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.
Free, alone.
The predawn white light's coming on.
Bottle on the night stand.
I count disasters on my free hand now.
Run for cover there's a big one coming.
You'll be lucky if you're at ground zero.
You'll be lucky if it's got your number.
No one said that this life was easy.
Did that no one ever live a life this hard?
It gets hard.
The bills are scattered in the yard.
Ashtray monument.
A life spent waiting in cement.
After all, it's not that bad.
I still have pictures.
I look back at all the things that we once did.
You said, "I love you."
I guess you did.
Remember our life.
I did the dishes while you read out loud.
Best friends, strangers now.
Were our kids all we could call common ground.
The predawn white light's coming on.
Bottle on the night stand.
I count disasters on my free hand now.
Run for cover there's a big one coming.
You'll be lucky if you're at ground zero.
You'll be lucky if it's got your number.
No one said that this life was easy.
Did that no one ever live a life this hard?
It gets hard.
The bills are scattered in the yard.
Ashtray monument.
A life spent waiting in cement.
After all, it's not that bad.
I still have pictures.
I look back at all the things that we once did.
You said, "I love you."
I guess you did.
Remember our life.
I did the dishes while you read out loud.
Best friends, strangers now.
Were our kids all we could call common ground.
Lyrics submitted by emoJustin
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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great song i don't really have a clean explanation for it though blake introduces it as a song for your parents on the live cd...i still don't get it
The best line of this song is "I count disasters on my free hand now." It has so many different interpretations and connotations:
Why is his hand free? Because he's no longer clasping somebody else's hand. He's alone.
Why counting disasters? Because when you're depressed, the slightest negative can feel monumental. For most a disaster is a singular event, like filing bankruptcy, a loved one dying. His disasters are multiple; everything is going wrong and everything is an overwhelming burden. The fact that he is counting disasters, rather than just accepting them, emphasizes the fact that he is not simply reflecting, but also dwelling, analyzing himself. He is obsessed.
Why his hand? Because the hands are primary sensory organs of the body. His empty hand is numb, without feeling, useless. The hand is also the manipulatory organ of the body, used to control the environment, and his loneliness leaves him impotent, weak, and useless.
Why just one hand? Because an idle hand is the devil's playground and can get you into trouble. He's already referenced drinking/drugs in the third line of the song, and clearly his other hand is busy self-medicating.
This single line is what I like to quote when people ask why I like Jawbreaker so much.
I think this song is about a couple who have divorced and have children and now thier marriage is through the person sees that the only thing that they still had in common when they divorced is their children. They also have known A LOT of misery
I agree with Lord Pembroke, this song is definately about divorce.
When I first heard this song without paying too much attention to the lyrics, I figured it was about a guy looking back on a bad relationship (you said I love you, I guess you did), but the lyric "I did the dishes while you read out loud" brought about more meaning to me-Yes, it is about divorce. The separated parents are struggling, so the children have to take on new responsiblities and end up growing up too fast. In the present, the grown child looks back and "counts distasters on his free hand"
defineately right about the divorce thing. my personal favorite jawbreaker song.
i don't think its about a divorce, it seems to be about a couple that are only stay together because they have kids.