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.
Two ravens in the old oak tree
And one for you and one for me
And bluebells in the late December
I see signs now all the time
The last time we slept together
There was something that was not there
You never wanted to alarm me
But I'm the one that's drowning now
I could sleep forever these days
'Cause in my dreams I see you again
But this time fleshed out fuller face
In your confirmation dress
It was so like you to visit me
To let me know you were okay
It was so like you to visit me
Always worried about someone else
At your funeral I was so upset
So, so upset
In your life you were larger than this
Statue statuesque
I see signs now all the time
That you're not dead, you're sleeping
I believe in anything
That brings you back home to me
I see signs now all the time
That you're not dead, you're sleeping
I believe in anything
That brings you back home to me
And one for you and one for me
And bluebells in the late December
I see signs now all the time
The last time we slept together
There was something that was not there
You never wanted to alarm me
But I'm the one that's drowning now
I could sleep forever these days
'Cause in my dreams I see you again
But this time fleshed out fuller face
In your confirmation dress
It was so like you to visit me
To let me know you were okay
It was so like you to visit me
Always worried about someone else
At your funeral I was so upset
So, so upset
In your life you were larger than this
Statue statuesque
I see signs now all the time
That you're not dead, you're sleeping
I believe in anything
That brings you back home to me
I see signs now all the time
That you're not dead, you're sleeping
I believe in anything
That brings you back home to me
Lyrics submitted by true.love.way, edited by g0ld3n
Signs Lyrics as written by Kele Okereke Russell Lissack
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think it's just too easy to write this off as "it's a song about death". If we're to believe this song is in keeping with the album's theme (Intimacy) then perhaps it's more figurative. Sure, there are songs like Ares on Intimacy that aren't about relationships or romance, but the majority certainly are (Trojan Horse, One Month Off, you get the idea).
My interpretation of this song is that it's about a man hung up on a recently crumbled relationship. When Kele sings 'At your funeral, I was so upset... in your life, you were larger than this, statuesque", I'm reminded of the break-up, and he wonders how she could be so uncaring and cold when breaking up with him, as if nothing previous mattered. The "So like you to visit me, to let me know you were okay" section suggests to me that the girl came back for one night of passion out of her guilt for the emotional pain she's inflicted on him. When he's saying "I see signs now all the time that you're not dead, you're sleeping", he's referring to the little things that he sees his ex do that suggest that the relationship can, in fact, be salvaged: that the relationship is not dead, it's sleeping.
For any fellow Bloc Party fans, I think the song is quite similar to Biko in the sense that it deals with the end of a relationship metaphorically with death.
this.