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.
I had wrists donning slits
Flowing constantly
My broken body in a wreck
I wrapped around a tree
A crosswalk hit and run
The finish line for me
People clutter in the gutter
Take a look and see
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
My blood flows through the streets
Deluge from the wounds
Empty jars of sleeping pills
On the dresser in my room
My wet brain neighbor cranes
His neck to see
In time, the white lights, a train
Bearing down on me
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
I won't feel the hurt
I'm not trash any longer
That that doesn't kill me
Only makes me stronger
I need a ride to the morgue
That's what 911 is for
So, tag my toe and don't forget
Ooh, to close the drawer
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
Flowing constantly
My broken body in a wreck
I wrapped around a tree
A crosswalk hit and run
The finish line for me
People clutter in the gutter
Take a look and see
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
My blood flows through the streets
Deluge from the wounds
Empty jars of sleeping pills
On the dresser in my room
My wet brain neighbor cranes
His neck to see
In time, the white lights, a train
Bearing down on me
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
I won't feel the hurt
I'm not trash any longer
That that doesn't kill me
Only makes me stronger
I need a ride to the morgue
That's what 911 is for
So, tag my toe and don't forget
Ooh, to close the drawer
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
No escaping pain
You belong to me
Clingin' on to life
By the skin o' my teeth
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This is about SongMeanings not to express your fantasies. Get a life.
And it does seem like an attempted suicide song hence he's hanging on by the "skin o' my teeth"