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.
Tell me which side I'm on
Approaching constant failure
Tell me which side I'm on
(What's friend or foe?)
Approaching constant failure
Between love and hate
Which path to follow?
How can I keep balance in this race?
Come faith, I'm dying slowly
In many ways I'm the burden
That divides us from the light
In many ways you're the halo
That keeps my spirit alive
Temptation, if you could reave a part
In me you evoke the dark away
Now free me and watch me heal
Tell me which side I'm on
Approaching constant failure
Between love and hate
Which path to follow?
How can I keep balance in this race?
Come faith, I'm dying
Bemused by the trials and tribulations in force of my life
Fly from here but as the chosen pessimist
Carve my name in stone
Carve my name in stone
(Bemused by the trials and tribulations in force of my life
Fly from here but as the chosen pessimist)
How can I keep balance in this race?
Come faith, I'm dying
Approaching constant failure
Tell me which side I'm on
(What's friend or foe?)
Approaching constant failure
Between love and hate
Which path to follow?
How can I keep balance in this race?
Come faith, I'm dying slowly
In many ways I'm the burden
That divides us from the light
In many ways you're the halo
That keeps my spirit alive
Temptation, if you could reave a part
In me you evoke the dark away
Now free me and watch me heal
Tell me which side I'm on
Approaching constant failure
Between love and hate
Which path to follow?
How can I keep balance in this race?
Come faith, I'm dying
Bemused by the trials and tribulations in force of my life
Fly from here but as the chosen pessimist
Carve my name in stone
Carve my name in stone
(Bemused by the trials and tribulations in force of my life
Fly from here but as the chosen pessimist)
How can I keep balance in this race?
Come faith, I'm dying
Lyrics submitted by minus_zer0
The Chosen Pessimist Lyrics as written by Bjorn Gelotte Anders Friden
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think this song is simply about himself and his two halves. His dark depressed side and his brighter more optimistic self.
"In many ways I AM the burden that divides us from the light In many ways YOUR the the halo that keeps my spirit alive" (He is looking in a mirror and realizing he controls his own damnation or his own salvation)
"If I survive I fly from here, But as the chosen pessimist,I carve my name in stone"
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