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.
We've never been much chop
At all that sensual stuff
One of us always seems to stop
Before the other's had enough
Like a self-help manual that's been written in Braille
It seems the more that we touch
The more we learn about our failings
I'm struck speechless by the nape of your neck
But your requests and suggestions
Have a similar effect
A litany of prettiness and pettiness, too
I reckon every second second
We come up with something new
I tried to write an opera for us
But I didn't get that far
'Cause trying to sum you up in song
Is like catching sunlight in a jar
Complex, completely credible love
The kind that is made, not handed to you from above
Is difficult to talk about and harder to write
Like the rhythm of a pulse, or the contours of firelight
Overblown libretto and a sumptuous score
Could never contain the contradictions I adore
We can just be chaos and then something aligns
It's so hard to contain, maintain it or define it
I tried to write another chorus
But I didn't get that far
'Cause trying to sum you up in song
Is like catching sunlight in a jar
It's like catching sunlight in a jar
At all that sensual stuff
One of us always seems to stop
Before the other's had enough
Like a self-help manual that's been written in Braille
It seems the more that we touch
The more we learn about our failings
I'm struck speechless by the nape of your neck
But your requests and suggestions
Have a similar effect
A litany of prettiness and pettiness, too
I reckon every second second
We come up with something new
I tried to write an opera for us
But I didn't get that far
'Cause trying to sum you up in song
Is like catching sunlight in a jar
Complex, completely credible love
The kind that is made, not handed to you from above
Is difficult to talk about and harder to write
Like the rhythm of a pulse, or the contours of firelight
Overblown libretto and a sumptuous score
Could never contain the contradictions I adore
We can just be chaos and then something aligns
It's so hard to contain, maintain it or define it
I tried to write another chorus
But I didn't get that far
'Cause trying to sum you up in song
Is like catching sunlight in a jar
It's like catching sunlight in a jar
Lyrics submitted by BlueAndStarry
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i love every word of this song.
I know that all the other lyric sites say otherwise, but I think it's "overblown vibrato", not "libretto". I distinctly hear a v sound.
And vibrato (a quality of singing) makes more sense than libretto (the text of an opera), when being used with the adjective "overblown". At least I think so.
This may be my favourite love song. I love how Tali says "The kind that is made not handed to you from above". It makes the emotions real, they were created by two people. It grew. It does "libretto". The overblown makes sense too. Overblown means over written. He's saying that even the most overelaborate opera could never define or explain how he feels about this person. Truely beautiful.
I suppose libretto would work, but there's a very distinct V sound. I even asked friends because I thought I was going crazy, since all the lyric sites say libretto. Everyone I've asked also hears the V.
this is my favorite lucksmiths song.
Love is hard to describe, but what I love most about this song is the fact he explains it so well. A real gem of a song!! One of my favorites of theirs, too.
i love the end of the first verse... the part about the self-help manual written in Braille :-)
the lucksmiths website says libretto. case closed.
One of my favorite Lucksmith songs. Like someone else said, it's got to be one of my all-time favorite love songs.
"Overblown libretto and a sumptuous score could never contain the contradictions I adore."
This song is just special. It's simply beautiful.