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 world is turning
I hope it don't turn away
The world is turning
I hope it don't turn away
All my pictures are falling from the wall where I placed them yesterday
The world is turning
I hope it don't turn away
I need a crowd of people
But I can't face them day to day
I need a crowd of people
But I can't face them day to day
Though my problems are meaningless, that don't make them go away
I need a crowd of people
But I can't face them day to day
I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone
I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone
Now I'm living out here on the beach, but those seagulls are still out of reach
I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone
Get out of town, think I'll get out of town
Get out of town, think I'll get out of town
I head for the sticks with my bus and friends
I follow the road, though I don't know where it ends
Get out of town, think I'll get out of town
Because the world is turning
I don't want to see it turn away
I hope it don't turn away
The world is turning
I hope it don't turn away
All my pictures are falling from the wall where I placed them yesterday
The world is turning
I hope it don't turn away
I need a crowd of people
But I can't face them day to day
I need a crowd of people
But I can't face them day to day
Though my problems are meaningless, that don't make them go away
I need a crowd of people
But I can't face them day to day
I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone
I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone
Now I'm living out here on the beach, but those seagulls are still out of reach
I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone
Get out of town, think I'll get out of town
Get out of town, think I'll get out of town
I head for the sticks with my bus and friends
I follow the road, though I don't know where it ends
Get out of town, think I'll get out of town
Because the world is turning
I don't want to see it turn away
Lyrics submitted by comeonteamluca
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
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"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.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
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"
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Yes, it is a Neil Young cover. Radiohead (or more specifically, Thom and Jonny) did it during an acoustic set for a radio broadcast. Quite an appropriate song for such a situation, given the lyrics.
I think they did a good job with it (Thom's voice suits the song beautifully), but it's a great song in the first place. Neil Young has written many amazing songs, and this is one of them. The original is worth checking out, if you're not familiar with it.
I think it's about fame and mixed feelings that come with reaching it. The narrator needs people to like his work, but at the same time he can't face them and wants to get away. Even though he's reached a high point, he's still not satisfied ('the seagulls are still out of reach').
'Though my problems are meaningless/that don't make them go away' is such a great line to sum up how the general world sees famous people. Someone else's problems might seem trivial because of their station in life, but that doesn't make their problems any less difficult for them to deal with. Everything is relative.
Such a sad but brilliant song. It's no wonder Radiohead have done four different Neil Young covers.
ive never even heard of this song...has it been released?
Actually, On the Beach is a Neil Young cover...I'm pretty sure of it.
I think it's more about someone who has gone past the crowning moments of his life, and everything he's ever done is slipping away from him.
I need a crowd of people But I can't face them day to day
Means he's moody, sometimes wants to be around a lot of people, but needs alone time, too.
All my pictures are falling from the wall where I placed them yesterday
Means life is changing....
Because the world is turning I don't want to see it turn away
Means the world is changing but he hopes it will still accept him