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.
We are thrown away,
In the house you made of every stolen moment.
Don't pretend,
I know how this ends, and who you are in secret.
All our hopes are fast asleep,
Spill the wrist of what you'll never be.
And I'll never say that everything's alright,
That when we're gone we'll sleep with satellites,
We're killing more than the loneliness behind the eyes,
Sometimes the best you can do is just survive.
Something's wrong inside,
We are feeding flies with pieces of ambition.
Prison skin,
Keeps us safety pinned
...I'll whisper your incision.
Hostile strum and icepick tongue,
Shelter here from everyone.
And I'll never say that everything's alright,
That when we're gone we'll sleep with satellites,
We're killing more than the loneliness behind the eyes,
Sometimes the best you can do is just survive.
...Just survive.
In the house you made of every stolen moment.
Don't pretend,
I know how this ends, and who you are in secret.
All our hopes are fast asleep,
Spill the wrist of what you'll never be.
And I'll never say that everything's alright,
That when we're gone we'll sleep with satellites,
We're killing more than the loneliness behind the eyes,
Sometimes the best you can do is just survive.
Something's wrong inside,
We are feeding flies with pieces of ambition.
Prison skin,
Keeps us safety pinned
...I'll whisper your incision.
Hostile strum and icepick tongue,
Shelter here from everyone.
And I'll never say that everything's alright,
That when we're gone we'll sleep with satellites,
We're killing more than the loneliness behind the eyes,
Sometimes the best you can do is just survive.
...Just survive.
Lyrics submitted by SuddenlySilent
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In my opinion, it's obviously about depression and more specifically self-harm. Here are a few interpretations from pieces of the song:
"We are thrown away, In the house you made of every stolen moment."
-> Feeling rejected and alone. If this is about self-harm, the "house of every stolen moment" could be referring to times when you sneak away to hurt yourself as a means of escaping.
"All our hopes are fast asleep, Spill the wrist of what you'll never be."
-> "Spill the wrist" is a rather obvious give-away that it's about self-cutting. A common reason for self-harm is very low self-esteem, which is seen here with the lyric "what you'll never be."
"Prison skin, Keeps us safety pinned ...I'll whisper your incision."
-> Scarred skin is like a prison that you hide from everyone, causing you to withdrawal even more from the world; but it's also evidence of what has been done to keep you alive. Remember, self-harm isn't a suicide attempt, it's the opposite- anti-suicide. "Incision" is, again, a strong indication that it's about self-harm.
"Hostile strum and icepick tongue, Shelter here from everyone."
-> I don't know if this is about the narrator/ singer or about other people. It could be his own aggressive demeanour and way of keeping a distance from other people, or it could be about the treatment others give him. Either way, self-harm becomes his shelter.
=======
I could look at the perspective of the song from two ways, though I'm more inclined to believe the second of the following two ideas.
From the tone of the song, I also feel like it's someone trying to sympathise with someone who suffers from major depression. The song is soft and spoken is a comforting tone. The person might be a concerned friend, hence "I know how this ends, and who you are in secret."
Though the above sounds ok, the chorus of the song leads me to believe it's someone who is himself suffering, and he is reflecting on his own mental illness. When he says "Something's wrong inside/ We are feeding flies with pieces of ambition." he is accepting the way he feels, and that even though the self-destructive behaviour is bad, it's the "best you can do to survive". Which is why the song is sung so calmly. He knows he is far from alright- "And I'll never say that everything's alright"- but he can't escape from the illness. He can't live without it, whether for better or for worse.
This song hits close to home...