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.
Even a blind squirrel
Finds a nut
Once in a while
Once you're in you're pretty much fucked
When I was the rat
The rat who would be king
I imagined typhoid
And us alone
Always us alone
And I've waited on the sidelines
All this time
All this time
And I've a grenade
With our names scratched on the side
But that's just love
And you know that love's not enough
No, no, love's not enough
Crawl from the sea
Wait for some thumbs
A greatness to breed
Build the mall of America
When I was the rat
The rat who would be king
I imagined ashes
And us alone
Always us alone
And I've waited on the sidelines
All this time
All this time
And I've a grenade
With our names scratched on the side
But that's just love
And you know that love's not enough
No, no, love's not enough
Love's not enough
Love's not enough
Finds a nut
Once in a while
Once you're in you're pretty much fucked
When I was the rat
The rat who would be king
I imagined typhoid
And us alone
Always us alone
And I've waited on the sidelines
All this time
All this time
And I've a grenade
With our names scratched on the side
But that's just love
And you know that love's not enough
No, no, love's not enough
Crawl from the sea
Wait for some thumbs
A greatness to breed
Build the mall of America
When I was the rat
The rat who would be king
I imagined ashes
And us alone
Always us alone
And I've waited on the sidelines
All this time
All this time
And I've a grenade
With our names scratched on the side
But that's just love
And you know that love's not enough
No, no, love's not enough
Love's not enough
Love's not enough
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Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
I've enjoyed this song for years without contemplating or even really knowing the lyrics. The quality of the sound alone was enough alone to evoke a painful and haunting mood but the lyrics really drives home a great portrait of the singer.
The song is a disturbing love letter to an ex. Before the relationship he saw himself as the blind squirrel. The proverbial "nice guy" who never gets the girl but it this case somehow did. But of course once he did, they were pretty much fucked. And his acknowledgment of that is perhaps his most self-aware moment. After the relationship has ended, he is the rat, something unwelcome that is resilient. And in that period he fantasized about a world when plague or disaster left him and his ex the only two remaining because then of course she would be with him. But since then he has settled down a little bit and she has allowed him back into her life as a friend where he has bided his time watching her other relationships thinking that if he can wait them out she will eventually have him back. But that hasn't worked bringing him to the grenade with their names scratched on the side. That is not a romantic metaphor. That is a threat. He is no longer fantasizing about plague bringing them together but is contemplating murder-suicide. But he's not quite ready for that yet because "love is not enough". And so he goes into a second verse that describes his disconnect with the rest of humanity. And by the end he's still saying "love is not enough" but I think that someday it might be.
I think it's great in the same way as The Catcher in the Rye is at creating audience empathy for a disturbed narrator.