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.
In a village in the hills
House buried to the window sills in snow
In a prison yard at night
An Alsatian barking for the stars to go
In the attic of a house
In the slats of light which creep across the room
In a forest grove at dawn
Where the animals sleep hidden in the gloom
On the 97th floor overlooking Tokyo
In Camden road in a second floor flat with Dilworth down below
There is only one thing
There is only one thing
In a cancer ward where the patients sit
Waiting patiently to die
In an aeroplane high above the place
You finally left behind
In a cage where only one thing could be free
And it's not you and I
In a cage where only one thing could be free
And it's not you and I
In every single place that has ever ever been
Hiroshima, Los Angeles and each town in between
There is only one thing
There is only one thing
One thing
In the darkest part of you that you have ever seen
In the smile of the child staring at the TV screen
In the diary of a priest, in the sheets that lie upon his bed
Out there amongst the waves and inside your lover's head
There is only one thing
There is only one thing
There is only one thing
There is only one thing
20 years asleep before we sleep... forever
20 years asleep before we sleep... forever
10 years of the coast figure it out... the weather.
another decade of getting high, until you're free.
there's nothing after that. but you and I
nothing after that but you and me.
20 years of sleep before we sleep... forever
20 years of sleep before we sleep... forever
20 years of sleep before we sleep... forever
House buried to the window sills in snow
In a prison yard at night
An Alsatian barking for the stars to go
In the attic of a house
In the slats of light which creep across the room
In a forest grove at dawn
Where the animals sleep hidden in the gloom
On the 97th floor overlooking Tokyo
In Camden road in a second floor flat with Dilworth down below
There is only one thing
There is only one thing
In a cancer ward where the patients sit
Waiting patiently to die
In an aeroplane high above the place
You finally left behind
In a cage where only one thing could be free
And it's not you and I
In a cage where only one thing could be free
And it's not you and I
In every single place that has ever ever been
Hiroshima, Los Angeles and each town in between
There is only one thing
There is only one thing
One thing
In the darkest part of you that you have ever seen
In the smile of the child staring at the TV screen
In the diary of a priest, in the sheets that lie upon his bed
Out there amongst the waves and inside your lover's head
There is only one thing
There is only one thing
There is only one thing
There is only one thing
20 years asleep before we sleep... forever
20 years asleep before we sleep... forever
10 years of the coast figure it out... the weather.
another decade of getting high, until you're free.
there's nothing after that. but you and I
nothing after that but you and me.
20 years of sleep before we sleep... forever
20 years of sleep before we sleep... forever
20 years of sleep before we sleep... forever
Lyrics submitted by toadtws, edited by quinn19527
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This might possibley be my favorite song of all time..
As for the final lines, which I think are some of the most powerful lyrics I've ever heard..("20 years asleep...")..I believe is a call or warning to live life to the fullest. The verses of song echo from life experience..and when the ending arrives..tempo change and all, he's afraid that everything he's lived for might be in vain..
It reminds me of my parents, middle age in general, I think..Some people sort of just stop living, and that's a pretty depressing thought. This song makes me want my life to be different.