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.
Mike:
This is a story of them against us, win or lose
Forcing your feet into someone else's shoes
Everybody's got something to say, that we ought to
Live their way, what we're doing's not okay
In this world everybody's got a chip on
Both sides of the neck, got no respect
Wait up a sec
You ever feel like the pressure is
Too much to take, too much weight?
Ladies and gentlemen
If anybody can hear me right now please shout back
We're not the only ones feeling so trapped
In the dream of somebody else, in fact
They got their heads full of some overblown scheme
Opportunity they missed back when they were sixteen
And all they want to do is push you to be that
And all you want to do is scream back
Holly / Tak / Mike:
Gonna be sombody
(For anybody telling me I can't)
Gonna be someone
(For anyone who told me I had no chance)
Gonna be somebody
(I'm telling you the time has come)
Gonna be someone
(And maybe you'll get it when I'm finally done)
We don't sleep to dream, we sleep to build stamina
Energy to do our thing, get your camera
Cause this ride is about to begin
Sit down and buckle it in, lemme say it again
In this world everybody's got a chip on
Both sides of the neck, got no respect
Wait up a sec
When I was young they said the
Odds of making it were slim to none
Ladies and, fuck it
I'm tired of them saying the dream you have
Doesn't exist, telling you you're worthless saying you should quit
Basically telling you that you'll never be shit
Really they're pissed cause they'll never achieve some
Opportunity they missed back when they were sixteen
And all they want to do is push you to be that
And all you want to do is scream back
Lupe Fiasco:
They're gonna think you're crazy
Mumbling to yourself in the basement all day
Uh-uh-uh-ing and to yourself
My pops didn't dig it with shoveling it to myself
My boys used to get it they dug it because they felt
My undertaking took me I was making in my stealth
A wealth of rhymes of crazy I would chuckle to myself
Then they went into the mental rolodex
See I knew 'em by heart like a brain in my chest
Then I took 'em to school where subjects were getting felt
Books under my seat notebook laying on my desk
My teacher's like, "Mr. Jaco?"
"Yes?"
"With all that knowledge, you ain't trying to college
Be a lawyer or a doctor, get a whole lot of dollars
Rather degrade woman and glorify violence?"
Well the work that works for me might not work for you
No homework, I got work to do
This is a story of them against us, win or lose
Forcing your feet into someone else's shoes
Everybody's got something to say, that we ought to
Live their way, what we're doing's not okay
In this world everybody's got a chip on
Both sides of the neck, got no respect
Wait up a sec
You ever feel like the pressure is
Too much to take, too much weight?
Ladies and gentlemen
If anybody can hear me right now please shout back
We're not the only ones feeling so trapped
In the dream of somebody else, in fact
They got their heads full of some overblown scheme
Opportunity they missed back when they were sixteen
And all they want to do is push you to be that
And all you want to do is scream back
Holly / Tak / Mike:
Gonna be sombody
(For anybody telling me I can't)
Gonna be someone
(For anyone who told me I had no chance)
Gonna be somebody
(I'm telling you the time has come)
Gonna be someone
(And maybe you'll get it when I'm finally done)
We don't sleep to dream, we sleep to build stamina
Energy to do our thing, get your camera
Cause this ride is about to begin
Sit down and buckle it in, lemme say it again
In this world everybody's got a chip on
Both sides of the neck, got no respect
Wait up a sec
When I was young they said the
Odds of making it were slim to none
Ladies and, fuck it
I'm tired of them saying the dream you have
Doesn't exist, telling you you're worthless saying you should quit
Basically telling you that you'll never be shit
Really they're pissed cause they'll never achieve some
Opportunity they missed back when they were sixteen
And all they want to do is push you to be that
And all you want to do is scream back
Lupe Fiasco:
They're gonna think you're crazy
Mumbling to yourself in the basement all day
Uh-uh-uh-ing and to yourself
My pops didn't dig it with shoveling it to myself
My boys used to get it they dug it because they felt
My undertaking took me I was making in my stealth
A wealth of rhymes of crazy I would chuckle to myself
Then they went into the mental rolodex
See I knew 'em by heart like a brain in my chest
Then I took 'em to school where subjects were getting felt
Books under my seat notebook laying on my desk
My teacher's like, "Mr. Jaco?"
"Yes?"
"With all that knowledge, you ain't trying to college
Be a lawyer or a doctor, get a whole lot of dollars
Rather degrade woman and glorify violence?"
Well the work that works for me might not work for you
No homework, I got work to do
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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
This song is about following your dreams regardless of what naysayers say.