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.
You can't get to heaven in a silver spoon
You can polish everything
except for the mark on you, you
Come be the first in line
To shake the hand of mine
Come be the first in line
To shake the hand of
(They call you out and up)
All Hands on the Bad One, all Hands on the Bad One
We would be no better, we would be no better
All Hands on the Bad One, all Hands on the Bad One
We would be no better, we would be no better
You can't get to heaven in your Sunday best
When the night before they were calling it
your cocktail dress
Come be the first in line
To shake the hand of mine
Come be the first in line
To shake the hand of
(They call you out and up)
All Hands on the Bad One, all Hands on the Bad One
We would be no better, we would be no better
All Hands on the Bad One, all Hands on the Bad One
We would be no better, we would be no better
All Hands on the Bad One, all Hands on the Bad One
We would be no better, we would be no better
All Hands on the Bad One
You can't get to heaven with a three chord song
They called you a sinner
but the people want to sing along
You can polish everything
except for the mark on you, you
Come be the first in line
To shake the hand of mine
Come be the first in line
To shake the hand of
(They call you out and up)
All Hands on the Bad One, all Hands on the Bad One
We would be no better, we would be no better
All Hands on the Bad One, all Hands on the Bad One
We would be no better, we would be no better
You can't get to heaven in your Sunday best
When the night before they were calling it
your cocktail dress
Come be the first in line
To shake the hand of mine
Come be the first in line
To shake the hand of
(They call you out and up)
All Hands on the Bad One, all Hands on the Bad One
We would be no better, we would be no better
All Hands on the Bad One, all Hands on the Bad One
We would be no better, we would be no better
All Hands on the Bad One, all Hands on the Bad One
We would be no better, we would be no better
All Hands on the Bad One
You can't get to heaven with a three chord song
They called you a sinner
but the people want to sing along
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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I love this song! I'm not sure what it means, but I live the part about the "three chord song." :-)
Also, for all you drummers, I've been working on tabbing this song, check tk-jk.net/S-K/index.html, it should be up soon!
this is an excellent song... the drums and the guitars are just so catchy, and the lyrics always make me laugh.
I've really got no clue what this song is about. The lines "You can't get to heaven in your Sunday best When the night before they were calling it your cocktail dress" seem to be about hypocrisy. The rest of it, I'm lost on.
i think its about hypocrisy and self image. how you present yourself and stuff... and how your self image contridicts.
wow that was redundant....
The bit: "You can't get to heaven in a silver spoon" seems to me to be about how you say people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth ie. rich. And uh, basically, being rich means nothing/can't you into heaven. I don't think they're literally meaning heaven though. But then again, maybe they are...
Also, the "you can't get to heaven in your Sunday best when last night they were calling it your cocktail dress" means that (well, I think :P) you can't present yourself all good-ness when you're not :P and those two bits kind of sum up the song for me.
Great song ^_^
Drugs maybe?
You can't get to heaven in a silver spoon = Cooking drugs in a spoon. trying to get high.
You can polish everything Except for the mark on you = Trying to hide track marks. You can look neat and presentable but you can't cover up track marks.
Ok, finally figured this song out. Carrie said they named the record after this song because the record is about all versions of morality, grey areas. "All hands on the bad one" is their version of "let the one without sin cast the first stone" - it is saying, we are all flawed, we are living in a complicated world. It is about hypocrisy and also somewhat saying that we are all hypocrites at the end of the day. What a tough one, and a great one to crack!