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.
There's a humming in the restless summer air
And we're slipping off the course that we prepared
But in all chaos, there is calculation
Dropping glasses just to hear them break
You've been drinking like the world was gonna end (it didn't)
Took a shiner from the fist of your best friend (go figure)
It's clear that someone's gotta go
We mean it, but I promise we're not mean
And the cry goes out (ha)
They lose their minds for us, and how it plays out (ha)
Now we're in the ring and we're coming for blood
(Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But we're the gladiators (Oh! Oh!)
Everyone a rager (oh-oh)
But secretly they're saviors
Glory and gore go hand in hand
That's why we're making headlines (Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But victory's contagious
Delicate in every way but one (the swordplay)
God knows we like archaic kinds of fun (the old way)
Chance is the only game I play with, baby
We let our battles choose us
And the cry goes out (ha oh)
They lose their minds for us and how it plays out (ha oh)
Now we're in the ring and we're coming for blood
(Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But we're the gladiators (Oh! Oh!)
Everyone a rager (oh-oh)
But secretly they're saviors
Glory and gore go hand in hand
That's why we're making headlines (Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But victory's contagious
No-one 'round here's good at keeping their eyes closed
The sun's starting to light up when we're walking home
Tired little laughs, gold lie promises,
We'll always win at this, I don't ever think about death
It's alright if you do, it's fine
We gladiate but I guess we're really fighting ourselves
Roughing up our minds so we're ready when the kill time comes
Wide awake in bed, words in my brain,
"Secretly you love this, do you even wanna go free?"
Let me in the ring, I'll show you what that big word means
(Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But we're the gladiators (Oh! Oh!)
Everyone a rager (oh-oh)
But secretly they're saviors
Glory and gore go hand in hand
That's why we're making headlines (Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But victory's contagious
And we're slipping off the course that we prepared
But in all chaos, there is calculation
Dropping glasses just to hear them break
You've been drinking like the world was gonna end (it didn't)
Took a shiner from the fist of your best friend (go figure)
It's clear that someone's gotta go
We mean it, but I promise we're not mean
And the cry goes out (ha)
They lose their minds for us, and how it plays out (ha)
Now we're in the ring and we're coming for blood
(Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But we're the gladiators (Oh! Oh!)
Everyone a rager (oh-oh)
But secretly they're saviors
Glory and gore go hand in hand
That's why we're making headlines (Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But victory's contagious
Delicate in every way but one (the swordplay)
God knows we like archaic kinds of fun (the old way)
Chance is the only game I play with, baby
We let our battles choose us
And the cry goes out (ha oh)
They lose their minds for us and how it plays out (ha oh)
Now we're in the ring and we're coming for blood
(Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But we're the gladiators (Oh! Oh!)
Everyone a rager (oh-oh)
But secretly they're saviors
Glory and gore go hand in hand
That's why we're making headlines (Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But victory's contagious
No-one 'round here's good at keeping their eyes closed
The sun's starting to light up when we're walking home
Tired little laughs, gold lie promises,
We'll always win at this, I don't ever think about death
It's alright if you do, it's fine
We gladiate but I guess we're really fighting ourselves
Roughing up our minds so we're ready when the kill time comes
Wide awake in bed, words in my brain,
"Secretly you love this, do you even wanna go free?"
Let me in the ring, I'll show you what that big word means
(Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But we're the gladiators (Oh! Oh!)
Everyone a rager (oh-oh)
But secretly they're saviors
Glory and gore go hand in hand
That's why we're making headlines (Oh! Oh!)
You could try and take us (oh-oh)
But victory's contagious
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“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.
Am I the only one who thinks that this may literally be about a gladiator?
@natek12831 That is exactly what I think. Why does every song have to have a deeper meaning?
@natek12831 I think it's about a Roman gladiator as well. As if that wasn't deep enough anyways.<br /> I think she imagined this gladiator back in Rome and how his life was- basically, a life that could end at any moment. So he becomes an hedonist, obsessed with living the moment, and celebrating every day like it's the last one. He fights in the arena, is victorious and throws a big wild, party, like the world is going to end because his world can end the next day. At some point, he becomes so used to it that he just goes with the flow; he doesn't mind breaking glasses just to hear them crack or fighting his best friend because basically, his life is all about destruction. He doesn't even care about his own death because he's done it too many times now. But it's alright if others do. Could it be a very elaborate metaphor of nowadays society? Yes. Does that mean it couldn't be, at the same time, a story about a gladiator? No.<br /> <br />