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.
Floating on mist
Crept up the caverns of my brain
Received no warning
From nothing to a life code
Walk with me, you'll never leave
Wait to see your spirit free
Tell me how your heart's in need
As I drown you in the sea
Unwinding snares of distrust
Your wrist in my fast grip
Look me in the eye, I'm clear
This is your time
Face down beneath the waterline
Gazing into the deep
From love to death
In a time span of seconds
Oblivious to regret
Pushed into belief
In liquid cellophane
Gasping for air
Mercy in my eyes
Is the shade of the night
The piercing sounds you make
Soaring higher, higher now
And once left in my wake
Your memory's nothing but the scars on me
All over now
Forgotten why I needed this
Standing down
Disappear into the obscure
Resting days
Waiting for new disease
Biding time
Locked inside insanity
It always burns within
The downward spiral never ends
When driven into sin
Your salvation's found in a sinners deed
The devil guides the way
Tells me what to say
Pours himself inside
And snuffs the final light
Deliverance
Thrown back at me
Deliverance
Laughing at me
Crept up the caverns of my brain
Received no warning
From nothing to a life code
Walk with me, you'll never leave
Wait to see your spirit free
Tell me how your heart's in need
As I drown you in the sea
Unwinding snares of distrust
Your wrist in my fast grip
Look me in the eye, I'm clear
This is your time
Face down beneath the waterline
Gazing into the deep
From love to death
In a time span of seconds
Oblivious to regret
Pushed into belief
In liquid cellophane
Gasping for air
Mercy in my eyes
Is the shade of the night
The piercing sounds you make
Soaring higher, higher now
And once left in my wake
Your memory's nothing but the scars on me
All over now
Forgotten why I needed this
Standing down
Disappear into the obscure
Resting days
Waiting for new disease
Biding time
Locked inside insanity
It always burns within
The downward spiral never ends
When driven into sin
Your salvation's found in a sinners deed
The devil guides the way
Tells me what to say
Pours himself inside
And snuffs the final light
Deliverance
Thrown back at me
Deliverance
Laughing at me
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I think one of the most important questions to ask about this song is not what is it about, but why.
Why would the narrator drown somebody? Just look at the third and fourth verses: "received no warning/from nothing to a life code". A life code? As in...pregnancy, perhaps?
One could make many interpretations of this song (and, indeed, all songs by Opeth). In this case, I feel like the narrator is talking about a woman who has become pregnant, and so he drowns her. Who's child? His own, perhaps, but more likely somebody else's - why else kill her?
What a dark, beautiful, haunting, epic song. It single-handedly got me into the band.