This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
One year before the day she swore to me she knew exactly how this would end
You left them once before
And now you've found a reason to finish what you've started
The forfeit of a barren path, this is a death march, an escape from it all
The final defiant act of a broken man
A losing struggle now an absence embraced
Guilt draped like a cross around your neck
Too proud to face the burden you'll become
Words scrawled across a page
Close the door and leave it all behind
A father, a son, you were known by many names
Will they be remembered as your breathing departs?
A funeral call to those who morn this figure withered by the rain
The skies grey, downpour above his plot of freshly carved earth
A fitting epitaph if ever there was
The shot rang out, echoes shattered off the wall
The shot rang out, the shot rang out
Echoes shattered off the wall, the shot rang out
And to this day I still grieve for her
Now haunted forever by that sound
You left them once before
And now you've found a reason to finish what you've started
The forfeit of a barren path, this is a death march, an escape from it all
The final defiant act of a broken man
A losing struggle now an absence embraced
Guilt draped like a cross around your neck
Too proud to face the burden you'll become
Words scrawled across a page
Close the door and leave it all behind
A father, a son, you were known by many names
Will they be remembered as your breathing departs?
A funeral call to those who morn this figure withered by the rain
The skies grey, downpour above his plot of freshly carved earth
A fitting epitaph if ever there was
The shot rang out, echoes shattered off the wall
The shot rang out, the shot rang out
Echoes shattered off the wall, the shot rang out
And to this day I still grieve for her
Now haunted forever by that sound
Lyrics submitted by thegreatdistress
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
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.