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.
Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
Lets me see.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
Drawn beyond the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.
Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
Feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines.
Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
Lets me see there is so much more
And beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
Drawn outside the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.
Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition leaving all these opportunities behind.
Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.
Come embrace my desire to, come embrace my desire to,
Feel the rhythm, to feel connected
Enough to step aside and weep like a widow
To feel inspired, to fathom the power,
To witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
To swing on the spiral, to swing on the spiral, swing on the spiral.
Of our divinity and still be a human.
With my feet upon the ground I lose myself
Between the sounds and open wide to suck it in,
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out,
I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.
Spiral out. Keep going, going
Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
Lets me see.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
Drawn beyond the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.
Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
Feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines.
Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
Lets me see there is so much more
And beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
Drawn outside the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.
Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition leaving all these opportunities behind.
Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.
Come embrace my desire to, come embrace my desire to,
Feel the rhythm, to feel connected
Enough to step aside and weep like a widow
To feel inspired, to fathom the power,
To witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
To swing on the spiral, to swing on the spiral, swing on the spiral.
Of our divinity and still be a human.
With my feet upon the ground I lose myself
Between the sounds and open wide to suck it in,
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out,
I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.
Spiral out. Keep going, going
Lyrics submitted by Everlong, edited by swiftau, ouzts12, GiselleFreude17
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To me, the song is simply about appriciating life for what it is, and enjoying it. Lets take a look...
"Black then white are all I see in my infancy. red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me. lets me see." Anyone else notice that the colors mentioned are the traditional "skin tones?" What does that have to do with it? I'm not sure.
"As below, so above and beyond, I imagine drawn beyond the lines of reason. Push the envelope. Watch it bend." In other words, open your eyes to other possibilities... what you don't see. What you can't see.
"Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind. Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must Feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines." Don't think... feel. Don't stay within the boundaries of society. This song means a LOT to me... so much that I can't put it into words.
"Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line. Reaching out to embrace the random. Reaching out to embrace whatever may come" Take things as they are.
"I embrace my desire to feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow to feel inspired, to fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human." Like I said... its about appriciating life.
"With my feet upon the ground I lose myself between the sounds and open wide to suck it in, I feel it move across my skin. I'm reaching up and reaching out, I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me. And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been. We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been." Extra sensory... senses. Sense your enviornment. Simple, yet so very complex. Branch out... SPIRAL out.
"Black then white are all I see in my infancy. <br /> red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me. <br /> lets me see."<br /> <br /> You may wish to consider this in terms of the development of the primate visual processing systems.<br /> <br /> Black and white (no color)<br /> Red and yellow (the earliest colors we monkeys could see)<br /> <br /> scientificamerican.com/article.cfm<br /> <br /> The "infinite possibilities" would be a reference to the entire light spectrum.<br /> <br />
That makes sense; this song may then be about the next step in the human evolutionary line, involving even greater capacities for perception and consciousness. Same overall message, then, as Forty-Six and 2.
Amazing, man. I've always wondered what this song is about and I don't think i would have ever come up with that kind of explanation but it makes so much sense. In addition, I believe he's just talking about having a spiritual connection while in this physical world.
i've read many times that the native austrailians first used to paint they're bodies black and white, and then they used the colors red and yellow....they say thats where it's inspired from...