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.
If I gore veil in my mind I could turn to reality.
I would leave you behind, put you far away from me.
Through this veil I will find I could see my mortality.
I could see it stare back at me I could see him point and laugh at me.
I've been lost, all my life now I've found what's meant for me
on the edge of a knife is a calm simplicity.
In the storm and the strife there's a moment's clarity.
When the quivering fraility now has all but fled from me.
Today i saw an apple in my head and there was blood on my hands.
Well everything was fire engine red and all the good pigeons sang.
Bap ba da ba
Bap ba da ba
Bap ba da ba
Just as our point of departure could this veil grow wings and fly
but the truth that I harbor has no veil to make you cry.
What a shame there is no cure for a fear of things that die
for the need to tell a lie for a dryness in the eye.
Today i saw an apple in my head and there was blood on my hands.
Well everything was fire engine red and all the black guys they sang.
Bap ba da ba
Bap ba da ba
Bap ba da ba
What am I for, what am I for if not to lie among the palms
what am I for, what am I for if not to sing another song
what am I for, what am I for if not to paint the walls with blood
what am I for, what am I for if not to bury in the mud
what am I for, what am I for if not to build a shelter here
what am I for, what am I for if not to pass another year
what am I for, what am I for if not to wander through the rye
what am I for, what am I for, what am I for, bap ba da ba
If not to die
bap ba da ba [fade out]
I would leave you behind, put you far away from me.
Through this veil I will find I could see my mortality.
I could see it stare back at me I could see him point and laugh at me.
I've been lost, all my life now I've found what's meant for me
on the edge of a knife is a calm simplicity.
In the storm and the strife there's a moment's clarity.
When the quivering fraility now has all but fled from me.
Today i saw an apple in my head and there was blood on my hands.
Well everything was fire engine red and all the good pigeons sang.
Bap ba da ba
Bap ba da ba
Bap ba da ba
Just as our point of departure could this veil grow wings and fly
but the truth that I harbor has no veil to make you cry.
What a shame there is no cure for a fear of things that die
for the need to tell a lie for a dryness in the eye.
Today i saw an apple in my head and there was blood on my hands.
Well everything was fire engine red and all the black guys they sang.
Bap ba da ba
Bap ba da ba
Bap ba da ba
What am I for, what am I for if not to lie among the palms
what am I for, what am I for if not to sing another song
what am I for, what am I for if not to paint the walls with blood
what am I for, what am I for if not to bury in the mud
what am I for, what am I for if not to build a shelter here
what am I for, what am I for if not to pass another year
what am I for, what am I for if not to wander through the rye
what am I for, what am I for, what am I for, bap ba da ba
If not to die
bap ba da ba [fade out]
Lyrics submitted by laurentertaining
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