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 grew up in one of them old farm towns
Where they hit it hard 'til the sun goes down
Nobody really seemed to care
That we were living in the middle of nowhere
We just figured that's how it was
And everybody else was just like us
Soaking in the rain baking in the sun
Don't quit 'til the job gets done
That's the only way I know
Don't stop 'til everything's gone
Straight ahead, never turn round
Don't back up, don't back down
Full throttle, wide open
You get tired and you don't show it
Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more
That's the only way I know
That old red dirt, the first thing you learn
Is you don't get nothing that you don't earn
Humble pride that I grew up on
You find out just how bad you want it
Sun in our eyes backs to the fences
We didn't know the odds were against us
Hit the wall smoking and spinning
Still wasn't thinking 'bout nothing but winning
That's the only way I know
Don't stop 'til everything's gone
Straight ahead, never turn round
Don't back up, don't back down
Full throttle, wide open
You get tired and you don't show it
Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more
That's the only way I know
Maybe there's another path that
Will get you there a little bit faster,
But I'm sticking with the one inside of me.
That's the only way I know
Don't stop 'til everything's gone
Straight ahead, never turn round
Don't back up, don't back down
Full throttle, wide open
You get tired and you don't show it
Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more
That's the only way I...
That's the only way I know
Don't stop 'til everything's gone
Straight ahead, never turn round
Don't back up, don't back down
Full throttle, wide open
You get tired, you don't show it
Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more
That's the only way I know
That's the only way I know
That's the only way I know
The only way I know
Where they hit it hard 'til the sun goes down
Nobody really seemed to care
That we were living in the middle of nowhere
We just figured that's how it was
And everybody else was just like us
Soaking in the rain baking in the sun
Don't quit 'til the job gets done
That's the only way I know
Don't stop 'til everything's gone
Straight ahead, never turn round
Don't back up, don't back down
Full throttle, wide open
You get tired and you don't show it
Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more
That's the only way I know
That old red dirt, the first thing you learn
Is you don't get nothing that you don't earn
Humble pride that I grew up on
You find out just how bad you want it
Sun in our eyes backs to the fences
We didn't know the odds were against us
Hit the wall smoking and spinning
Still wasn't thinking 'bout nothing but winning
That's the only way I know
Don't stop 'til everything's gone
Straight ahead, never turn round
Don't back up, don't back down
Full throttle, wide open
You get tired and you don't show it
Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more
That's the only way I know
Maybe there's another path that
Will get you there a little bit faster,
But I'm sticking with the one inside of me.
That's the only way I know
Don't stop 'til everything's gone
Straight ahead, never turn round
Don't back up, don't back down
Full throttle, wide open
You get tired and you don't show it
Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more
That's the only way I...
That's the only way I know
Don't stop 'til everything's gone
Straight ahead, never turn round
Don't back up, don't back down
Full throttle, wide open
You get tired, you don't show it
Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more
That's the only way I know
That's the only way I know
That's the only way I know
The only way I know
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