I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Running to the station holding hands
Now the volcano is flowing red
Something there will change us into sand
Now we'll be forever holding hands
Lava and tephra will form our bed
Now the royal flames of Pompeii bless
All our senses
Now the volcano is flowing red
Something there will change us into sand
Now we'll be forever holding hands
Lava and tephra will form our bed
Now the royal flames of Pompeii bless
All our senses
Lyrics submitted by christsizeshoes, edited by Mellow_Harsher
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
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Pompeii is the old roman city that got covered by the leavings of a volcano, and no trace of the city was found for about 1500 years. Gotterdammerung means basically the beginning of the end.
I think this is a recount of a couple just doing their thing in pompeii that day, and how the found out just how not-in-our-hands this life really is, but i also think it is a warning of sorts that the end for us is near(gotterdammerung). the couple represent the things in this life that are lovely, and it is a recognition that love and greatness still exist, and the universe does recognize love as well, but larger issues have to be addressed. The second verse assures us that lovers are going to be taken care of when the end comes. The image of "forever holding hands", the comfort we draw from our "bed", and "all our senses" being blessed. These are all soothing images that are tied to a brutal, firey end to existence.
The music alone has such a powerful sad beauty to it that it makes it hard for me to realize what the message of this song is supposed to be. But I know it weighs a ton.
btw-I fucking love this song, and the Lips!