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 was born and raised by the sea, Shy yet proud,
Learned to stay away from the crowd
In my home, my lighthouse
101 steps , round and down
New Years Eve, one night in the town
Can change one life into eternity
All I could see, her eyes,
We got caught in the moment, all of the night
Taken beyond all lines,
In silence leaving 'em all behind
She had found the sails, for the following night
The town, for her, was getting way too small
She promised to be mine
Forever, for that one night
Moments, passion, small defeats
Concealed emotions, found in me
You gave life to a brand new me
Crossing the wintry fields,
The first hour of morning's light
Warmed by the flame inside,
The lasting memory of the ending night
I never had a chance to stop what hit me
What broke my bones and mauled me
After hours of deep, unwilling sleep
In a cold shelter Fell back in the dark,
And the hours of the day passed
A nightmare awakes me, blinking light!
There's no guide, blind ships in the night
Oh blood red moon, eat away the night
Darkness covers my lonely soul,
No one to feed the dying light
Good morn', oh dreadful day,
I prayed the moon had lit the sea instead of me
For the sails of night,
Please tell me everything's alright
My voice in the room broke the silence,
Everybody killed me with their eyes
What I was to hear made the people cry,
Impossible for me to keep the tears inside
All on board the White Pearl have died,
Coastal reef have tolled their lives
And you are the light of the night
One thing, I remember, before I fell on the ground
Although I never saw the face,
A name was inked in his arm
Love can be like poetry of demons,
Or maybe God loves complex irony?
The family name stated I had seen before
Written on her front door
Silence in the courthouse!
A presence sealed the room, we both could feel
The father of her unborn child and me
All on board the White Pearl had died,
Coastal reef had tolled their lives
While I was the guide light
Back in my tower, run, run, run
Light is out, I hope to see
Black oceans beneath rise and swallow me
One step will take me back inside, another sees my end
No one can love a man who guarded the light
Guarded the light, one faithful night,
Flaming eyes I must confront before I am stated free
Defining innocence is hell, after all that has past
Building new walls inside, my eternal night
Although they took my heart and dried me up
Sometimes I still bleed
Show me the way
Show me the way
The light will show me a way on the grisly reefs
Too many dead ends I see
I know no soul can save me
The respect I lost, the measure of a man
Ten thousand steps down, round and round
One night on the town and I'm hell bound
Black oceans beneath come and swallow me
All on board the White Pearl had died,
Coastal reef come claim my life
Black oceans beneath come and swallow me
My little tower, seal my fate
Help me pay back, end their hate
Black oceans beneath come and swallow me
One direction, down, down, down
Pitch black night for my old town
Black oceans beneath shall now swallow me
I hereby, commit my body to the deep
To return to the corruption
Looking for the resurrection of the body
When the sea shall give up her dead
And the life of the road to come through our Lord
Amen
Learned to stay away from the crowd
In my home, my lighthouse
101 steps , round and down
New Years Eve, one night in the town
Can change one life into eternity
All I could see, her eyes,
We got caught in the moment, all of the night
Taken beyond all lines,
In silence leaving 'em all behind
She had found the sails, for the following night
The town, for her, was getting way too small
She promised to be mine
Forever, for that one night
Moments, passion, small defeats
Concealed emotions, found in me
You gave life to a brand new me
Crossing the wintry fields,
The first hour of morning's light
Warmed by the flame inside,
The lasting memory of the ending night
I never had a chance to stop what hit me
What broke my bones and mauled me
After hours of deep, unwilling sleep
In a cold shelter Fell back in the dark,
And the hours of the day passed
A nightmare awakes me, blinking light!
There's no guide, blind ships in the night
Oh blood red moon, eat away the night
Darkness covers my lonely soul,
No one to feed the dying light
Good morn', oh dreadful day,
I prayed the moon had lit the sea instead of me
For the sails of night,
Please tell me everything's alright
My voice in the room broke the silence,
Everybody killed me with their eyes
What I was to hear made the people cry,
Impossible for me to keep the tears inside
All on board the White Pearl have died,
Coastal reef have tolled their lives
And you are the light of the night
One thing, I remember, before I fell on the ground
Although I never saw the face,
A name was inked in his arm
Love can be like poetry of demons,
Or maybe God loves complex irony?
The family name stated I had seen before
Written on her front door
Silence in the courthouse!
A presence sealed the room, we both could feel
The father of her unborn child and me
All on board the White Pearl had died,
Coastal reef had tolled their lives
While I was the guide light
Back in my tower, run, run, run
Light is out, I hope to see
Black oceans beneath rise and swallow me
One step will take me back inside, another sees my end
No one can love a man who guarded the light
Guarded the light, one faithful night,
Flaming eyes I must confront before I am stated free
Defining innocence is hell, after all that has past
Building new walls inside, my eternal night
Although they took my heart and dried me up
Sometimes I still bleed
Show me the way
Show me the way
The light will show me a way on the grisly reefs
Too many dead ends I see
I know no soul can save me
The respect I lost, the measure of a man
Ten thousand steps down, round and round
One night on the town and I'm hell bound
Black oceans beneath come and swallow me
All on board the White Pearl had died,
Coastal reef come claim my life
Black oceans beneath come and swallow me
My little tower, seal my fate
Help me pay back, end their hate
Black oceans beneath come and swallow me
One direction, down, down, down
Pitch black night for my old town
Black oceans beneath shall now swallow me
I hereby, commit my body to the deep
To return to the corruption
Looking for the resurrection of the body
When the sea shall give up her dead
And the life of the road to come through our Lord
Amen
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I think it's important to note that she's sailing back home... otherwise she wouldn't be passing his lighthouse. Also, "what broke my bones and mauled me" seems to refer to overwheming exhaustion from his carouse that forces him into slumber and prevents him from returning to the lighthouse in time to light the lamp.
I do think he's attacked by the girl's lover--not her father--but that's an effect of the disaster, not a cause. He sees the girl's name inked in his romantic rival's arm right before he's decked onto the ground.
And he's definitely suicidal at the end. I think the increased number of "steps"--from a thousand (not a hundred) to ten thousand is symbolic of his despair.