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.
Hello, sailor, buy you a drink?
Hello, sailor, tell me what do you think?
How was the big beach, how was the sand?
Did you fly an aeroplane, did you get a tan?
How does it feel to be back on american soil, hearing no blood for oil? Hello, sailor, tell me what do you think?
Hello, sailor, will we get him next week?
How does it feel to be hated and loved back home?
I'm telling you, you should have known
That I'm a little despot, short and stout
Here is my handgun, here is my crowd control
When you tick me off then the bullets fly out
Because free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Hello, sailor
Hello, sailor, buy you a smoke?
Hello, sailor, can I tell you a joke? Knock knock, who's there?
No, I'm just happy to see you
It'll be a hundred if you come
Hello, sailor, tell me how does it feel
Hello, sailor, to be fighting for real? Sailor, they got you coming and going
Sailor, look out 'cause your pussy is showing
How does it feel to be back on american soil, hearing no blood for oil?
I'm a little prostitute, I put out and sell
Here come the market monkeys with their little fontainelles
When they tip me over, they better tip me well
Because free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Hello, sailor, buy you a fuck?
Hello, sailor, you had much more than luck
You had the US army on your side
And that red, white, and pride
Hello, sailor, I mean women and men
Hello, sailor, you gonna be up for it again?
How does it feel to make shooting stars in the sky?
Was it a rush to almost die?
Hello, sailor
I said, 'hello, sailor.'
How does it feel to be back on american soil, hearing no blood for oil?
I'm a little liberal, I'm stupid in doubt
Here is my platform, here is my holy roller
When you snow me under, I rock and roll you out
Because free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Hello, sailor, tell me what do you think?
How was the big beach, how was the sand?
Did you fly an aeroplane, did you get a tan?
How does it feel to be back on american soil, hearing no blood for oil? Hello, sailor, tell me what do you think?
Hello, sailor, will we get him next week?
How does it feel to be hated and loved back home?
I'm telling you, you should have known
That I'm a little despot, short and stout
Here is my handgun, here is my crowd control
When you tick me off then the bullets fly out
Because free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Hello, sailor
Hello, sailor, buy you a smoke?
Hello, sailor, can I tell you a joke? Knock knock, who's there?
No, I'm just happy to see you
It'll be a hundred if you come
Hello, sailor, tell me how does it feel
Hello, sailor, to be fighting for real? Sailor, they got you coming and going
Sailor, look out 'cause your pussy is showing
How does it feel to be back on american soil, hearing no blood for oil?
I'm a little prostitute, I put out and sell
Here come the market monkeys with their little fontainelles
When they tip me over, they better tip me well
Because free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Hello, sailor, buy you a fuck?
Hello, sailor, you had much more than luck
You had the US army on your side
And that red, white, and pride
Hello, sailor, I mean women and men
Hello, sailor, you gonna be up for it again?
How does it feel to make shooting stars in the sky?
Was it a rush to almost die?
Hello, sailor
I said, 'hello, sailor.'
How does it feel to be back on american soil, hearing no blood for oil?
I'm a little liberal, I'm stupid in doubt
Here is my platform, here is my holy roller
When you snow me under, I rock and roll you out
Because free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Free love is a whole lot of bullshit
Lyrics submitted by reznorfreak
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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:
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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
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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.
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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This is one of the best anti-war songs ever. Mixing in the nursey rhyme, "I'm a Little Teapot" is genius. She compares the situation to three main things: a dictator, a prostitute, and a liberal. Her theme, "Free love is whole lot of bullshit" sounds pro-war, but the free love would actually be directed towards the Sailor. This theme resonates in the three analogies very well. Dictators never openly give love or kindness, prostitutes always charge for their "love", and liberals are constantly condemning behavior. It's not anti-liberal either. It just shows how complicated the situation really is.