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.
my body bangs and twitches
some brown liquor whets my tongue
my fingers find the stitches
firmly back and forth they run
i need no other memory
of the bits of me i left
when all this lethal drinking
is to hopefully forget
about you
i might as well admit it
like i even have a choice
the crew have killed the captain
but they still can hear his voice
a shadow on the water
a whisper in the wind
on long walks with my daughter
who is lately full of questions
about you
when job asked you question
you responded "who are you
to challenge your creator?"
well if that one part is true
it makes you sound defensive
like you had not thought it through
enough to have an answer
like you might have bit off
more than you could chew
some brown liquor whets my tongue
my fingers find the stitches
firmly back and forth they run
i need no other memory
of the bits of me i left
when all this lethal drinking
is to hopefully forget
about you
i might as well admit it
like i even have a choice
the crew have killed the captain
but they still can hear his voice
a shadow on the water
a whisper in the wind
on long walks with my daughter
who is lately full of questions
about you
when job asked you question
you responded "who are you
to challenge your creator?"
well if that one part is true
it makes you sound defensive
like you had not thought it through
enough to have an answer
like you might have bit off
more than you could chew
Lyrics submitted by pwebb88
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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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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”
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
I believe this is a "Dear John" letter to God. This album, more than any of his others, deals with Bazan's realization that he can no longer make excuses or pretend to believe in what he used to hold so dear. It's a one on one conversation with God explaining what he's gone through since he lost his faith. He talking about how he self-medicated to deal with the stress and sadness of letting go. The line "The crew have killed the captain but they still can hear his voice" refers to how deeply embedded Christianity is to who he is as a person. Basically, I don't believe in God anymore, but I'm still influenced by my former belief. Job challenged God because he felt like he had lived a righteous life and didn't deserve the bad things that happened to him. This last part is pretty spiteful. It really seems like something you would say to an ex-girl/boyfriend after a breakup. It's choosing a certain argument or ordeal that summarizes what was bad with the relationship.
That's my 2 cents, feel free to add comments/criticize/whatever.
Oh, and.... LOVE this song!!
Just to clarify, David Bazan has said that he is now agnostic, not atheist (which seems to be the general perception). I think when he says, "I might as well admit it, like I even have a choice. The crew have killed the captain, but they still can hear his voice" I think he is saying that even though he has lost faith in religion, he still believes in the back of his mind that God might exist. I think "a shadow on the water, a whisper in the wind" also point to that fact. Although he is definitely struggling with his belief in God, most of the songs on Curse Your Branches are more a critique of organized religion.
That is a good point. I'd also like to note that because Christianity is so deeply embedded into his mind, he feels the need to speak to God like He exists even when denying that very fact.
Yes, beautiful song, and ironic that, ownedcore, that he's speaking to "someone" he no longer believes in to tell him why, or at least how it's hurt him to lose his faith, and how angry he is at "god", even though he doesn't believe in him anymore. Pretty powerful stuff.
breanne - if the "maker of all" is so petty and small as to be offended by the honest feelings of a man who is only trying to do right, then screw him.
Just to clarify, David Bazan has said that he is now agnostic, not atheist (which seems to be the general perception). I think when he says, "I might as well admit it, like I even have a choice. The crew have killed the captain, but they still can hear his voice" I think he is saying that even though he has lost faith in religion, he still believes in the back of his mind that God might exist. I think "a shadow on the water, a whisper in the wind" also point to that fact. Although he is definitely struggling with his belief in God, most of the songs on Curse Your Branches are more a critique of organized religion.
There is one truth out there, that is a fact. If Christianity is right, David may have just offended the maker of ALL with this song.