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.
He was driving in to Chicago in a borrowed El Camino,
On a haze-less day in springtime I think the Cinco De Mayo
Maybe it was St Paddy's Or the Gay Pride parade,
But I've never seen nobody light up the street that way
[Chorus]
Brother where you been?
Hold on if you can
Just do your best then say, "Amen"
Called in sick and spent the weekend, drinking St. Paulies in Wisconsin.
I'd been fishing with my buddies most of Sunday afternoon.
And there beneath the halo of the Old Milwaukee sign,
He said, There's big ones in the shallows I see them all the time.
[Chorus]
I stopped into the Seven-Eleven, I was buying an Aquafina
He was wearing knock-off sneakers I was nursing a hangover
He said, "You're worth a lot more baby than you've ever dared to dream of"
Like he knew all the secret sketchy places I'd been looking for love
[Chorus]
A tall skinny guy with dread locks said they're giving' out free bagels and lox.
So I took the kids and all my plastic bags and walked the seven blocks.
There were joggers and commuters, skate board kids and Goths.
There were drunks and dogs and meter maids in that downtown vacant lot
He said, "The universe is unfolding and the center still is holding,
There's enough if we just share it, now ya'all don't forget to pass the basket.
Blessed are all the good hearted, the poets and the dreamers,
And all us crazy holy hungry ones who believe in something better."
[Chorus]
I saw Jesus on talking shop, with Buddha at the Starbucks,
I saw Gia and Ganesh, doing double Dutch in the park,
And Mohammad was throwing popcorn to the pigeons and the sparrows.
And all us crazy holy hungry ones still believe in something better
[Chorus: x2]
On a haze-less day in springtime I think the Cinco De Mayo
Maybe it was St Paddy's Or the Gay Pride parade,
But I've never seen nobody light up the street that way
[Chorus]
Brother where you been?
Hold on if you can
Just do your best then say, "Amen"
Called in sick and spent the weekend, drinking St. Paulies in Wisconsin.
I'd been fishing with my buddies most of Sunday afternoon.
And there beneath the halo of the Old Milwaukee sign,
He said, There's big ones in the shallows I see them all the time.
[Chorus]
I stopped into the Seven-Eleven, I was buying an Aquafina
He was wearing knock-off sneakers I was nursing a hangover
He said, "You're worth a lot more baby than you've ever dared to dream of"
Like he knew all the secret sketchy places I'd been looking for love
[Chorus]
A tall skinny guy with dread locks said they're giving' out free bagels and lox.
So I took the kids and all my plastic bags and walked the seven blocks.
There were joggers and commuters, skate board kids and Goths.
There were drunks and dogs and meter maids in that downtown vacant lot
He said, "The universe is unfolding and the center still is holding,
There's enough if we just share it, now ya'all don't forget to pass the basket.
Blessed are all the good hearted, the poets and the dreamers,
And all us crazy holy hungry ones who believe in something better."
[Chorus]
I saw Jesus on talking shop, with Buddha at the Starbucks,
I saw Gia and Ganesh, doing double Dutch in the park,
And Mohammad was throwing popcorn to the pigeons and the sparrows.
And all us crazy holy hungry ones still believe in something better
[Chorus: x2]
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Where You Been Lyrics as written by Carrie Newcomer
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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