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.
Woke up screaming on the wrong side of the head
Dreaming of demons who'd be better off...better off dead
Now I know I'm accountable fo the things I've said before
But I just can't shut up and get out the door
SO LET'S SING VOLUMES FOR THE SOULS THAT AREN'T FOR SALE
INDEED LATELY THERE'S BEEN HELL HOUNDS ON MY TRAIL
Woke up sccreaming on the wrong side of the Zen
So get up and say the word!
Say the word and I'll be gone
Say the word and I'll be gone
Say the word and I'll be gone forever and ever...(Get up, get out...)
Singing the god for the bad in the age of the fall
Now the enemy plays for the whole fucking world!
(Solo 1 - Dev/Solo 2 - Jed)
Sooner or later the nights with the satyr
Will bring back the memory
Leaving you money and time
Sweet locomotive with you as the motive
The beauty the agony mixes with honey and grime
Sly imitator the cats in the cradle the dogs in the stable will
Always remain on your mind
Sooner or later it comes to the table reminding them all
That the memory always was mine
Wake up running in the only way I can
This type of dependency turns a boy into a man
Now I know I'm accountable,
Now I know I'm responsible
NO PEACE FOR YOU, LITTLE MAN!
Say the word and I'll be gone
Say the word and I'll be gone
Say the word and I'll be gone forever and ever...(Get up, get out...)
Singing the good for the bad in the age of the fall
(Singing the good for the bad in the age of the fall)
Singing the good for the bad in the age of the fall
Now the enemy plays for the whole fucking world!
Dreaming of demons who'd be better off...better off dead
Now I know I'm accountable fo the things I've said before
But I just can't shut up and get out the door
SO LET'S SING VOLUMES FOR THE SOULS THAT AREN'T FOR SALE
INDEED LATELY THERE'S BEEN HELL HOUNDS ON MY TRAIL
Woke up sccreaming on the wrong side of the Zen
So get up and say the word!
Say the word and I'll be gone
Say the word and I'll be gone
Say the word and I'll be gone forever and ever...(Get up, get out...)
Singing the god for the bad in the age of the fall
Now the enemy plays for the whole fucking world!
(Solo 1 - Dev/Solo 2 - Jed)
Sooner or later the nights with the satyr
Will bring back the memory
Leaving you money and time
Sweet locomotive with you as the motive
The beauty the agony mixes with honey and grime
Sly imitator the cats in the cradle the dogs in the stable will
Always remain on your mind
Sooner or later it comes to the table reminding them all
That the memory always was mine
Wake up running in the only way I can
This type of dependency turns a boy into a man
Now I know I'm accountable,
Now I know I'm responsible
NO PEACE FOR YOU, LITTLE MAN!
Say the word and I'll be gone
Say the word and I'll be gone
Say the word and I'll be gone forever and ever...(Get up, get out...)
Singing the good for the bad in the age of the fall
(Singing the good for the bad in the age of the fall)
Singing the good for the bad in the age of the fall
Now the enemy plays for the whole fucking world!
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Amazing
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Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
I am fairly certain this is about how Devin feels about S.Y.L. as a band, before breaking up after this final tour. This song seems to be about the remorse of having to leave it all behind, but his acceptance to do so.
"Woke up screaming on the Wrong Side of the head! Dreaming of demons who'd be better off.. better off dead!"
If you've ever heard Dev talk about S.Y.L., you know that he had some serious emotional duality about things, hence the separation of all of his 'Devin Townsend' releases versus S.Y.L. This line is simply showing that duality, waking up and having the dark S.Y.L. content that he required him to be in that state to write about it. Much like a method actor.
"Now I know i'm accountable for the things I've said before! But I just can't shut up and get out the door!"
Understanding that what he has created is his responsibility, but he is reluctant to just leave it all. However its clear another part of him wants to leave it behind, which is shown in other lyrics:
"Say the word and i'll be gone forever and ever.. (get up, get out) Singing the good for the bad in the age of the fall Now the enemy plays for the whole fucking world!"
This lyric is simply showing what this final sound of S.Y.L. is meant to be. A final performance of his dark side to finally expel the negative feelings he is haunted with, mixing with S.Y.L.'s ever increasing popularity from album to album.
I'd encourage you guys to keep thinking about the rest of the lyrics that I haven't analyzed in this sense. The lyrical content of this album is quite 'meta' (hate to use that term, but its what applies), and self critical of the band and what it had been and what it was becoming at the time.