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.
Who Knew
if i was a cute little kid
i would show you the painting i did for you
but i'm up in the air i'm not here and not there
if i was a sad-eyed eighteen
i would cut all the holes in your jeans for you
but now what can i say i'm too little too late
if i was a middle-aged man
i would buy you a new minivan or two
but i'm stumbling around
with one foot on the ground
if i was a hundred and three
i would share all my boring stories with you
but you caught me too soon
darling what can i do
all along i did what i could but you tell me my timing's no good
who knew
if i was marty mcfly
i would go back to when we were nine or ten
and i'd be your best friend
say that i knew you when
if i was a ghost on your hall
i would haunt you and walk through your walls at night
but i'm flesh and i'm bone
and i'm stiff as a stone
all along i did what i could but you tell me my timing's no good
who knew
if i was a cute little kid
i would show you the painting i did for you
but i'm up in the air i'm not here and not there
if i was a sad-eyed eighteen
i would cut all the holes in your jeans for you
but now what can i say i'm too little too late
if i was a middle-aged man
i would buy you a new minivan or two
but i'm stumbling around
with one foot on the ground
if i was a hundred and three
i would share all my boring stories with you
but you caught me too soon
darling what can i do
all along i did what i could but you tell me my timing's no good
who knew
if i was marty mcfly
i would go back to when we were nine or ten
and i'd be your best friend
say that i knew you when
if i was a ghost on your hall
i would haunt you and walk through your walls at night
but i'm flesh and i'm bone
and i'm stiff as a stone
all along i did what i could but you tell me my timing's no good
who knew
Lyrics submitted by Fictionalhead
Who Knew Lyrics as written by Rakhal Sastri Joshua Arnoudse
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is such a beautiful song and I'm surprised that I am the first person to offer an interpretation. With that being said ... I think there are many different possible interpretations for this song, but this was the first (not the only) that came to mind:
This song is about feeling inadequate. The narrator wants to give this person the things (some material, though most are emotional) he feels said individual deserves, but he - at least in his mind - falls short and this is shown by the repetitive "If I was ..." scenarios he presents. He is too "old" to feel wholesome ("If I was a cute little kid, I would show you the painting I did for you ...") and too "young" to have the wisdom gained from vast life experiences ("If I was a hundred and three,/ I would share all my boring stories with you /But you caught me too soon ...").
Fell in love with Back to the Future reference ("If I was Marty McFly,/ I would go back to when we were nine, or ten/ And I'd be your best friend ..."). Not really sure of its significance, but perhaps it is simply the narrator's desire to share something simple and genuine with the song's subject.
I think it's notable (and very sad) that the narrator places more "living" qualities on the ghost than he does himself. ("But I'm flesh and I'm bone/ And I'm stiff as a stone.") The narrator seems to be existing in state of numbness and, though he does care for the person to whom he wishes he could give all these things, his "timing's no good" and it's "too little too late." He is caught in an awkward phase and does not know how to properly express his feelings at this point in his life.