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.
This is, uh
Based on some music that I heard in a dream
That I saw in a dream
Called, it's going to be called "you and I", ouch!
'Cause it's what the people in the dream were saying
You and I, you and I, you and I
All for you
It's like that, I heard the people singing that in a dream
Yeah, and it was a dream where I was in an auditorium at a college
And everybody was congregated and singing the same words
And there was this, y'know a bunch of
This band on stage and they were like, y'know, sorta spacey Deadhead band
With teen- y'know, like, guys in their twenties, like a bunch of grunge guys but
Kinda playing this, this, other thing, not like what I'm playing here on guitar
And the people kept on beating out, uh
Rhythms on drumsticks
This really great rhythm, it was in like, 7/4, this really cool space jam
And what it was, it was a song
I dreamed that this song was about, uh, about this guy, uh
Or, y'know, the person in the song is singing to his lover
Supposedly
That uh, y'know, he's completely theirs
The lover has forbidden anybody to have contact with him
The lover has taken away his freedom, taken away his days and nights
Taken away his, y'know, his dreams
Uh, sent away his friends
Forbidden him to, y'know, get close to his parents, all that stuff
And what it was, it was an AIDS rally
And that song was about AIDS
Or about something like that
So every time the refrain came around
The people would say "you and I, you and I, you and I"
And they point to the sign that said, y'know, like
It said AIDS with a circle with a slash through it
And they go "all for you"
They go like, point to the sign, so that was the dream
I woke up with it
'Kay?
Anyway, as long as you got that on tape, I'll remember that
Based on some music that I heard in a dream
That I saw in a dream
Called, it's going to be called "you and I", ouch!
'Cause it's what the people in the dream were saying
You and I, you and I, you and I
All for you
It's like that, I heard the people singing that in a dream
Yeah, and it was a dream where I was in an auditorium at a college
And everybody was congregated and singing the same words
And there was this, y'know a bunch of
This band on stage and they were like, y'know, sorta spacey Deadhead band
With teen- y'know, like, guys in their twenties, like a bunch of grunge guys but
Kinda playing this, this, other thing, not like what I'm playing here on guitar
And the people kept on beating out, uh
Rhythms on drumsticks
This really great rhythm, it was in like, 7/4, this really cool space jam
And what it was, it was a song
I dreamed that this song was about, uh, about this guy, uh
Or, y'know, the person in the song is singing to his lover
Supposedly
That uh, y'know, he's completely theirs
The lover has forbidden anybody to have contact with him
The lover has taken away his freedom, taken away his days and nights
Taken away his, y'know, his dreams
Uh, sent away his friends
Forbidden him to, y'know, get close to his parents, all that stuff
And what it was, it was an AIDS rally
And that song was about AIDS
Or about something like that
So every time the refrain came around
The people would say "you and I, you and I, you and I"
And they point to the sign that said, y'know, like
It said AIDS with a circle with a slash through it
And they go "all for you"
They go like, point to the sign, so that was the dream
I woke up with it
'Kay?
Anyway, as long as you got that on tape, I'll remember that
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
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.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Quite simply one of my FAVOURITE JEFF BUCKLEY SONGS EVER.