11 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Moral Centralia Lyrics
“You are weak, I am strong, and I’ve done nothing but lead you on,” she said.
Drove around all night, stoplights were interminable,
But I get along all right as long I don’t have to interact
With anyone else on a meaningful level, I’ll be fine
Because I don’t want to marry my convictions, (not right now)
When wicked thoughts come inter alia
You wind up in Centralia; morally.
Looking for a decent cup of coffee
And try to meet halfway.
It seems like I’m stealing your words
But really, I’m just giving them back to you.
Once again, it’s all about me.
And pride is not a factor, no.
Once again, it’s all about me.
“You are weak, I am strong, and I’ve done nothing but lead you on and on,” she said.
Feeling well into my cups already
Just until my hands are steady
The spins are setting in
I swear I’ll never never feel like myself again.
I’d like to go back ten years
And show you a picture of yourself now
But I’m afraid that it might kill you then
You used to be such a loyal friend
Once again, it’s all about me.
And pride is not a factor, no.
Once again, it’s all about me.
Then done by an inner-monologue:
Once again, it's all about me.
But I get along all right as long I don’t have to interact
With anyone else on a meaningful level, I’ll be fine
Because I don’t want to marry my convictions, (not right now)
You wind up in Centralia; morally.
Looking for a decent cup of coffee
And try to meet halfway.
It seems like I’m stealing your words
But really, I’m just giving them back to you.
Once again, it’s all about me.
And pride is not a factor, no.
Once again, it’s all about me.
Just until my hands are steady
The spins are setting in
I swear I’ll never never feel like myself again.
I’d like to go back ten years
And show you a picture of yourself now
But I’m afraid that it might kill you then
You used to be such a loyal friend
And pride is not a factor, no.
Once again, it’s all about me.
Then done by an inner-monologue:
Once again, it's all about me.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Centralia is pretty much bang in the middle between Portland and Seattle. It's got outlet malls, but isn't much more than a place to get more gas. It isn't here nor there, a poetic gray area.
Centralia seems to be a metaphor for more than just Washington residents within THESE borders.
Love this song.
This is my favorite song on the album. To me it reminds me of when people have let me down and you can't trust them. Then you just feel like you are all alone.
As a note, Centralia is a reference to a ghost town in Pennsylvania. Used to be a coal town, but they were burning their trash and accidentally lit up an exposed coal vein. This got below the town into the mines, and has been raging for - get this - the last forty years. Twenty years ago, they gave up on fighting it, and evacuated the town. As of the last check, the town is now inhabited by twelve people, and the fire is looking to spread through underground veins into the next town fairly soon, unless serious measures are enacted. Adds a whole new meaning to that section of the song, if you ask me. I got so curious, I actually looked up the word Centralia. There's a wikipedia article on it that's fairly funny, in a morbid way.
@Thanasimos
sorry dude he is talking about Centralia Washington.
"When wicked thoughts come inter alia you wind up in Centralia" inter alia = Among other things. when you think about other things (ie sex with your girl) you forget about what you are doing and end up in Centraila looking for coffee (which is what you were doing in Seattle but just got distracted)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Washington
sean nelson said it was about "the lurid temptation of narcissim" if that helps
Sean said, when I saw them live at Spaceland a few years ago, that this song is about Centralia, Washington, that it's this "in between point" where Portland and Seattle residents tend to meet up. I thought it was about the Pennsylvania town, because that's more interesting meaning wise, that "winding up in centralia, morally" means that your morals are being eroded from the ground up, that there's a fire burning under the surface that is causing you to evacuate... but his "limbo" comments work, too.
i always think of snow when i hear the piano. didn't know Centralia was a city, but pretty sure the original title suggested that the speaker is the center of morals (narcissism). the speaker is so into him/herself that it's not even pride. reminds me of a line in "Get Ready Now" by Rinocerose, "I'm the one who makes you shine."
aka Lyrical Utopia.