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 see the ghost of the buffalo moving both fierce and slow
Like glittering prophesies on the edge of the horizon
As you drive glittering highways and beaten-up byways
That straddle and girdle our great and many-faced nation
You see the lambs in the ghettos who worship their Gepettos
Believing in, never seeing, the strings they think bind them
So we write to our congressmen with bleeding pens of the sorrow within
And in return, they just send tickets to the latest Tom Hanks show
[Chorus]
Welcome to the new wild west
Each man for himself
A nation of civilized steeples
And lonely people
Welcome to the new wild west
There are so many factions and cue-card reactions
It's hard to keep clear the possibilities here 'cause there's no force to unite them
Privilege has ruled for thousands of years
Wars have been fought with bibles and tears
Yet liberation can't deny the temptation and soon becomes the oppressor
Show me a leader who's fit to lead
Who don't sow his seed in anything wounded enough to breed
Because after all, what fun is power if you can't act like a rock star?
[Chorus]
As for me, I've been petty
Oh, and unkind, but I know my own mind
And since it seems clear there's no one leading us here
The only thing left it appears is to task ourselves to be better each time, than those before us
We'll be an army of thieves, of self-freed slaves, of mild-mannered maids
We'll fight with whispers and blades
So get ready, a new day is dawning
Like glittering prophesies on the edge of the horizon
As you drive glittering highways and beaten-up byways
That straddle and girdle our great and many-faced nation
You see the lambs in the ghettos who worship their Gepettos
Believing in, never seeing, the strings they think bind them
So we write to our congressmen with bleeding pens of the sorrow within
And in return, they just send tickets to the latest Tom Hanks show
[Chorus]
Welcome to the new wild west
Each man for himself
A nation of civilized steeples
And lonely people
Welcome to the new wild west
There are so many factions and cue-card reactions
It's hard to keep clear the possibilities here 'cause there's no force to unite them
Privilege has ruled for thousands of years
Wars have been fought with bibles and tears
Yet liberation can't deny the temptation and soon becomes the oppressor
Show me a leader who's fit to lead
Who don't sow his seed in anything wounded enough to breed
Because after all, what fun is power if you can't act like a rock star?
[Chorus]
As for me, I've been petty
Oh, and unkind, but I know my own mind
And since it seems clear there's no one leading us here
The only thing left it appears is to task ourselves to be better each time, than those before us
We'll be an army of thieves, of self-freed slaves, of mild-mannered maids
We'll fight with whispers and blades
So get ready, a new day is dawning
Lyrics submitted by 7_myshell_7
The New Wild West Lyrics as written by Jewel Kilcher
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
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.
Very great deep song, si true