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.
On my feet I stand tonight
Stand and step up to the light
An extraordinary man
Unbroken in a breaking light
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
Hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
On my feet I stand tonight
Stand alone inside the air
An extraordinary man
Everything stops and holds me there
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
And hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
And hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
Stand and step up to the light
An extraordinary man
Unbroken in a breaking light
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
Hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
On my feet I stand tonight
Stand alone inside the air
An extraordinary man
Everything stops and holds me there
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
And hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
Forever after days
Stand and make myself a crown
To the table I step alone
And hold my own above the ground
Take my shot under the light
Heroes come the common way
Pull myself into the sky
Wrap me in the banner I made
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Great version of a great song,
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first off, i think it's "stand alone inside the air" and secondly, it's confounding that no one else has commented on this song. i'm not ashamed to admit it's one of my favorites.
the line "unbroken in the breaking light" sums it up perfectly.
a lot of the national's songs have a sense of disparate fortitude... "Mr. November", "All the Wine", "Fake Empire", "Forever After Days"... no matter how humble we pretend to be, we crave attention and feel entitled to the spotlight. "i used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders", "a birthday candle in a circle of black girls", "tiptoe through our shiny city with our diamond slippers on", "on my feet i stand tonight"...
after all, we hold our own against monuments of shit on a daily basis, yet rarely do we receive any form of reward or recognition. and it was this sense that initially drew me in and quickly made me a fan for life. well that, and matt just sounds like a bad ass. anyways, i believe this song is a testament to everything the national stands for, and the following journey is an amalgam of what i profess to be an extraordinary man...
christ - "heroes come the common way" - last supper - "to the table i step alone" - crown of thorns - "stand and make myself a crown" - crucifixion - "hold my own above the ground" - "hold the line! stay with me" - maximus decimus meridius - "what we do in life, echoes an eternity" - "forever after days" - daniel day-lewis - bill the butcher - bloody american flag - also played a boxer - rocky iv -"take my shot under the light" - another bloody american flag - "wrap me in the banner i made"
yes! i love this song also, its one of my favorites partly because of the minimal instrumentation backing Matt, and partly because of the great lyrics.<br /> <br /> it could also mean something about dying, or wanting to die, <br /> <br /> take my shot under the light, heroes come a common way<br /> pull myself into the sky, wrap me in the banner i made<br /> <br /> also maybe something about making himself a martyr and killing himself, once he has achieved martyrdom.
@mrcricket well, it's years later and you will never read this reply. but all this time has passed and this is still probably my favorite National song. sometimes I listen to it in my cars for days and days on repeat. it puts me in a certain frame of mind when i hear it. i can't interpret the words but it makes me thing of some type of highlander or some hero of old readying for war, wrapped in the banner - his flag, his uniform. and after the battle, he is gone now forever, after the days of war. i'm terrible about interpreting - but i always think this would be such a great song in a soundtrack watching a man readying himself for battle.