes her own songs.!<br /> and she was on the streets. and poor before she was recognised. so she difinantly knows what she is one about when she talks about "hard work"<br /> and even if i have never built a box as my bed. or have had to rebuild my house. or whatever, its called empathy. and its clear pink shows empathy and cares about the millions of other people despite her wealth and fame. unlike bush.<br /> <br /> i agree with you gigglesxoxo. =)<br /> <br /> also, america is in a lot of debt bc of bush and his stupid desicions.<br /> <br /> thankgod bush is out.<br /> he wasnt only ruining his own country. but other countries as well.
Yeah right. All the politicians and George Bush were born into wealthy families who paid their way to the top. Lucky George Bush had his dad which is how he got president in the first place. It's his job to make sure that his country is a good place and he failed miserably.
so you are more worried about terrorists than your own nations people. You're a winner. Your mother must be so proud. I know I simply am. How have we not met???
to XXXXXxxxxXgodly-whatever-the-fuck-your-name-is XxXXxx hardcore leet fucktard..<br /> <br /> you have a lot to learn about war. it's not just 'our troops protecting our country'.<br /> a single cruise missile costs $300,000. now, where does that money go? that money goes to the business that made that missile.<br /> <br /> and do you think Bush pulls the money out of his own pocket? it's the PEOPLE who pay for all the big businesses that produce the oil that fuels the tanks, hummers and aircraft, the steel that reinforces the tanks, hummers and aircraft, the plastic that makes the weapons that the troops use to kill other people.<br /> <br /> wars cost billions of dollars to maintain for extended periods of time, which is WHY there are homeless people on the street because more and more money is borrowed from the federal reserve bank to SPEND on your precious weapons and armour. <br /> <br /> and that money has to be paid back, doesn't it. that's where WE the people come in. so you sit there and tell us to have some respect, while these big businesses and Bush himself are laughing all the way to the bank, saying that this is a war on TERROR. TERROR TERROR TERROR TERROR TERROR EVIL TERRORISTS TERRORIST TERROR TERRORISTS. the word is DRILLED into the people's heads until all of a sudden out of the womb of lies and deceit OUT POPS ugly fucked up sheep like YOU who think the war is good, that the war is helping us, that the EVIL TERRORISTS AND THE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION are gonna be wiped out and we'll be safe. <br /> <br /> while we lose our jobs, lose our homes, lose everything, and trillions of our dollars simply get pumped back into the big companies that simply LOVE to try and make a war last AS LONG AS POSSIBLE to get as much money out of it as possible. it's all for their own wealth. but you're obviously too far gone, i'm sorry for the loss of your soul.
Spoken like someone who has NEVER been homeless. I've been there. I've slept in a car with my mom, my brother,and my sister. I've been in shelter after shelter. I've been hungry. Until you have had to live that type of life then you don't know what the hell you're talking about. We weren't out because of drugs or anything, DOWN sizing put us on the streets. Lived like that for 8 months. I was blessed it was ONLY that short. My dad died homeless. You really don't know anything about the real world. Once you've been homeless lets see if you would rather them put that money in a bomb rather than in your hand.
I am not a bush supporter, but I do not hate him, yall up the talkin shit on a man who has one of the toughest most criticizing jobs in the nation should walkj a mile on his shoes. And you who think pink doesn't know about hard work, walk a mile in her shoes. And to "musiclivesnme", I like how you put hat, when I lived with my real parents we were homeless, only for a couple months, I don't quite no the extent, but i no it wasn't my families fault. Alot of people lost jobs, and lost and lost homes and we eere some of the less fortunate there. So who said that they wouldn't give 5$ to a homeless person. That's fine, they can find a much etter person, who has an open mind, and without a stick in their ass. And they will survive without ur lousy 5$
That's not fair to say that all people that hate Bush are stupid democrats. I don't hate Bush but he sucked at being the president. He wasn't smart and he couldn't public speak. The only reason he got elected was because of his father. He doesn't seem like an awful guy, but he had a mansion and he grew up rich. He had no idea of poverty as a child. He went to Harvard because of his name. Not because of his D's and F's. Also she never said to pull the troops out she just meant maybe you should think more before you blow up the wrong place. Which was a reference to Bill Clinton actually.
And neither can you. You should never speak publicly because you sound extremely ignorant. He sucked at being the president? I can't even read that again, it's the worse commnetary I've ever witnessed. You sound like like a retard. PLEASE STOPPPPPPPPPPPPP