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.
Would you order on demand
From the disembodied hand
From the moving lights up in the sky?
'Cause there was a time you know
When I had my own live show
It was improvised for the camera's eye
It was made up in the ring
Back when Bob Hope was king
Back when every choice felt right
Back when life was black and white
Chorus: now there's one thing I regret
How I wish I didn't care
How I wish I could forget
That I was someone then when we were on the air
It was June of '55
I walked out when we were live
Cause I knew I was made for bigger screens than just
That small time comedy, just a half hour parody
It was cinema marquees for me or bust
We were heroes with a plan
Back before the laughs were canned
Back before the double bed
When the carpets all were red
Chorus
Maybe at the traffic light
When I see that big white sign
Just by chance in my rearview mirror
Well I don't know what it means
But I know it's not the screen
It's my own routine and I'm the antihero
But I used to be number one back before the reruns
Back when every choice felt right
Back when life was black and white
Chorus
From the disembodied hand
From the moving lights up in the sky?
'Cause there was a time you know
When I had my own live show
It was improvised for the camera's eye
It was made up in the ring
Back when Bob Hope was king
Back when every choice felt right
Back when life was black and white
Chorus: now there's one thing I regret
How I wish I didn't care
How I wish I could forget
That I was someone then when we were on the air
It was June of '55
I walked out when we were live
Cause I knew I was made for bigger screens than just
That small time comedy, just a half hour parody
It was cinema marquees for me or bust
We were heroes with a plan
Back before the laughs were canned
Back before the double bed
When the carpets all were red
Chorus
Maybe at the traffic light
When I see that big white sign
Just by chance in my rearview mirror
Well I don't know what it means
But I know it's not the screen
It's my own routine and I'm the antihero
But I used to be number one back before the reruns
Back when every choice felt right
Back when life was black and white
Chorus
Lyrics submitted by yjd
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