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.
Seeking out an honest living soul
Checking every body for a pulse
Lifting every eyelid for a glimmer
Of evil left to give
Meaning to meaningless, that much I'd die for
Searching through this body stack for hours
Yeah, from the bottom
Pride is gone the night
We sink to the bottom
We'll never be one of them
Awake, arise
Eat, work, shit, sleep, awake, arise
Awake, arise
Eat, work, shit, sleep, awake, arise
Listen as the chorus marching
Union roars like a lion
This old man with hat in hand just said it
We built this city on debts and booze
Twelve years of debt and I'll
Be paying it off with blood and sweat but it
Means nothing at all i'll pay the price
'Till I die
And every jaded hero clings to his worth
In it for paychecks, moving unit's and merch
But I decline to ever be one of them
Awake, arise
Eat, work, shit, sleep, awake, arise
Listen as the chorus marching
Union roars like a lion
This old man with hat in hand just said it
We built this city on debts and booze
Legs on the ottoman and head in the mosh
Sharp like an astronaut but dull as a rock
An angel's sigh
Damn right, we got a problem now
I'm mimicking the drum fills with
My head on the wall the voice of God comes
Through the morning alarm awake, arise
Awake, arise
Wake up!
I've laughed before but not so heavy as
A fire and brimstone hilarity mess
That said we'll be here for the end of it all
By cutting off the strings we used to pull
And reaching deep for thoughts and ways to
Bring us back to better days
'Till king and queen pass out
Drunk off their power
We'll stand in light of evil eyes forever
We'll be there for the end of it all
Awake, arise
Eat, work, shit, sleep, awake, arise
We'll be there for the end of it all
To stand in line of evil eyes forever
Strangers at the bottom
Checking every body for a pulse
Lifting every eyelid for a glimmer
Of evil left to give
Meaning to meaningless, that much I'd die for
Searching through this body stack for hours
Yeah, from the bottom
Pride is gone the night
We sink to the bottom
We'll never be one of them
Awake, arise
Eat, work, shit, sleep, awake, arise
Awake, arise
Eat, work, shit, sleep, awake, arise
Listen as the chorus marching
Union roars like a lion
This old man with hat in hand just said it
We built this city on debts and booze
Twelve years of debt and I'll
Be paying it off with blood and sweat but it
Means nothing at all i'll pay the price
'Till I die
And every jaded hero clings to his worth
In it for paychecks, moving unit's and merch
But I decline to ever be one of them
Awake, arise
Eat, work, shit, sleep, awake, arise
Listen as the chorus marching
Union roars like a lion
This old man with hat in hand just said it
We built this city on debts and booze
Legs on the ottoman and head in the mosh
Sharp like an astronaut but dull as a rock
An angel's sigh
Damn right, we got a problem now
I'm mimicking the drum fills with
My head on the wall the voice of God comes
Through the morning alarm awake, arise
Awake, arise
Wake up!
I've laughed before but not so heavy as
A fire and brimstone hilarity mess
That said we'll be here for the end of it all
By cutting off the strings we used to pull
And reaching deep for thoughts and ways to
Bring us back to better days
'Till king and queen pass out
Drunk off their power
We'll stand in light of evil eyes forever
We'll be there for the end of it all
Awake, arise
Eat, work, shit, sleep, awake, arise
We'll be there for the end of it all
To stand in line of evil eyes forever
Strangers at the bottom
Lyrics submitted by ExitEnglish90
We Built This City! Lyrics as written by Bernard J. P. Taupin Martin George Page
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Word Collections Publishing, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
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
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
what, no comment? surely my favorite song, but like almost all of AWS song, can't get the lyrics... read from Trevor that it's about their hometown of New Bedford... anyway, can't wait for Groezrock and I hope they'll play that song... they could get on stage, play it and then walk off stage, it would still be a great show!