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.
Dixie is a scourge and a scar
And a girl in my heart and a state of mind
Jesus is the man with a plan
He's a short haired Mexican friend of mine
This small town crowd should've dragged you down
Can't leave your past behind
Wipers in the rain tap out time
Coming up on a new state line
I wanna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
Gonna get me a fast car
Set out and see what I can find
Brick up the well of tears and disappear
Leave myself behind
Gonna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
Midnight, take a short cut
Through the downtown cemetery
No stepping on graves
Check the statue of the Virgin Mary
She's catching moonlight in the shadows
Revealing spider webs
Can you see the black widow
Hung between our lady's hands?
I wanna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
Gonna get me a fast car
Set out and see what I can find
Brick up the well of tears and disappear
Leave myself behind
Gonna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
Now used to be when I was young
I was so hungry for oblivion
My thoughts would linger
Like fingers in a deadly web
But in time as sorrow showed it's face
In kind I learned to ache for grace
To work and pray to one day
Be delivered whole, alive and free
I wanna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
Gonna get me a fast car
Set out and see what I can find
Brick up the well of tears and disappear
Leave myself behind
Gonna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
And a girl in my heart and a state of mind
Jesus is the man with a plan
He's a short haired Mexican friend of mine
This small town crowd should've dragged you down
Can't leave your past behind
Wipers in the rain tap out time
Coming up on a new state line
I wanna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
Gonna get me a fast car
Set out and see what I can find
Brick up the well of tears and disappear
Leave myself behind
Gonna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
Midnight, take a short cut
Through the downtown cemetery
No stepping on graves
Check the statue of the Virgin Mary
She's catching moonlight in the shadows
Revealing spider webs
Can you see the black widow
Hung between our lady's hands?
I wanna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
Gonna get me a fast car
Set out and see what I can find
Brick up the well of tears and disappear
Leave myself behind
Gonna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
Now used to be when I was young
I was so hungry for oblivion
My thoughts would linger
Like fingers in a deadly web
But in time as sorrow showed it's face
In kind I learned to ache for grace
To work and pray to one day
Be delivered whole, alive and free
I wanna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
Gonna get me a fast car
Set out and see what I can find
Brick up the well of tears and disappear
Leave myself behind
Gonna be a jailbird
From the prison of my own damn mind
Lyrics submitted by a town like paris
Jailbird Lyrics as written by Jim White
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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