Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
I crewed on a fair golden ship that
Went down with the dawn of the world
We mutinied and sentenced our captain to die
'Fore our sails had barley unfurled
But we sank shortly after our riot
Wanton flame and our powder kegs met
While I swam for my life there came voices aloft
Joyful unearthly and dread
Singing of a violent
Tireless mystery
That one would give his life to
Save his enemy
Too bone tired to keep my arms moving
To swim or even grasp after straws
The undertow drew me down into its cold
Its infinite indigo jaws
I heard singing of a violent
Tireless mystery
That one would give his life to
Save his enemy
I thought I must be dead or dreaming
When my captain, still battered, betrayed
Pulled me up, laid me over the beam that he'd clung to
Breathed his last, and sunk under the waves
Your body is a bridge
Across and endless sea
Went down with the dawn of the world
We mutinied and sentenced our captain to die
'Fore our sails had barley unfurled
But we sank shortly after our riot
Wanton flame and our powder kegs met
While I swam for my life there came voices aloft
Joyful unearthly and dread
Singing of a violent
Tireless mystery
That one would give his life to
Save his enemy
Too bone tired to keep my arms moving
To swim or even grasp after straws
The undertow drew me down into its cold
Its infinite indigo jaws
I heard singing of a violent
Tireless mystery
That one would give his life to
Save his enemy
I thought I must be dead or dreaming
When my captain, still battered, betrayed
Pulled me up, laid me over the beam that he'd clung to
Breathed his last, and sunk under the waves
Your body is a bridge
Across and endless sea
Lyrics submitted by faithinthethief, edited by ChipperSpiff, LibertyMark, DCmayz
The Great Exchange Lyrics as written by James Riley Breckenridge Eddie Breckenridge
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Cajun Girl
Little Feat
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Silent Planet
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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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
This song is, most probably, a parable. The implications are obvious, and the meaning is stirring.
The story in the song goes: A sailor, on a ship at the "dawn of the world" (the time of the discovery of the "New World", as referenced by the title... "The Great Exchange" is what historians call the passing of slaves from Africa to the new world, resources and new foods back to Europe, and then some money and resources to Africa repeating the cycle... however, the title doesn't just set the scene historically, but provides a sort of pun on the meaning...)
The sailor and the rest of the crew mutinied against the captain and they sentenced him to die, to walk the plank, so to speak. The irony, of course, is that they sank after they mutinied against their captain... mutinies occur when crews are displeased with the captain's leadership or their progress, so to sink afterwords is a sort of foil.
In the ocean water, the narrator swims for his life, becomes exhausted, and succumbs, thinking he will drown...
And then his captain, clinging to wooden debris from the exploded ship, rescues him, most selfishly, by pulling is body across his support, giving up his own means of survival for the sailor who had helped to cause the entire predicament.
So, the song is a message on selfish sacrifice of the betrayed for his enemies, and, considering Dustin's faith, its no far stretch to assume who the song's meaning parallels.
I absolutely love this song! It's my favorite on this album, by far, and I really like the way he sings the lyrics; it makes the meaning more clear that way. For example, whenever I hear him say "We mutinied had sentenced our captain to die 'fore our sails", the way he sings it, sounds like "to die for our sins", and again, near the end, he says "Your body is a bridge across an endless sea", the way that he sings it it comes across as, to me, "your body is a bridge, a cross, an endless sea." If talking about Christ, the "bridge" is from one life to the next, the cross, well thats obvious, and an endless sea, which reminds me of the song "Open Water" from water, where he compares God to the seas... that part may be a stretch, but thats really the feeling that I get from that line.
Anyways, the other imagery in this song, like the captain making the supreme sacrifice upon a beam of wood, really cement in me that this song is less disputably about Christ than some other songs: the metaphor is obvious.
The great exchange is one life for another.
That's what this song means to me.