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're sending me tulips mistaken for lilies
You give me your lip after punching me silly
You turned my head till it rolled down the brain drain
If I had any sense now I wouldn't want it back again
New Amsterdam it's become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brake to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double dutch to a real double duchess
Down on the mainspring, listen to the tick tock
Clock all the faces that move in on your block
Twice shy and dog tired because you've been bitten
Everything you say now sounds like it was ghost-written
New Amsterdam it's become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brake to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double dutch to a real double duchess
Back in London they'll take you to heart after a little while
Though I look right at home I still feel like an exile
Somehow I found myself down at the dockside
Thinking about the old days of Liverpool and Rotherhithe
The transparent people who live on the other side
Living a life that is almost like suicide
New Amsterdam it's become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brake to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double dutch to a real double duchess
You give me your lip after punching me silly
You turned my head till it rolled down the brain drain
If I had any sense now I wouldn't want it back again
New Amsterdam it's become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brake to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double dutch to a real double duchess
Down on the mainspring, listen to the tick tock
Clock all the faces that move in on your block
Twice shy and dog tired because you've been bitten
Everything you say now sounds like it was ghost-written
New Amsterdam it's become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brake to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double dutch to a real double duchess
Back in London they'll take you to heart after a little while
Though I look right at home I still feel like an exile
Somehow I found myself down at the dockside
Thinking about the old days of Liverpool and Rotherhithe
The transparent people who live on the other side
Living a life that is almost like suicide
New Amsterdam it's become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brake to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double dutch to a real double duchess
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Isn't the first line "You're suddenly tulips mistaken for lilies"? I must hear that wrong. Great song about New York City. Elvis commented that he would make up songs never having experienced certain things (the example used was a lady with a cigerette holder and some attitude) then, when he had money suddenly he would meet those type of people in the flesh. I think that is what is going on here with the "duchess": he is being tempted by all the experiences in New York. "Everything you say sounds like it was ghost written" great line about being self concious from all the critics in New York and how he starts questioning himself.
@Motown1 I've always understood the first line to be "you're sending me tulips". That's what it also reads in the Singing Dictionary