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 don't want you to look at me while I'm shedding skin
I can't afford for you to see what's in
I'd rather shoot myself than have you watch me
I feel you'd steal my skin to try and wear me
I was betrayed, one more day of my short life
You were carried away, you had no shame to suffocate my being
I was me, but you weren't you, you were sticking to me like a scab
So I peeled you away, bled for days, then stepped out of myself
I'm shedding skin, changing within, I'm falling in
Through swollen eyes, I dreamed you died, caught inside
I'm shedding skin, spreading thin, severed stem
Created the end, killing a friend, I'm shedding my skin
I don't think you belong in here, I feel I'm sick
Don't ask because you know damn well where I've been
I've kept a simple woman through the thick and thin
But I've found the guts to sever from my siamese twin
I throw you away, everyday, a dead part of life
Strangling back, seething black, in between my longing for torture
Blood on my face that came from your face, a mix of kissing and bleeding
I put you away, I shut you away, I pissed you away, I threw you away
I'm shedding skin, changing within, I'm falling in
Through swollen eyes, I dreamed you died, caught inside
I'm shedding skin, spreading thin, severed stem
Created the end, killing a friend, I'm shedding my skin
You're fucking, and sucking, you're friendless, it's endless
Your flower has soured, it's endless, you're friendless
It's harder and stronger but no one's been inside you longer
And harder and deeper, to get you off, you need the fear
The fear, the fear, the fear, the fear
It's never love, bloody touch, broken wrist, needle rust
Choking throat, swallowed teeth, head fuck, no peace
I'm shedding my skin to peel you off of me
You've got to love me
Ornament, shrunken head, playtoy, snake strike
Poisonous, Syphilis, drenched me, soaked me
I'm shedding my skin to drain you out of me
You've got to hate me
I can't afford for you to see what's in
I'd rather shoot myself than have you watch me
I feel you'd steal my skin to try and wear me
I was betrayed, one more day of my short life
You were carried away, you had no shame to suffocate my being
I was me, but you weren't you, you were sticking to me like a scab
So I peeled you away, bled for days, then stepped out of myself
I'm shedding skin, changing within, I'm falling in
Through swollen eyes, I dreamed you died, caught inside
I'm shedding skin, spreading thin, severed stem
Created the end, killing a friend, I'm shedding my skin
I don't think you belong in here, I feel I'm sick
Don't ask because you know damn well where I've been
I've kept a simple woman through the thick and thin
But I've found the guts to sever from my siamese twin
I throw you away, everyday, a dead part of life
Strangling back, seething black, in between my longing for torture
Blood on my face that came from your face, a mix of kissing and bleeding
I put you away, I shut you away, I pissed you away, I threw you away
I'm shedding skin, changing within, I'm falling in
Through swollen eyes, I dreamed you died, caught inside
I'm shedding skin, spreading thin, severed stem
Created the end, killing a friend, I'm shedding my skin
You're fucking, and sucking, you're friendless, it's endless
Your flower has soured, it's endless, you're friendless
It's harder and stronger but no one's been inside you longer
And harder and deeper, to get you off, you need the fear
The fear, the fear, the fear, the fear
It's never love, bloody touch, broken wrist, needle rust
Choking throat, swallowed teeth, head fuck, no peace
I'm shedding my skin to peel you off of me
You've got to love me
Ornament, shrunken head, playtoy, snake strike
Poisonous, Syphilis, drenched me, soaked me
I'm shedding my skin to drain you out of me
You've got to hate me
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Great version of a great song,
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I agree. Clearly it's about a significant other who he gets tired of her abuse and eventually kills her "Blood on my face that came from your face.. I put you away.. I shut you away" etc.
What I like about this song is how Phil compares the act of "shedding skin" to the getting rid of his significant other, just basically getting rid of her for good, and "stepping out of himself" into a brand new "him"! Just as a snake sheds all of its iritating skin and leaves it behind, and after it sheds it brand new, clean, and purged