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.
Definitely not the things that I'm seeing
Did I think I'd see so instantly
I found a note in my grandfather's coat
When I read it out loud I got cold
'Cause it said "I'm not complaining"
Yeah I was just saying
I'm a man, I'm a lost one, you see
Come down with me to a place
We'll get clean and we'll meet with them eventually
You mean everything
I don't know much but a crutch is a crutch
If it's holding you from moving on
I don't know what to do
Not anymore, not anymore
I don't know what to do
Not anymore, not anymore
And you, well you mean everything
You mean everything to nothing
You mean everything to nothing
You mean everything to nobody but me
'Cause you mean everything to nothing
You mean everything to nobody but me
Did I think I'd see so instantly
I found a note in my grandfather's coat
When I read it out loud I got cold
'Cause it said "I'm not complaining"
Yeah I was just saying
I'm a man, I'm a lost one, you see
Come down with me to a place
We'll get clean and we'll meet with them eventually
You mean everything
I don't know much but a crutch is a crutch
If it's holding you from moving on
I don't know what to do
Not anymore, not anymore
I don't know what to do
Not anymore, not anymore
And you, well you mean everything
You mean everything to nothing
You mean everything to nothing
You mean everything to nobody but me
'Cause you mean everything to nothing
You mean everything to nobody but me
Lyrics submitted by hobomclacey, edited by VeganGuy
Everything To Nothing Lyrics as written by John Andrew Hull
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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I'm probably not the only one who's noticed that "My Friend Marcus" "Tony the Tiger" and "Everything to Nothing" are intentionally put together in that order on the album as a continuation of the same main idea with "you mean everything to nothing" as the encompassing thought. If you listen to the album straight almost every song (throughout) blends into the next, but these are even more closely related because there's almost no division at all. The exact meaning isn't completely clear, but it seems like overall the narrator is reflecting on three different relationships and the peculiarity by which they live, and feeling like he's the only one who cares about God. But he's a nobody, someone living an average life, and he doesn't know how to tell people how he's really feeling (or doesn't feel like he has the right); hence the overall thought.
@rocknrollgirl47 I noticed the importance of song order too. Andy Hull really knows what he's doing.
I'm pretty sure it's:
A crutch is a crutch If it's holding you from moving on.
yup, i think you're right<br />
"You mean everything to nobody but me." To put it simply, it's a love song.
"I don't know much, but a crutch is a crutch if it keeps you from moving on." has a great delivery. Andy's voice can be a little too sugary sometimes, but he really does a great job on this track.
pretty sure it's about the struggles of growing up.
I love this song! One of my favorites.
I think that it's basically a gay love song about how his grandfather was sneaking around with one of his friends and then eventually of course chose his (the narrator's) grandmother. The whole part about "I'm a man, I'm a lost one you see Come down with me to a place we'll get clean and we'll meet with them eventually" Is how he feel lost cuz he's gay and they'll meet with the women eventually after they "get clean" and run away ashamed of their love. I love this song so much.
@sacredheartofthescene I totally got the same impression, especially when combined with a few of the other songs, like "Jimmy, He Whispers", "Tony the Tiger" and "My Friend Marcus". It seemed to me like he or someone he knew was preyed upon by someone they trusted and were questioning themselves, their belief in god and their sexuality. I kept reading a bunch of other meanings people were listing and thought I was insane. Glad I wasn't alone on this, even if it turns out this is the only song we agree on.
I thought it was:
"we'll meet with Him eventually"
Which would give it a much different meaning than what sacredheartofthescene said. But I might be wrong. Anybody know what the lyric booklet says?
Lyric booklet says:
Definitely not the things that I'm seeing Did I think I'd see so instantly I found a note in my grandfather's coat When I read it out loud I got cold
'Cause he said:
I'm not complaining I was just saying I'm a man, I'm a lost one you see? Come down with me to a place We'll get clean And we'll meet with them eventually
You mean everything
I don't know much but a crutch is a crutch If it's holding you from moving on
I don't know what to do Not anymore Not anymore
And you Well you mean Everything
You mean everything to nothing You mean everything to nothing You mean everything to nobody but me
thanks.
Here's my interpretation: Tony the tiger's about abortion and Everything to nothing is about his family finding out. His grandfather's basically saying come with him to church and have faith in god and 'And we'll meet with them eventually'. God and his unborn child perhaps?
I'm pretty sure it's about losing your faith and trying to tell yourself you're not but having doubt after doubt. In the 1st track Only One he mentions being the son of a pastor, so religion probably played a huge role in his life.