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.
The skating rink has closed
The empty fields forgive you
All my servants have been disclosed
Now there's no power in the cause
There's no face in the mirror anymore
The captains blew away like paper tigers
The church is falling down
Coz there's more roofs than footprints
This the last bowlegged town
The people who got so strong
Separating belongings
They're all gone like never here
So was it worth it trying to hold forever in your hand
Prepare to stand by, it was free and it was spent
Still you wonder where it went
And now its a shadow in the sand
And there's no babies cryin
Though there is a fever
No tables to wait
Deja vu to Jericho
With fifty arrows in your ego
Can't feel past each nerve to stop the blood flow
Ten memories in the mud
One by one we plucked out our feathers
Laughing like hyenas at the flood
Now there's no North
There's no West
Its beautiful and grotesque
And it would take eternity to mourn for
So was it worth it trying to hold forever in your hand
Prepare to stand by, it was free and it was spent
Still you wonder where it went
And now its a shadow in the sand
The color of the sunset is okay
But I've seen better
Mostly the sky is still the same
But now there's no unknown land left
Or expression on the face of death
And gods of love and war at last divided
Waiting in the waiting room
Swimming in the swimming pool
All of the things we never knew
And now your body will
Become the weeds you tried to kill
My watch it sank beside you in the ocean
So was it worth it trying to hold forever in your hand
Prepare to stand by, it was free and it was spent
Still you wonder where it went
And now its a shadow in the sand
The empty fields forgive you
All my servants have been disclosed
Now there's no power in the cause
There's no face in the mirror anymore
The captains blew away like paper tigers
The church is falling down
Coz there's more roofs than footprints
This the last bowlegged town
The people who got so strong
Separating belongings
They're all gone like never here
So was it worth it trying to hold forever in your hand
Prepare to stand by, it was free and it was spent
Still you wonder where it went
And now its a shadow in the sand
And there's no babies cryin
Though there is a fever
No tables to wait
Deja vu to Jericho
With fifty arrows in your ego
Can't feel past each nerve to stop the blood flow
Ten memories in the mud
One by one we plucked out our feathers
Laughing like hyenas at the flood
Now there's no North
There's no West
Its beautiful and grotesque
And it would take eternity to mourn for
So was it worth it trying to hold forever in your hand
Prepare to stand by, it was free and it was spent
Still you wonder where it went
And now its a shadow in the sand
The color of the sunset is okay
But I've seen better
Mostly the sky is still the same
But now there's no unknown land left
Or expression on the face of death
And gods of love and war at last divided
Waiting in the waiting room
Swimming in the swimming pool
All of the things we never knew
And now your body will
Become the weeds you tried to kill
My watch it sank beside you in the ocean
So was it worth it trying to hold forever in your hand
Prepare to stand by, it was free and it was spent
Still you wonder where it went
And now its a shadow in the sand
Lyrics submitted by Marjolaine
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