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.
Can you imagine living in a shed
Where poverty would be a luxury
Trapped with thousands of others
Mad with rage
Naked and afraid
Growing so large
That it's too painful to stand?
Can you imagine being so stagnant
Being so frustrated
That you'd hurt
Those around you just to numb your madness?
Can you imagine what your existence would be like
If you were only created for your death
To make someone money?
The air is festering, putrid, suffocating
Through the scorching heat
And the bitterness of the cold
We're never given a thought
We're made to eat
And our death becomes your meat
Can you imagine owning nothing
Not even your own body?
You're so owned by those who are larger and stronger than you
That they cut off pieces of your body
So you can't hurt yourself
And damage their property
Damage their income
And there's nothing you can do about it
There's no one to care for you, to love you, to hold you
And yet you're surrounded by a crowd
Each individual as lonely as you are
Whose screams are deafeningly loud
Can you imagine?
I can
I live this every day
I can't stop this
But you can
How?
Stop paying for it to happen
Be vegan
Where poverty would be a luxury
Trapped with thousands of others
Mad with rage
Naked and afraid
Growing so large
That it's too painful to stand?
Can you imagine being so stagnant
Being so frustrated
That you'd hurt
Those around you just to numb your madness?
Can you imagine what your existence would be like
If you were only created for your death
To make someone money?
The air is festering, putrid, suffocating
Through the scorching heat
And the bitterness of the cold
We're never given a thought
We're made to eat
And our death becomes your meat
Can you imagine owning nothing
Not even your own body?
You're so owned by those who are larger and stronger than you
That they cut off pieces of your body
So you can't hurt yourself
And damage their property
Damage their income
And there's nothing you can do about it
There's no one to care for you, to love you, to hold you
And yet you're surrounded by a crowd
Each individual as lonely as you are
Whose screams are deafeningly loud
Can you imagine?
I can
I live this every day
I can't stop this
But you can
How?
Stop paying for it to happen
Be vegan
Lyrics submitted by Eamon
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