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.
Did I ever tell you about the man who changed my life?
The one I thought, oh. Lord, when I saw him walkin' back in that bar, all tall and
lean with them broad shoulders, sweet lips, I knew that I had died and gone to
Chocolate Heaven
He had a real deep voice, white pearly teeth, his shoe was always shiny.
Long slender fingers manicured perfectly.
The man wore 800-dollar Italian suit, straight from, I dunno, what would they call it,
Milan or Rome or someplace like that?
I knew it wasn't local.
I said, I got to get next to that.
I haven't seen him in a long time.
The man was so fine, he could get any good girl into trouble
Can you guess what his name was?
Well
'The Jackal'
'The Jackal'
Say.
'The Jackal'
He was fat back cat cool like a Friday afternoon martini, chillin' at a quarter after 5.
Twist of lime, Coke on the side.
The brother loved the high life.
Had a Ph.D. in street stride.
They called him 'The Jackal'.
He was big Mack daddy super black stylin' a diamonds in the back Cadillac.
Fur-lined boards, white wall wheels, cruise control, built for speed, chrome on evray-thang.
And stereophonic speakers, though he really didn't need them.
When they called him
'The Jackal'.
Say.
'The Jackal'.
Fly boy was in the buttermilk, hard, livin' fast, livin' large, 6 foot 4 and not an ounce of fat!
When women asked, 'is you a Cat?' He said 'I did more that that.
I'm the firmest of the firm
And in case you, hadn't known, they call me 'The Jackal'.
Served the 18-year bid First Reicker's Island then they hid him in the state
penitentiary. Said the charge was Grand Larceny.
That was 1975, and today, if he's still alive, he'd be living in the park.
Hm. The brother whose claim to fame was that they called him 'The Jackal'.
'The Jackal'"
The one I thought, oh. Lord, when I saw him walkin' back in that bar, all tall and
lean with them broad shoulders, sweet lips, I knew that I had died and gone to
Chocolate Heaven
He had a real deep voice, white pearly teeth, his shoe was always shiny.
Long slender fingers manicured perfectly.
The man wore 800-dollar Italian suit, straight from, I dunno, what would they call it,
Milan or Rome or someplace like that?
I knew it wasn't local.
I said, I got to get next to that.
I haven't seen him in a long time.
The man was so fine, he could get any good girl into trouble
Can you guess what his name was?
Well
'The Jackal'
'The Jackal'
Say.
'The Jackal'
He was fat back cat cool like a Friday afternoon martini, chillin' at a quarter after 5.
Twist of lime, Coke on the side.
The brother loved the high life.
Had a Ph.D. in street stride.
They called him 'The Jackal'.
He was big Mack daddy super black stylin' a diamonds in the back Cadillac.
Fur-lined boards, white wall wheels, cruise control, built for speed, chrome on evray-thang.
And stereophonic speakers, though he really didn't need them.
When they called him
'The Jackal'.
Say.
'The Jackal'.
Fly boy was in the buttermilk, hard, livin' fast, livin' large, 6 foot 4 and not an ounce of fat!
When women asked, 'is you a Cat?' He said 'I did more that that.
I'm the firmest of the firm
And in case you, hadn't known, they call me 'The Jackal'.
Served the 18-year bid First Reicker's Island then they hid him in the state
penitentiary. Said the charge was Grand Larceny.
That was 1975, and today, if he's still alive, he'd be living in the park.
Hm. The brother whose claim to fame was that they called him 'The Jackal'.
'The Jackal'"
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
The Jackal Lyrics as written by Dana E. Bryant Anthony Lee Mason
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Missing Link Music
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
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:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.