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 want the sun to shine on me
I want the truth to set me free
I wish the followers would lead
With a voice so strong it could knock me to my knees
Hold on world 'cause you don't know what's coming
Hold on world 'cause I'm not jumping off
Hold onto this boy a little longer
Take another trip around the sun
If I jumped into the ocean to believe
If I climbed a mountain would I have to reach?
Do I even dare to speak? To dream? Believe?
Give me a voice so strong
I can question what I have seen
Hold on world 'cause you don't know what's coming
Hold on world 'cause I'm not jumping off
Hold onto this boy a little longer
Take another trip around the sun
Around the sun
Around the sun
Around the sun
Let my dreams set me free
Believe, believe
Now now now now now now
I want the truth to set me free
I wish the followers would lead
With a voice so strong it could knock me to my knees
Hold on world 'cause you don't know what's coming
Hold on world 'cause I'm not jumping off
Hold onto this boy a little longer
Take another trip around the sun
If I jumped into the ocean to believe
If I climbed a mountain would I have to reach?
Do I even dare to speak? To dream? Believe?
Give me a voice so strong
I can question what I have seen
Hold on world 'cause you don't know what's coming
Hold on world 'cause I'm not jumping off
Hold onto this boy a little longer
Take another trip around the sun
Around the sun
Around the sun
Around the sun
Let my dreams set me free
Believe, believe
Now now now now now now
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Blue
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Page
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“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.
A pretty simple, pretty positive song.
To me Stipe's saying, don't be depressed, don't let the world and George Bush make you give up, instead turn it all around ("I wish the followers would lead"), take the world on ("hold on world 'cause I'm not jumping off"), something good could be just around the corner ("...you don't know what's coming").
This sort of links in to 'The Outsiders' and 'The Final Straw' too - it's about knowing something (political?) and wanting the strength to reveal it to the world and weather the resultant storm - hence the wish for "a voice so strong/I can question what I have seen."
The simple fact that this song has a positive political message in it makes me really like it. "I want the truth to set me free."