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.
Well I have known you
For just a little while
But I feel I've known you
I feel I've seen you
When the Earth was split in fives
And in your words, I
Should let it out, I
Would see you die
But I'm a watcher
I see it watch her
It's in your afterlife
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
Oh keep from trying
Oh keep from caring
You are the light
We see you trying to
Be something else that
You're not, we think you're nice
The circumstances
Of what I thought, I
Could see it now
I wouldn't be so
I wouldn't feel so
But it's a running wild
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal lving
When it dies, when it dies
It rots
And when it lives, when it lives
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
It rots
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
In all reflections
I see your method
I see it all
And what about you?
And what about me?
Are we the lost of lost
Don't speak too soon, don't
be fruit of loom, don't
Excite yourself
For what you see is
Not fantasy, it's
Not what it gets, but gives
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
In all reflections
I see it mentioned
I see it all
The gorgeous mess of
Your face impressed us
Imposed of all its art
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
When it dies, when it dies
It rots
And when it lives, when it lives
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
It rots
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
When I die, when I die
I'll rot
But when I live, when I live
I'll give it all I've got
When I die, when I die
I'll rot
But when I live, when I live
I'll give it all I've got
Gloria, Gloria
Victoria, Victoria
It lives in all of us
Gloria, Gloria
Victoria, Victoria
It lives in all of us
I've lost the will to fight
I was not made for life
I've lost the will to fight
I was not made for life
Now I have known you
For just a little while
I feel I must be wearing my welcome
I must be moving on
For my intentions were good intentions
I could have loved you
I could have changed you
I wouldn't be so
I wouldn't feel so
Consumed by selfish thoughts
I'm sorry if I seem self-effacing
Consumed by selfish thoughts
It's only that I still love you deeply
It's all the love I've got
For just a little while
But I feel I've known you
I feel I've seen you
When the Earth was split in fives
And in your words, I
Should let it out, I
Would see you die
But I'm a watcher
I see it watch her
It's in your afterlife
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
Oh keep from trying
Oh keep from caring
You are the light
We see you trying to
Be something else that
You're not, we think you're nice
The circumstances
Of what I thought, I
Could see it now
I wouldn't be so
I wouldn't feel so
But it's a running wild
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal lving
When it dies, when it dies
It rots
And when it lives, when it lives
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
It rots
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
In all reflections
I see your method
I see it all
And what about you?
And what about me?
Are we the lost of lost
Don't speak too soon, don't
be fruit of loom, don't
Excite yourself
For what you see is
Not fantasy, it's
Not what it gets, but gives
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
In all reflections
I see it mentioned
I see it all
The gorgeous mess of
Your face impressed us
Imposed of all its art
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
When it dies, when it dies
It rots
And when it lives, when it lives
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
It rots
It gives it all it gots
This is the Age of Adz
Eternal living
When I die, when I die
I'll rot
But when I live, when I live
I'll give it all I've got
When I die, when I die
I'll rot
But when I live, when I live
I'll give it all I've got
Gloria, Gloria
Victoria, Victoria
It lives in all of us
Gloria, Gloria
Victoria, Victoria
It lives in all of us
I've lost the will to fight
I was not made for life
I've lost the will to fight
I was not made for life
Now I have known you
For just a little while
I feel I must be wearing my welcome
I must be moving on
For my intentions were good intentions
I could have loved you
I could have changed you
I wouldn't be so
I wouldn't feel so
Consumed by selfish thoughts
I'm sorry if I seem self-effacing
Consumed by selfish thoughts
It's only that I still love you deeply
It's all the love I've got
Lyrics submitted by browncrayon, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Age Of Adz Lyrics as written by Sufjan Stevens
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I feel like this song could be a reflection from the perspective of a small worker who is a relatively insignificant cog within a larger industrial society that values the community over the individual. He is reflecting upon the age at hand, and its (sarcastic?) utopian promise of “eternal living” and the merits of hard work and duty, and he is also pondering his individual mortality within that society’s framework (acknowledging he will eventually rot into nothingness, but finding some sort of purpose in a mantra of giving maximum effort in life). It somewhat reminds me of the world described by the book “Brave New World,” or of any society that is more focused on productivity, stability and the “greater good” than upon the value and purpose of individual lives. The line about the world being “split in fives” reminds me of Brave New World’s storyline where the population is divided up into five distinct castes, but the line could very well represent any sort of cold, broad statistical categorizing of a population by governments, corporations, etc. — yet another way of dehumanizing individuals and lessening their value while propping up large entities and the greater community. “Victoria” may be a reference to the Victorian Era and Industrial Revolutions in Europe and North America, as they seem an appropriate setting for the narrator of the song within this interpretation. As an Adze is a woodworking tool, it is possible that the “Age of Adz” could refer to an age that values hard work and industry above all else (serving as a symbol not unlike the sickle and hammer are to communism), though the spelling difference makes me question this. I’m also wondering if “Adz” could mean, “odds,” “ads” (as in “advertisements,” consumerism), or “adds” (as in adding small value at different stages along an assembly line). I still don't have a firm grasp on this song (or album), and I'd like to look into the Royal Robertson connection people are referencing.