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 bit on my lip, and I kicked at my toes
No, I don't need your lecture cause your lecture won't show
That you told me so I told you so
But I would have managed, I would have been fine
I'd do it myself and I'd do it just my way,
I'm a big man for thinking just so.
But somebody told me that your mother was born
Wa-wa-wandering woman with a spirit so sworn of the riverside
And it never surprised me but it meant that my love was immobilized
Well, it meant that my love was immobilized
Cause when it comes, it comes when it does.
But you came in the middle and you fell in my hands
Oh a, wonderful woman and an average man.
See that makes me the lucky man
I won't be deserving, but I won't be denied
See, I fell in this position, I will still teach my kids pride
Because failure's a part of it all
And if failure don't hurt then failure don't work at all
But somebody told me that your nephew was born
Oh, a beautiful baby, so smart and so sure of his little self
And in a wonderful way he was making me feel so small
Was making me feel so small, was making me feel so small.
And I don't think I've felt this before.
In all the reasons to come, well they override my body and,
I point to the sun, cause where it's warm is where the wilderness grows
And it grows, and it grows 'til it all becomes nothing
And nothing is left as you know.
(We walked it for a thousand years, with broken eyes and salted ears
Complaining 'bout the weather like we ever had a choice.
Through all the noise and self abuse, you waited for your fill of truth
Oh I'm terrified I'll achieve nothing at all.)
No, I don't need your lecture cause your lecture won't show
That you told me so I told you so
But I would have managed, I would have been fine
I'd do it myself and I'd do it just my way,
I'm a big man for thinking just so.
But somebody told me that your mother was born
Wa-wa-wandering woman with a spirit so sworn of the riverside
And it never surprised me but it meant that my love was immobilized
Well, it meant that my love was immobilized
Cause when it comes, it comes when it does.
But you came in the middle and you fell in my hands
Oh a, wonderful woman and an average man.
See that makes me the lucky man
I won't be deserving, but I won't be denied
See, I fell in this position, I will still teach my kids pride
Because failure's a part of it all
And if failure don't hurt then failure don't work at all
But somebody told me that your nephew was born
Oh, a beautiful baby, so smart and so sure of his little self
And in a wonderful way he was making me feel so small
Was making me feel so small, was making me feel so small.
And I don't think I've felt this before.
In all the reasons to come, well they override my body and,
I point to the sun, cause where it's warm is where the wilderness grows
And it grows, and it grows 'til it all becomes nothing
And nothing is left as you know.
(We walked it for a thousand years, with broken eyes and salted ears
Complaining 'bout the weather like we ever had a choice.
Through all the noise and self abuse, you waited for your fill of truth
Oh I'm terrified I'll achieve nothing at all.)
Lyrics submitted by SukkaFish92
Big Man Lyrics as written by Jacob Tarasenko David Hosking
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Well I thought about this, and I'll tell you right now, No, I think it's discussing how typical blokes hides, Their feelings in front of us all. But it shows here a glimpse, and gives just a clue, About that typical man, and what he might do, When he feels it's time to show it all.
But somebody mentioned that things always change About the ups and downs and all those pressures as they fade And it really hit me when I realised we're part of it all Well, as expected we are part of it all Cause we're one and one looks for us all.
In all those lyrics to come, well one line stands out and, Prevents us to run, cause as humans all we want to do is grow, And we grow, and we grow 'till we all become nothing, And our achievements in life are just so.
(We blokey blokes hide our tears, from expectations through the years, Think every step's a failure like we've made the wrong choice. Through all that mess and stuff we use, we're really just as soft as you Oh we're terrified we'll achieve nothing at all.)
It's hard to squeeze meaning into a structured verse! The last line of this song really haunts me, and has done for a fair while, and is really what all the above is coming from (over dramatised for creative licence)! There is much more to it than just that, but I feel this is the most hard hitting point for me.