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.
I thought I'd take a walk today
It's a mistake I sometimes make
My kids lay asleep in bed
My wife lay wide-awake
I kissed her softly on the brow
I tried not to make a sound
But with stony eyes she looked at me
And gently squeezed my hand
Call it a premonition, call it a crazy vision
Call it intuition, something learned from mother
But when she looked up at me, I could clearly see
The sword of Damocles hanging directly above her
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms around me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord
They called at me through the fence
They were not making any sense
They claimed that I had lost the plot
Kept saying that I was not
The man I used to be
They held their babes aloft
Threw marshmallows at the security
And said that I'd grown soft
Call it intuition, call it a creeping suspicion,
But their words of derision meant they hardly knew me
For even I could see in the way they stared at me
The spear of destiny sticking right through me
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms round me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord
Now I'm at the hairdressers
People watch me as they move past
A guy wearing plastic antlers
Presses his bum against the glass
Now I'm down on my hands and knees
And it's so fucking hot!
Someone cries, "What are you looking for?"
I scream, "The plot, the plot!"
I grab my telephone, I call my wife at home
She screams, "Leave us alone!" I say, "Hey, it's only me"
The hairdresser with his scissors, he holds up the mirror
I look back and shiver, I can't even believe what I can see
Be mindful of the prayers you send
Pray hard but pray with care
For the tears that you are crying now
Are just your answered prayers
The ladders of life that we scale merrily
Move mysteriously around
So that when you think you're climbing up, man
In fact you're climbing down
Into the hollows of glamour, where with spike and hammer
With telescopic camera, they chose to turn the screw
Oh I hate them, ma!
Oh I hate them, pa!
Oh I hate them all for what they went and done to you
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms 'round me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord
It's a mistake I sometimes make
My kids lay asleep in bed
My wife lay wide-awake
I kissed her softly on the brow
I tried not to make a sound
But with stony eyes she looked at me
And gently squeezed my hand
Call it a premonition, call it a crazy vision
Call it intuition, something learned from mother
But when she looked up at me, I could clearly see
The sword of Damocles hanging directly above her
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms around me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord
They called at me through the fence
They were not making any sense
They claimed that I had lost the plot
Kept saying that I was not
The man I used to be
They held their babes aloft
Threw marshmallows at the security
And said that I'd grown soft
Call it intuition, call it a creeping suspicion,
But their words of derision meant they hardly knew me
For even I could see in the way they stared at me
The spear of destiny sticking right through me
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms round me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord
Now I'm at the hairdressers
People watch me as they move past
A guy wearing plastic antlers
Presses his bum against the glass
Now I'm down on my hands and knees
And it's so fucking hot!
Someone cries, "What are you looking for?"
I scream, "The plot, the plot!"
I grab my telephone, I call my wife at home
She screams, "Leave us alone!" I say, "Hey, it's only me"
The hairdresser with his scissors, he holds up the mirror
I look back and shiver, I can't even believe what I can see
Be mindful of the prayers you send
Pray hard but pray with care
For the tears that you are crying now
Are just your answered prayers
The ladders of life that we scale merrily
Move mysteriously around
So that when you think you're climbing up, man
In fact you're climbing down
Into the hollows of glamour, where with spike and hammer
With telescopic camera, they chose to turn the screw
Oh I hate them, ma!
Oh I hate them, pa!
Oh I hate them all for what they went and done to you
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms 'round me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord
Lyrics submitted by PiKuelo, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Oh My Lord Lyrics as written by Nicholas Cave
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I like precip's interpretation. My impressions are similar, but with different details: I like poetry which can be interpreted in many different ways, and why I appreciate Cave so much.
I sense in this person also a kind of isolation that they weren't expecting. Their "ladder of life" turned over and perhaps the person has found celebrity to be a place foreign to their nature.
I particularly like the grim panic around, "The plot! The plot!" and the call to "home". (shiver, indeed)
-Phase