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'd rather be a sparrow than a snail
Yes, I would
If I could
I surely would
Mmm-hmm
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail
Yes, I would
If I only could
I surely would
Mmm-hmm
Away, I'd rather sail away
Like a swan that's here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
Its saddest sound
Mmm-hmm
I'd rather be a forest than a street
Yes, I would
If I could, I surely would
I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet
Yes, I would
If I only could, I surely would
Yes, I would
If I could
I surely would
Mmm-hmm
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail
Yes, I would
If I only could
I surely would
Mmm-hmm
Away, I'd rather sail away
Like a swan that's here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
Its saddest sound
Mmm-hmm
I'd rather be a forest than a street
Yes, I would
If I could, I surely would
I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet
Yes, I would
If I only could, I surely would
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by sokorny
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Plastic Bag
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“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'd rather be free I'd rather be in control I'd rather be natural I'd rather be real
Chorus: I'm beautiful and I want to escape the oppression of time, but its reality is profoundly sad
Nice translation! ;) Simple but spot-on, I think.
I believe it is about power, oppression, futility, despair, and freedom. Almost everyone who has posted a comment in the last 7 years recognises that hammers strike nails, but no one has mentioned that sparrows eat snails, and that forests eventually overcome streets. Power. Winners. Losers. Has anyone reading this heard "When you're a nail, all the world is a hammer, and when you're a hammer all the world is nails." Everyone recognises that it is better to be the one with power, but do the song's listeners also hear that even the oppressors, for all their power, are not free? Oppression takes time and energy to maintain. Could a driver achieve toil from a slave without force and threat? Can the cat expect to catch the mouse if she is not prowling it? Will the shepherd get wool off the sheep if he doesn't get out there and keep track of them? Better to hold power, best to have freedom. Swans symbolize people who are very rare. Swans are the real winners. Most people are either oppressed or oppressors. But even the oppressors are not free. They have locked themselves to the unending occupation of persecuting their victims or subordinates, and it eats their lifetimes. They cannot disengage, least their captives escape. They forge lifetimes of chains for others to wear, but inadvertantly also chain themselves to the lifelong task of oppression. The real winners are the swans. Freedom.
@Spoth I am sure you are close with this interpretation. However, I'm pretty sure that sparrows do not eat snails. Of course, it's perfectly possible that Simon and Garfunkel believed that they did.
@Spoth <br /> <br /> possibly. however, this song was written decades before Simon and Garfunkel covered it. and it resonates with a theme which is as old as humans:<br /> <br /> Every post I see on here is about the physical existence. "i'd rather BE the oppressor than the oppressed. .."<br /> <br /> as Lao Tzu, Victro Frankl and many others have highlighted; to control my individual self IS the ultimate control. If I am a hammer, I can choose if I control a nail. If I am a sparrow, I have more options than being bound to the ground i'm on.<br /> <br /> It doesn't matter what physical position I'm in: I choose my mental, spiritual and emotional response.
Personally, i believe it is about oppression. The narrator is saying that he would much rather better himself. "I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail, yes i would, if i could" he wants to better himself but he can't. Each line brings its own special meaning, and everyone has their own decision. The third line "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail, yes i would, if i only could" To me here it is representing the work force and the fact that the managers are always going to be in a place of higher authority. They are pointing out the disadvantages to Globalization and the growing industry within the world.
I think its about someone's desire to leave the modern world and live a simpler life and commune with nature, etc. but he can't because of responsibilities, etc. The "man ... grows old every day" is the singer - trapped by the restrictions society has put on him. He'd rather be a hammer (a doer who has control over his actions/destiny) and not the nail (and feeling powerless by others). He'd rather be a sparrow (free as a bird) and not a snail (crawling and eking out a survival). The swan is the perfect symbol of nature. He is striving to be that.
I think the narrator talk about freedom and world. When he sad "I'd rather be.." he want a feel like a bird. And He is many times sad, "If I.." because he cant choose anyone, so always say "If I..".. Narrator, If he feel like nail, everything show to him like a hammer. And If he feel like hammer, he sees everything like a nail. And he sad "sparrow" actually almost all sparrow eat nails.. Finally I think the narrator want to say, "What will you want to be, you cant free in this world.
Actually, this song is about someone who is suffering, he is asking for help but he isn't getting help. He compares himself with a sufferer (nail, street, snail) but he would rather be the cause of the sufferer/not the sufferer (hammer, forest, sparrow) at the end he says:"i would rather feel the earth beneath my feet" (without a comparison with something else, referring to "tied to the ground", because he can't touch the ground with his feets.
@paxfilosoof <br /> <br /> Actually, I think this song is about someone who is suffering. He (man) compares himself with a sufferer (a nail, a street, or a snail), but he would rather be the cause of the sufferer (a hammer) or he would rather not suffer (a forest or a sparrow).<br /> The sentence: "I would rather feel the earth beneath my feet." is not a comparison, but the reality of him. That sentence is a reference to the sentence: "Tied to the ground". I think that he is informing the listener of the song that he can't feel the earth beneath his feet, because he is tied to the ground. I think that the sentence "tied to the ground" also implies that he can't touch the ground with his feet (and thus can't feel the earth beneath his feet), but this is not an objective though, because it is not stated literal in the lyrics, and because of that reason it could be that he in fact could touch the ground with his jogger's heel, and thus feel the earth beneath his feet.<br />
"I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail." "I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet." It's a parable examining one's lot in life. He is being practical. Better to be the top of the food chain than the bottom. Better to have power than to be the powerless. Better to be practical than be a dreamer. "If I only could I surely would." He'll always be a dreamer.
He is trying to be the bigger of the two things. Either bigger, more free, more powerful. Great song.
I think that this song is an attempt to portray the human desire for a stronger love. He wants to be more liberated, and seeks to be the strongest he can possibly be.
i understaind that he'd rather be a forrest than a street (it sounds kinda ethnic, like mexican maybe, and eho wouldnt pick the forrest =o) ?) , but rather being a hammer than a nail? what an option???