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.
Drug boy steady shootin'
The streets don't give a damn
They're filled with such pollution
The kids don't stand a chance
We're trapped inside the matrix
Forced to play our hand
We're filled with so much hatred
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
Now, since I was planted at birth
I abandoned my own planet and I landed on Earth
As a kid I never understood what I observed
Some of it was strange but most of it disturbing
Always in detention for the lack of my attention
You can call it deficit, really I just didn't listen
And I was always missin', the teacher's like, "Where is Bobby Simmons?"
But trying to get a record deal was all I can remember
It's funny, 'cause looking back on the past that I had,
On my days in the streets trying to prove that I was bad
I still elevated to the level that I'm at
(Still elevated to the level that I'm at)
Drug boy steady shootin'
The streets don't give a damn
They're filled with such pollution
The kids don't stand a chance
We're trapped inside the matrix
Forced to play our hand
We're filled with so much hatred
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
Sometimes it's hard to grow
While living in fear of the unknown
How can he ever give love
When no love is in his heart?
A child can barely sleep at night
Too worried about tomorrow
And what it beholds, he drowns out
Deep down in his sorrows
Will you run or will you shine your light?
Tell a story of live and try?
See it when we're giving hope
That we know that we can grow
Drug boy steady shootin'
The streets don't give a damn
They're filled with such pollution
The kids don't stand a chance
We're trapped inside the matrix
Forced to play our hand
We're filled with so much hatred
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
The streets don't give a damn
They're filled with such pollution
The kids don't stand a chance
We're trapped inside the matrix
Forced to play our hand
We're filled with so much hatred
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
Now, since I was planted at birth
I abandoned my own planet and I landed on Earth
As a kid I never understood what I observed
Some of it was strange but most of it disturbing
Always in detention for the lack of my attention
You can call it deficit, really I just didn't listen
And I was always missin', the teacher's like, "Where is Bobby Simmons?"
But trying to get a record deal was all I can remember
It's funny, 'cause looking back on the past that I had,
On my days in the streets trying to prove that I was bad
I still elevated to the level that I'm at
(Still elevated to the level that I'm at)
Drug boy steady shootin'
The streets don't give a damn
They're filled with such pollution
The kids don't stand a chance
We're trapped inside the matrix
Forced to play our hand
We're filled with so much hatred
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
Sometimes it's hard to grow
While living in fear of the unknown
How can he ever give love
When no love is in his heart?
A child can barely sleep at night
Too worried about tomorrow
And what it beholds, he drowns out
Deep down in his sorrows
Will you run or will you shine your light?
Tell a story of live and try?
See it when we're giving hope
That we know that we can grow
Drug boy steady shootin'
The streets don't give a damn
They're filled with such pollution
The kids don't stand a chance
We're trapped inside the matrix
Forced to play our hand
We're filled with so much hatred
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
I said the kids don't
The kids don't stand
The kids don't stand a chance
Lyrics submitted by whybother737
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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:
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I think he's putting the back on the current generation, rather than just accepting that everything's fucked up and focusing on having the children being the future generation who will fix everything. He's saying we have to set the example and show the love to our children so that they can show love in the future. If we don't change anything NOW, we're trapping our children in a never ending cycle.
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