He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
The Atlantic was born today, and I'll tell you how
The clouds above opened up and let it out
I was standing on the surface of a perforated sphere
When the water filled every hole
And thousands upon thousands made an ocean
Making islands, where no islands should go (oh no)
Most people were overjoyed, they took to their boats
I thought it less like a lake and more like a moat
The rhythm of my footsteps crossing flatlands to your door
Have been silenced forevermore
And the distance is quite simply much too far for me to row
It seems farther than ever before (oh no)
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
So come on, come on
So come on, come on
So come on, come on
So come on, come on
The clouds above opened up and let it out
I was standing on the surface of a perforated sphere
When the water filled every hole
And thousands upon thousands made an ocean
Making islands, where no islands should go (oh no)
Most people were overjoyed, they took to their boats
I thought it less like a lake and more like a moat
The rhythm of my footsteps crossing flatlands to your door
Have been silenced forevermore
And the distance is quite simply much too far for me to row
It seems farther than ever before (oh no)
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
So come on, come on
So come on, come on
So come on, come on
So come on, come on
Lyrics submitted by heartattack, edited by g0ld3n, crackhitler
Transatlanticism Lyrics as written by Christopher Walla Benjamin Gibbard
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.”
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
It's amazing that this song is on the top 10 list; the lyrics are so easy to understand on the CD version =P I was lucky enough to see them in concert when they were promoting this, and then again on thier most recent tour, but I didn't get to hear this song.... Anyways, on the the analysis: Benjammin, you're interperatation sounds very good, and I'm going to disagree just for the purpose of brainstorming; I think this song is about a physical seperation, rather than a figurative one, though many elements are figurative. I think something suddenly sprang up, which seperated him from someone he cares about, and the degree of seperation caused him to mentally compare it to the Atlantic, and so, he ceated this song to compare with some fictional people who were seperated when the Atlantic appeared. Of course, the sky never jsut opened up and let the Atlantic out, so the basis of this ficticious pair of seperated people is represented by a highly fantastic, almost biblical, story-line OMHO =)