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.
Missionary
--------------
[Words that change on different recordings or live are in round brackets, and my notes are in square brackets.]
You throw a party...
Are all your guests kept on ice?[1]
While you got drunk,
(I was) biding my time.[2]
From all on show,
(There's) nobody there that takes your fancy.[3]
You're stuck with one,[4]
But (I'm) not your first choice.[5]
Mmmmmh come on love,
(Have) a little fun.
Mmmmmh come on love,
(Have) a little fun.[6]
A fuck you (told) me:
(Was) uninspiring and missionary.[7]
You're quick to warn me
To sleep on my side.
You're none too warm and,
In the morning you're none too friendly.
No remorse then?[8]
We're not even tired.[9, 10]
Mmmmmh come on love,
(Have) a little fun.
Mmmmmh come on love,
(Have) a little fun.
A fuck you (sold) me
Was uninspiring and missionary.
No remorse, then,
(In) saying goodbye.[11]
(Goodbye...)[12]
Mmmmmh come on love
A little fun, love.
Notes
--------
1: To keep someone on ice is: 'to keep someone uninformed or uncontacted'.
2: On the album 'Thrawn', he says "I'm biding...". On 'The Jubilee E.P.' and also live he sings 'I was...', which definitely fits in better with the past tense in the third line.
3: a) 'There's' is omitted on the Thrawn version; b) If someone takes your fancy, you find them attractive.
4: 'stuck' indicates someone in a social situation they don't want to be in.
5: On Jubilee and live he usually says this. It makes more sense too. So the whole stanza means: 'From everyone who's in the room, nobody is really that attractive to you. I see you are unable to get away from talking to one person, and I note that I'm not your top preference here anyway.'
6: On the record 'Thrawn', he omits 'have', it seems, which suggests it's a question: i.e., "Come on love, won't you have a little fun? [sex]" BUT, live and on Jubilee he definitely says 'Have a...'.
7: The word 'was' isn't there in this verse on Thrawn, but again, live he puts it in. He also seems to alternate 'told'/'sold' when he plays live and on record.
8: It seems like he's asking a question here, as if to say to his bedfellow: "do you not even feel bad about the way you treated me last night?"
9: ...which leads onto: "look, we're not even tired" -- this could mean a number of things; maybe, "we should be tired, that is, we should have stayed up in bed having fun last night"; or, "neither of us can blame this situation on tiredness".
10: I've restructured this verse so it fits in better with the chord sequence and the other verses.
11: This is definitely not a question now--it's a statement: "I've no remorse in saying goodbye to you". Note, on Jubilee he omits the 'in'.
12: The song ends on a long drawn out 'Goodbye' on Jubilee, but not on Thrawn.
--------------
[Words that change on different recordings or live are in round brackets, and my notes are in square brackets.]
You throw a party...
Are all your guests kept on ice?[1]
While you got drunk,
(I was) biding my time.[2]
From all on show,
(There's) nobody there that takes your fancy.[3]
You're stuck with one,[4]
But (I'm) not your first choice.[5]
Mmmmmh come on love,
(Have) a little fun.
Mmmmmh come on love,
(Have) a little fun.[6]
A fuck you (told) me:
(Was) uninspiring and missionary.[7]
You're quick to warn me
To sleep on my side.
You're none too warm and,
In the morning you're none too friendly.
No remorse then?[8]
We're not even tired.[9, 10]
Mmmmmh come on love,
(Have) a little fun.
Mmmmmh come on love,
(Have) a little fun.
A fuck you (sold) me
Was uninspiring and missionary.
No remorse, then,
(In) saying goodbye.[11]
(Goodbye...)[12]
Mmmmmh come on love
A little fun, love.
Notes
--------
1: To keep someone on ice is: 'to keep someone uninformed or uncontacted'.
2: On the album 'Thrawn', he says "I'm biding...". On 'The Jubilee E.P.' and also live he sings 'I was...', which definitely fits in better with the past tense in the third line.
3: a) 'There's' is omitted on the Thrawn version; b) If someone takes your fancy, you find them attractive.
4: 'stuck' indicates someone in a social situation they don't want to be in.
5: On Jubilee and live he usually says this. It makes more sense too. So the whole stanza means: 'From everyone who's in the room, nobody is really that attractive to you. I see you are unable to get away from talking to one person, and I note that I'm not your top preference here anyway.'
6: On the record 'Thrawn', he omits 'have', it seems, which suggests it's a question: i.e., "Come on love, won't you have a little fun? [sex]" BUT, live and on Jubilee he definitely says 'Have a...'.
7: The word 'was' isn't there in this verse on Thrawn, but again, live he puts it in. He also seems to alternate 'told'/'sold' when he plays live and on record.
8: It seems like he's asking a question here, as if to say to his bedfellow: "do you not even feel bad about the way you treated me last night?"
9: ...which leads onto: "look, we're not even tired" -- this could mean a number of things; maybe, "we should be tired, that is, we should have stayed up in bed having fun last night"; or, "neither of us can blame this situation on tiredness".
10: I've restructured this verse so it fits in better with the chord sequence and the other verses.
11: This is definitely not a question now--it's a statement: "I've no remorse in saying goodbye to you". Note, on Jubilee he omits the 'in'.
12: The song ends on a long drawn out 'Goodbye' on Jubilee, but not on Thrawn.
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I tried my best to write down the lyrics of this amazing song. However I'm not a native english speaker, I would be glad to see what an exercised ear understand ;-)
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