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.
Icy steel shooting through concrete, cool city
Mountains of glass reflect the sky
Everybody feels real good in cool city
Each day brings a new surprise
Johnny came two-thousand miles to the cool city
He came to see what makes things tick
He cut his hair and bought new clothes in the cool city
Finally found his life's ambition
How to do nothing perfectly
To do it with style so gracefully
'Cause life is so delicious in Cool City
Outside no one's on the street
Don't stop or you'll miss a beat
Someone's standing in a doorway -- cool city
You open the door and check him out so casually
The music's blasting all night long in cool city
They recognize his face, so it's all right
This one knew the right address
He even knew someone in a band
While the others wait all night standing there in
Cool city
So hard to make the right friends
You might have to sell some skin
The nights go on forever
The blacks they all hate the whites
The whites think they're tough, but they're not, cool
City
The boys go out with each other
The girls who will be in movies
If you're high, you're in the right place, cool city
Animals seek out their own kind
Shake some hands and take a lunch in cool city
Someone's going to try and tempt you
Listen to all the brilliant plans in the cool city
It's all free now, but you'll pay later with your soul
Pray to the the objects on the wall
That you'll stay young and never grow old
So come on, the water's fine
Have a drink, snort a line
'Cause the nights get very chilly here in cool city
Mountains of glass reflect the sky
Everybody feels real good in cool city
Each day brings a new surprise
Johnny came two-thousand miles to the cool city
He came to see what makes things tick
He cut his hair and bought new clothes in the cool city
Finally found his life's ambition
How to do nothing perfectly
To do it with style so gracefully
'Cause life is so delicious in Cool City
Outside no one's on the street
Don't stop or you'll miss a beat
Someone's standing in a doorway -- cool city
You open the door and check him out so casually
The music's blasting all night long in cool city
They recognize his face, so it's all right
This one knew the right address
He even knew someone in a band
While the others wait all night standing there in
Cool city
So hard to make the right friends
You might have to sell some skin
The nights go on forever
The blacks they all hate the whites
The whites think they're tough, but they're not, cool
City
The boys go out with each other
The girls who will be in movies
If you're high, you're in the right place, cool city
Animals seek out their own kind
Shake some hands and take a lunch in cool city
Someone's going to try and tempt you
Listen to all the brilliant plans in the cool city
It's all free now, but you'll pay later with your soul
Pray to the the objects on the wall
That you'll stay young and never grow old
So come on, the water's fine
Have a drink, snort a line
'Cause the nights get very chilly here in cool city
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
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