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.
Someone was here before me and they took the possibility away
And without any control or freedom the elements were laid down in this way
And so my mind is slowly devoured by the ideas to which it subscribes
And in the end I'm left with nothing except the memory of
believing my own lies
And where are you now, my most unfortunate lie?
The light shows my face in the mirror and my hand as it reaches to touch
The evidence of pain and delusion and a mind which was never clear enough
I saw the sun rise in an ancient desert where this moment was first foretold
And the black water was thick as blood and my hands they were full of gold
And where are you now, the most lethal, all consuming lie I ever told?
Where are you now, my unfortunate, irreversible lie?
And without any control or freedom the elements were laid down in this way
And so my mind is slowly devoured by the ideas to which it subscribes
And in the end I'm left with nothing except the memory of
believing my own lies
And where are you now, my most unfortunate lie?
The light shows my face in the mirror and my hand as it reaches to touch
The evidence of pain and delusion and a mind which was never clear enough
I saw the sun rise in an ancient desert where this moment was first foretold
And the black water was thick as blood and my hands they were full of gold
And where are you now, the most lethal, all consuming lie I ever told?
Where are you now, my unfortunate, irreversible lie?
Lyrics submitted by jt
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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I see the "most unfortunate lie" as being a lie told to oneself. The lie is the "ideas" ones own mind "subscribes" to. But the mind is not "clear enough." The song describes an "ancient" time when the present was "foretold." If this is possible then there is no self determination, right? There is a since of realizing powerlessness. This song draws a picture in my mind of the singer looking in a literal mirror, and realizes he's killed himself. In that moment his minds eye draws a metaphor of a, river of black water, drawing his hands out and finding them cupping his own blood ("thick as blood...full of gold). And the song sets the mood for what he feels at that moment. Clarity, and eternal regret. It's too late, he is undone. His lie was, "lethal, all consuming." So, Knowing he can not live, his last wish is to want to believe the self-deluded thoughts that led him to suicide. But he can not. Ironic.