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.
I know we whispered a bit too loud
in the ghetto's ear
and now it's way too loud in here
let it go
let them run to you
when they fail
and they're running home
they're running home to you
we can't pay for mistakes
they have made in my name
we cannot forget this
we cannot
we can't afford this
we cannot
when they fail
and they're running home
they're running home to you
if the way they sell is the way we fail
I know
run on home
it's kind of like we're being paid for having heart attacks
well we can only see the top when we're on our backs
remove your teeth and have yourself a bite to eat
they don't care if we don't sleep
it's the equivalent to having blind men watch your back
it's like a liquor store without the swishers
kind of like a dime with no sack
Lamborghinis traded in for Cadillacs
you might as well have given them the clip to your
we know failure
we will rock you
we cannot forget this
we cannot
we can't afford this
we cannot
when they fail
and they're running home
they're running home to you
if the way they sell is the way we fail
I know
run on home
they say "charge it to the game"
don't talk about it be about it now
in the ghetto's ear
and now it's way too loud in here
let it go
let them run to you
when they fail
and they're running home
they're running home to you
we can't pay for mistakes
they have made in my name
we cannot forget this
we cannot
we can't afford this
we cannot
when they fail
and they're running home
they're running home to you
if the way they sell is the way we fail
I know
run on home
it's kind of like we're being paid for having heart attacks
well we can only see the top when we're on our backs
remove your teeth and have yourself a bite to eat
they don't care if we don't sleep
it's the equivalent to having blind men watch your back
it's like a liquor store without the swishers
kind of like a dime with no sack
Lamborghinis traded in for Cadillacs
you might as well have given them the clip to your
we know failure
we will rock you
we cannot forget this
we cannot
we can't afford this
we cannot
when they fail
and they're running home
they're running home to you
if the way they sell is the way we fail
I know
run on home
they say "charge it to the game"
don't talk about it be about it now
Lyrics submitted by largething
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
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.
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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.
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
From Jason on this song: "Our culture seems to have a strange affinity for adversity. We have found a way to exploit danger. I don't mean to mitigate the worth in such classics as "The Last Action Hero" starring California's very own Arnold Schwarzenegger. I don't mean that kind of danger. I mean the danger that has somehow been omitted from commercialized violence, and sex, and drug pushing, and gun toting.
I may seem biased in this regard, but namely- that ghetto living. That hood life. That real shit. I am a firm believer that all of that danger and dirty tap water builds some rather unshakable and exceptional character. My only qualm with it all is that a lot of folks are only willing to go as far as their 62" flatscreen television to understand it.
(Growing up poor with our safety in perpetual question wasn't cool. Don't commend me or my crew for that. Instead, let's appreciate the fact that we were able to excel beyond that level and more importantly, let's imbue those methods to posterity)"