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.
[Chorus]
And you think you've seen trouble
Well you're lookin' at the man
Oh the world's own original hard luck story
And a hard time losin' man
Oh sometimes skies are cloudy
And sometimes skies are blue
And sometimes they say that you eat the bear
But sometimes the bear eats you
And sometimes I feel like I should go
Far far away and hide
'Cause I keep a waitin' for my ship to come in
And all that ever comes is the tide
[Chorus]
Oh I saved up all my money
I gonna buy me a flashy car
So I go downtown to see the man
And he smokin' on a big cigar
Well he must' a thought I were Rockefeller
Or an uptown man of wealth
He said "Boy I got the car that's made for you
And it's cleaner than the Board of Health"
Then I got on the highway oh I feelin' fine, I hit a bump
Then I found I bought a car held together
By wire, and a couple a' hunks of twine
[Chorus]
Oh Friday night, feelin' right
I head out on the street
Standin' in the doorway
Was a dealer known as Pete
Well he sold me a dime of some super-fine
Dynamite from Mexico
I spent all night
Just tryin' to get right
On an ounce of Oregano
[Chorus]
And you think you've seen trouble
Well you're lookin' at the man
Oh the world's own original hard luck story
And a hard time losin' man
Oh sometimes skies are cloudy
And sometimes skies are blue
And sometimes they say that you eat the bear
But sometimes the bear eats you
And sometimes I feel like I should go
Far far away and hide
'Cause I keep a waitin' for my ship to come in
And all that ever comes is the tide
[Chorus]
Oh I saved up all my money
I gonna buy me a flashy car
So I go downtown to see the man
And he smokin' on a big cigar
Well he must' a thought I were Rockefeller
Or an uptown man of wealth
He said "Boy I got the car that's made for you
And it's cleaner than the Board of Health"
Then I got on the highway oh I feelin' fine, I hit a bump
Then I found I bought a car held together
By wire, and a couple a' hunks of twine
[Chorus]
Oh Friday night, feelin' right
I head out on the street
Standin' in the doorway
Was a dealer known as Pete
Well he sold me a dime of some super-fine
Dynamite from Mexico
I spent all night
Just tryin' to get right
On an ounce of Oregano
[Chorus]
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I think this is Jim's funniest song, that line
"And sometimes they say that you eat the bear But sometimes the bear eats you"
just had me in stitches the first time I heard it :)