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.
If it was any other year or any other life
But this one's mine to carry on now, yes, it's mine to carry on now
'Cause I will always disappoint you, is it vengeance or your pride
'Til you lose me like that trinket on your bracelet
Charming, charming
In the dream it's all a test that I face by myself
Lose the briefcase, lie at the airport, swallow the inky code
We'll all answer in the end in our temporary tongue
But for now, don't say anything, don't say anything
Charming, charming, charming charming
'Cause there, at the garden verge
I will pull you up in hope again
No more second thought
Will crowd you out of your desire
To be loved, not touched, to be
Blameless and ecstatic again
This is all there is, no knowledge is too much to bear in the end
And I want this more than anything and I want the damned red shoes
And I want to lead Dorothy back home
Here today, here tomorrow, here's the lay of the land
Here's my heart, here's my sorrow, I surrender
Charming, charming, charming, charming
'Cause there, at the garden verge
I will pull you up in hope again
No more second thought
Will crowd you out of your desire
To be loved, not touched, to be
Blameless and ecstatic again
This is all there is, no knowledge is too much to bear in the end.
But this one's mine to carry on now, yes, it's mine to carry on now
'Cause I will always disappoint you, is it vengeance or your pride
'Til you lose me like that trinket on your bracelet
Charming, charming
In the dream it's all a test that I face by myself
Lose the briefcase, lie at the airport, swallow the inky code
We'll all answer in the end in our temporary tongue
But for now, don't say anything, don't say anything
Charming, charming, charming charming
'Cause there, at the garden verge
I will pull you up in hope again
No more second thought
Will crowd you out of your desire
To be loved, not touched, to be
Blameless and ecstatic again
This is all there is, no knowledge is too much to bear in the end
And I want this more than anything and I want the damned red shoes
And I want to lead Dorothy back home
Here today, here tomorrow, here's the lay of the land
Here's my heart, here's my sorrow, I surrender
Charming, charming, charming, charming
'Cause there, at the garden verge
I will pull you up in hope again
No more second thought
Will crowd you out of your desire
To be loved, not touched, to be
Blameless and ecstatic again
This is all there is, no knowledge is too much to bear in the end.
Lyrics submitted by kaleidoscopeeyes8
Charming Lyrics as written by Jonatha Brooke
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
Once upon a time a lady was given a task. She tried like the dickens to sweep past it—if it was any other year or any other life—but to no avail—it belonged to her. She promised to disappoint—she couldn’t understand if vengeance or pride got her saddled with it—and she was charming. She was stuck in a dream—facing it alone—freaked out by all that was expected of her—swallow the inky code, etc. were metaphors and was assured that eventually she would hear back—not elaborating on what temporary tongue means—although for now, don’t say anything and part of that was also her smirky retort—oh don’t say anything! Don’t say shit! Because she was exhausted and pissed off. Time after time she was pulled up in hope again—mostly in her vast garden—and she was loved but not touched and reassured that all of this knowledge she was piling up would not do her in. Now the passions showed up and said look kid, we want this more than anything. We want the damn red shoes—here the red shoes referred to the dancing Red Shoes as well as Dorothy’s as she was playing a rather un-traditional Dorothy and the passions wanted to bring her home. She said damn, but you’re taskmasters! Here’s my heart—here’s my sorrow—I surrender. And she surrendered many times—getting nowhere. Pulled up in hope again … that’s another story …