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.
He was born the same time as me
To a small souled women who died twenty-three
Now you're here, they can't shove you back
I know you live your life out of spite
And I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting)
I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm)
The good ones first, so get back in the queue
(So get back in the queue)
You trawled your way through our grim school
(You trawled your way through our grim school)
I hear you crowing in my sleep, in my dreams
A great dark wave shivers over me
I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting)
Waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm)
Boys with bashed-in eyes, line the roads
(Boys with bashed-in eyes, line the roads)
But the longest walk was the walk back home alone
(The longest walk was the walk back home)
Now you're here, they can't shove you back
You go on living your life out of spite
And I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting)
I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm)
I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting)
Waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm)
Waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm)
To a small souled women who died twenty-three
Now you're here, they can't shove you back
I know you live your life out of spite
And I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting)
I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm)
The good ones first, so get back in the queue
(So get back in the queue)
You trawled your way through our grim school
(You trawled your way through our grim school)
I hear you crowing in my sleep, in my dreams
A great dark wave shivers over me
I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting)
Waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm)
Boys with bashed-in eyes, line the roads
(Boys with bashed-in eyes, line the roads)
But the longest walk was the walk back home alone
(The longest walk was the walk back home)
Now you're here, they can't shove you back
You go on living your life out of spite
And I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting)
I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm)
I'm waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting)
Waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm)
Waiting for Jude, the obscene
(I'm waiting, I'm)
Lyrics submitted by one hit wonder
Jude the Obscene Lyrics as written by Andrew Cairns
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I ran into this comment about how "Jude the Obscure" may have morphed into "Jude the Obscene":
When Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure appeared in 1895, it immediately caused scandal and controversy. Its frank treatment of Jude’s sexual relationships with Arabella and Sue, its scathing criticisms of late-Victorian hypocrisy, its depiction of the “New Woman,” and its attacks on “holy wedlock” and religious bigotry outraged numerous reviewers; one called the book “Jude the Obscene.” Others saw it as brilliantly progressive in its ideas and techniques. Vivid and complex, satiric and harrowing, this novel marked the culmination of Hardy’s development as a leading novelist of the cultural transition from the Victorian to the Modernist era. (broadviewpress.com/product/jude-the-obscure/)