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.
it's surprising how little things we lose
I was walking through the streets of soho
looking for a diamond ring
but I didn't find a thing
not a necklace, not a bracelet
not a shoelace, not an old friend
not a new friend in the faces of the crowd
and the streets were paved with cigarette butts...
it's surprising how little's on the ground
considering we walk around
and lose and lose what's never found
someone has got to be the one
to find the long lost answers
banana peels and orange rinds
but we suck on our cigarettes
as if one day they will save us
as if one day they'll return a favor
as if one day they will crave us...
it's surprising how little things we know
I was walking through my mindscape
and I didn't find a thing
it's surprising how little things we know
I was walking through my mind's streets
red light stop and green light go
and I didn't get run over
but we suck on our cigarettes
as if one day they will save us
as if one day they'll return a favor
as if one day they will crave us...
I was walking through the streets of soho
looking for a diamond ring
but I didn't find a thing
not a necklace, not a bracelet
not a shoelace, not an old friend
not a new friend in the faces of the crowd
and the streets were paved with cigarette butts...
it's surprising how little's on the ground
considering we walk around
and lose and lose what's never found
someone has got to be the one
to find the long lost answers
banana peels and orange rinds
but we suck on our cigarettes
as if one day they will save us
as if one day they'll return a favor
as if one day they will crave us...
it's surprising how little things we know
I was walking through my mindscape
and I didn't find a thing
it's surprising how little things we know
I was walking through my mind's streets
red light stop and green light go
and I didn't get run over
but we suck on our cigarettes
as if one day they will save us
as if one day they'll return a favor
as if one day they will crave us...
Lyrics submitted by kalelian
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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
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.
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.
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.
the sugarcubes one definitely came first because they broke up in 1992. great song =)