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.
Follow your heart to the water
Fill your pockets with stone
Throw your arms around me
Never let me go
You were the first; you wouldn't be the last.
What the river took, we could never replace
And as the pain set in, so did the realization
That you were never coming home
For nights we lay awake
Wishing for answers, hoping against all hope
And if love could change the course of fate
These nights, we move mountains
But as the news filtered down the line, the impact shook us
Shook us to the core
Loss struck like a dagger in our aching hearts
So follow your heart to the water
Fill your pockets with stone
Throw your arms around me
Never let me go
It's not the years in your life, it's the life in your years
Old soul, so it's said
The day we lost is the day I found regret
Not in the waters that embraced you
But in the wake your absence left
Sink into me
Hold our your hands, sink into me
Hold out your hands, I'll take you away
Hold out your hands, surrender the weight of this world
Follow your heart to the water
Fill your pockets with stone
Throw your arms around me
Never let me go
Never let me go
Fill your pockets with stone
Throw your arms around me
Never let me go
You were the first; you wouldn't be the last.
What the river took, we could never replace
And as the pain set in, so did the realization
That you were never coming home
For nights we lay awake
Wishing for answers, hoping against all hope
And if love could change the course of fate
These nights, we move mountains
But as the news filtered down the line, the impact shook us
Shook us to the core
Loss struck like a dagger in our aching hearts
So follow your heart to the water
Fill your pockets with stone
Throw your arms around me
Never let me go
It's not the years in your life, it's the life in your years
Old soul, so it's said
The day we lost is the day I found regret
Not in the waters that embraced you
But in the wake your absence left
Sink into me
Hold our your hands, sink into me
Hold out your hands, I'll take you away
Hold out your hands, surrender the weight of this world
Follow your heart to the water
Fill your pockets with stone
Throw your arms around me
Never let me go
Never let me go
Lyrics submitted by digitall
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After reading these lyrics, this one thought haunted me, the thought there had to be some mythology behind it. So I did some research.
"Follow your heart to the water Fill your pockets with stone"
This verse refers to the suicide of Virginia Woolf, British author and feminist. he was a very unstable person due to certain life experiences. At the age of 59 she commited suicide by filling her pockets with stone and walking into the river Ouse, nearby her house. She left a suicide note to her husband saying it was for the better if she weren't there anymore because she felt like she was a burden to him. She wrote she thought she was going crazy, that she was hearing voices and couldn't bare the weight on her shoulders anymore. She followed her heart into the water, because her gutfeeling said it was for the better.
"Throw your arms around me Never let me go"
Water is often used to refer to a new life or a loss. Her death awaited her in that river, she was searching for peace. She wanted the water to wrap it's arms around her, and let her find the rest she deserved.
All by all, I don't think it's a song written for Virginia Woolf. Most likely the story was used as a metaphore for a suicide.
What comes after the first verse, supports the interpretation of the suicide.
"It's not the years in your life, it's the life in your years" My interpretation of this one sentence is that it doesn't count how long this person has lived, but obviously all that has happened in that persons life. 'It's the life that happened to you in these years you've lived'
Also I think there are 2 people speaking in these lyrics.
"Follow your heart to the water Fill your pockets with stone Throw your arms around me Never let me go" Could be referring to voices in the victims head, telling her to end it all. Telling her to let the water embrace her until her final breath.
"You were the first; you wouldn't be the last. What the river took, we could never replace And as the pain set in, so did the realization That you were never coming home..." The second verse is the one who suffers from te loss. Not comprehending what just happened, having the greatest heartache he's ever experienced.
"Sink into me Hold our your hands, sink into me Hold out your hands, I'll take you away Hold out your hands, surrender the weight of this world" Again her inner voice, letting the river speak to her. The river saying to her, it's okay, sink into me, I'll take you to the place you want to be, I'll be the one taking your burdens of your shoulders. Just hold out your hand and give them to me, I'll take you away.
I'm truly intrigued by this song, and certainly now I've analized it. Once you realize the story behind the words, it's like a kind of magic blowing your mind away and turning a gold song into a true diamond.
There can be an 's' missing every once in a while, my 's'-key can be a bitch sometime
I thought the part: <br /> Throw your arms around me,<br /> Never let me go.<br /> was more like a loved one speaking to the person committing suicide. Asking to take kill them too, because they don't want to live without their loved one.