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 walk in stride with people
Much taller than me
And partly it's the boots but
Mostly it's my chi
And I'm becoming transfixed
With nature and my part in it
Which I believe just signifies
I'm finally waking up
And there's this moth outside my kitchen door
She's bonkers for that bare bulb
Flying round in circles
Bashing in her exoskull
And out in the woods she navigates fine by the moon
But get her around a light bulb and she's doomed
She is trying to evolve
She's just trying to evolve
Now let's get talking reefer madness
Like some arrogant government can't
By any stretch of the imagination
Outlaw a plant
Yes, their supposed authority over nature
Is a dream
C'mon people
We've got to come clean
'cause they are locking our sons
And our daughters in cages
They are taking by the thousands
Our lives from under us
It's a crash course in religious fundamentals
Now let's all go to war
Get some bang for our buck
I am trying to evolve
I'm just trying to evolve
Gunnin' for high score in the land of dreams
Morbid bluish-white consumers ogling luminous screens
On the trail of forgetting
Cruising without a care
The jet set won't abide by that pesky jet lag
And our lives boil down to an hour or two
When someone pulls a camera out of a bag
And I am trying to evolve
I'm just trying to evolve
So I walk like I'm on a mission
'cause that's the way I groove
I got more and more to do
I got less and less to prove
It took me too long to realize
That I don't take good pictures
'cause I have the kind of beauty
That moves
Much taller than me
And partly it's the boots but
Mostly it's my chi
And I'm becoming transfixed
With nature and my part in it
Which I believe just signifies
I'm finally waking up
And there's this moth outside my kitchen door
She's bonkers for that bare bulb
Flying round in circles
Bashing in her exoskull
And out in the woods she navigates fine by the moon
But get her around a light bulb and she's doomed
She is trying to evolve
She's just trying to evolve
Now let's get talking reefer madness
Like some arrogant government can't
By any stretch of the imagination
Outlaw a plant
Yes, their supposed authority over nature
Is a dream
C'mon people
We've got to come clean
'cause they are locking our sons
And our daughters in cages
They are taking by the thousands
Our lives from under us
It's a crash course in religious fundamentals
Now let's all go to war
Get some bang for our buck
I am trying to evolve
I'm just trying to evolve
Gunnin' for high score in the land of dreams
Morbid bluish-white consumers ogling luminous screens
On the trail of forgetting
Cruising without a care
The jet set won't abide by that pesky jet lag
And our lives boil down to an hour or two
When someone pulls a camera out of a bag
And I am trying to evolve
I'm just trying to evolve
So I walk like I'm on a mission
'cause that's the way I groove
I got more and more to do
I got less and less to prove
It took me too long to realize
That I don't take good pictures
'cause I have the kind of beauty
That moves
Lyrics submitted by avoiddisaster
Evolve Lyrics as written by Ani Difranco
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I love this song so much. Especially that last part about the "kind of beauty that moves." I see that line as, basically, in a picture, you're not doing anything. She needs to be doing something. Like her actions defining who she is. Gah, I suck at explaining things.
Once in my Japanese class during independent work time, I was listening to this song on my iPod and my teacher walked by and saw I was listening to Ani. Turns out he's a fan, too. He said he's never had a student that even knew who she is.