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.
There was no way out
The only way out was to give in
When there's no way out
The only way out is to give in
How I love to
How I love to
How I love to give in
Here, no one sleeps
One lays up while the other lies down
Where no one sleeps
One lays up while the other lies down
Ask the line on your face
What the line on your hand meant
We, we couldn't see what was coming
Shake your head, it's empty
Shake your hips, move your feet
Shake your head, it's empty
Shake your hips, move your feet
Shake your head, it's empty
Shake your head, it's empty
Shake your head, it's empty
Shake your head, it's empty
I'm so glad that I'm an island
I'm so glad that I'm an island
I'm so glad that I'm an island now
Ba, ba, da, da
Ba, ba, da, da
Ba, ba, da, da
Ba, ba, da, da
Ba, ba, da, da
Ba, ba, da, da
Sickness was fixing me some
Coughed out my heart in the last stall
Now that the damage is done
I never miss it at all
The only way out was to give in
When there's no way out
The only way out is to give in
How I love to
How I love to
How I love to give in
Here, no one sleeps
One lays up while the other lies down
Where no one sleeps
One lays up while the other lies down
Ask the line on your face
What the line on your hand meant
We, we couldn't see what was coming
Shake your head, it's empty
Shake your hips, move your feet
Shake your head, it's empty
Shake your hips, move your feet
Shake your head, it's empty
Shake your head, it's empty
Shake your head, it's empty
Shake your head, it's empty
I'm so glad that I'm an island
I'm so glad that I'm an island
I'm so glad that I'm an island now
Ba, ba, da, da
Ba, ba, da, da
Ba, ba, da, da
Ba, ba, da, da
Ba, ba, da, da
Ba, ba, da, da
Sickness was fixing me some
Coughed out my heart in the last stall
Now that the damage is done
I never miss it at all
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I thought this entire CD was kind of the story of girl who ends up making mistakes and falling on her face every time.
This song kind of gives us insight on the girl. The first stanza is talking about how she is being pushed to be what her family wants her to be. She sees no way out but to give in to their wishes; however, here pride will not let her. The second stanza tells us how regulated this family is. And where people are so regulated, they sometimes do not see what damage they're doing to their girl, and they don't see her rebellious nature coming. (Break Down...) The 'shake your head it's empty' part is the girl calling here parents unimaginitve and is ridiculing there forcefullness. She is happy that she is not one of them, not cold and calculated, an island of emotion in a world of unrelenting anonimity. The last stanza is about the girl, who has run away from home to try and become something better. By coughing out her heart, this meaning breking away from her family, she doesn't miss them anymore. however, the falsetto part at the end seems like crying, as though she's trying to put on a brave face but can't deny here need for the protection offered by her parents, as stifling as it may have been.