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.
All in my mind
I walked down Mayflower Road again
The wailing sound
Echoes from the park seem so absurd
The bus takes hours
I knew it would but I can't shake the sting
Can't spend my time on everybody else
If buildings fell at least we'd be in matrimony
I can't control the words
Kaleidoscope inside my head
Has the world gone mad
Or is it me?
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
Is it all so very bad?
I can't see
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
Saw the police
Screaming something trivial like
"Keep the peace"
The world moves on and
You can't shake the sound
know she's home
Waiting on somebody holding life
All in my mind, the anvil and the weight upon my back
Has the world gone mad
Or is it me?
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
Is it all so very bad?
I can't see
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
And I can't see my love
Has the world gone mad
Or is it me?
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
Is it all so very bad?
I can't see
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
I walked down Mayflower Road again
The wailing sound
Echoes from the park seem so absurd
The bus takes hours
I knew it would but I can't shake the sting
Can't spend my time on everybody else
If buildings fell at least we'd be in matrimony
I can't control the words
Kaleidoscope inside my head
Has the world gone mad
Or is it me?
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
Is it all so very bad?
I can't see
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
Saw the police
Screaming something trivial like
"Keep the peace"
The world moves on and
You can't shake the sound
know she's home
Waiting on somebody holding life
All in my mind, the anvil and the weight upon my back
Has the world gone mad
Or is it me?
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
Is it all so very bad?
I can't see
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
And I can't see my love
Has the world gone mad
Or is it me?
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
Is it all so very bad?
I can't see
All these small things they gather 'round me
Gather 'round me
Lyrics submitted by mfrazee, edited by M4TTY, LaurissaMarie, shiggs7657, Snowyjugs
Small Things Lyrics as written by Benjamin John Howard
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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[Yes Ben, the world has gone mad. It is not you!]
For me, the narrator is commenting on the hundreds of absurd, frustrating, ignorant, and hateful "small things" that happen everyday. If they were infrequent or only happened one at a time... The "small things" when taken individually might only be minor annoyances that one could easily brush off... But as he says; "all these small things they gather around me." They, the small things, can pile up in ones mind... at time overwhelming.
He asks, "has the world gone mad, or is it me", Because you can't articulate the negative feeling that is the product of the sum of these "small things." "The words kaleidoscope inside my head."
When you kvetch about any one small thing it comes out with the sum force of ALL... you come off as one big over-reaction. If you try to kvetch about the sum total, you can't... They are small disparate things... you'd sound like a rambling mad person. It makes you begin to doubt your ability to reason. One small thing happens... the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. You end up asking yourself... "has the world gone mad? Or, is it me?"
I realize I'm mixing my genres but It's like Depeche Mode sang long ago... "Everything counts... in large amounts"
Yeah, I think for anybody that experiences anxiety/depression would agree this song is heavily rooted in it. How hard it can be to just "go with the flow" and feel the joy without something watering it down, without just generally being annoyed or exhausted from the many tedious tasks that sometimes life offers us. Not only the stress of your own personal anxieties, but the anxieties of the world around us can be downright annoying and daunting no doubt.
He's obviously questioning, is it me? is it as bad as I think it is? Or is it possibly the world the surrounds me?
'All these small things, they gather 'round me, gather 'round me Is it all so very bad, I can't see? All these small things, they gather 'round me, gather 'round me And I can't see none'
Hello, anxiety, nice to meet you. Is it me or is it the absolute chaos that we live in. I cannot distinguish if I am the problem or THEY (the outside world)
This song to me in two words : Human Condition.
And by the way,
It's the bust takes hours, not the Bird stained towers. Anoooyyying. ;)
Excuse my many typos. Bus* being one of the major.
@LaurissaMarie Oh wow! This is exactly what I thought. And well, I felt it the first time I heard the song. His second album is so intents, it freaked my out cause everything he sings is so true. While his first album "every kingdom" is a bit more lightweight, unless you really listen to the lyrics. <br /> <br /> I forget where we were: " What the hell is going on"<br /> Every kingdom: " It was hard, maybe it'll get better."