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.
This one's about a dream
I had last night
How an old man tracked me home
And stepped inside
Put his foot inside the door
And gave a crooked smile
Something in his eyes
Something in his laugh
Something in his voice
That made my skin crawl off
He said I've seen you here before
I know your name
Yeah, you could have your pick
Of pretty things
You could have it all
Everything at once
Everything you've seen
Everything you'll need
Everything you've ever had in fantasies
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to leave
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to leave
I woke up from my dream
As a golden man
With a girl I've never seen
With golden skin
I jumped up to my feet
And she asked me what was wrong
And I began to scream
I don't think this is me
Is this just a dream
Or really happening
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to leave
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to leave
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
I'm splitting up, I'm splitting up
This is my personal disaffection
What direction, what direction
What direction now
I looked outside the glass
At golden shores
Golden ships and masts
With golden cords
As my reflection passed
I hated what I saw
My golden eyes were dead
And a thought passed through my head
A heart that's made of gold can't really beat at all
I wanted to wake up again
I wanted to wake up again
Without a touch of gold
Without a touch of gold
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
What direction
Death or action
Life begins at the intersection
What direction, what direction
What direction now
I woke up as before
But the gold was gone
My wife was at the door
With her night robe on
My heart beat once or twice
And life flooded my veins
Everything had changed
My lungs had found their voice
And what was once routine
Was now the perfect joy
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to lead
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to lead
I had last night
How an old man tracked me home
And stepped inside
Put his foot inside the door
And gave a crooked smile
Something in his eyes
Something in his laugh
Something in his voice
That made my skin crawl off
He said I've seen you here before
I know your name
Yeah, you could have your pick
Of pretty things
You could have it all
Everything at once
Everything you've seen
Everything you'll need
Everything you've ever had in fantasies
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to leave
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to leave
I woke up from my dream
As a golden man
With a girl I've never seen
With golden skin
I jumped up to my feet
And she asked me what was wrong
And I began to scream
I don't think this is me
Is this just a dream
Or really happening
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to leave
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to leave
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
I'm splitting up, I'm splitting up
This is my personal disaffection
What direction, what direction
What direction now
I looked outside the glass
At golden shores
Golden ships and masts
With golden cords
As my reflection passed
I hated what I saw
My golden eyes were dead
And a thought passed through my head
A heart that's made of gold can't really beat at all
I wanted to wake up again
I wanted to wake up again
Without a touch of gold
Without a touch of gold
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
What direction, what direction
What direction
Death or action
Life begins at the intersection
What direction, what direction
What direction now
I woke up as before
But the gold was gone
My wife was at the door
With her night robe on
My heart beat once or twice
And life flooded my veins
Everything had changed
My lungs had found their voice
And what was once routine
Was now the perfect joy
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to lead
You have one life, you have one life
You have one life left to lead
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"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:
"I had all and then most of you"
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.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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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.
Mountain Song
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
"One life left to leave" is a reminder that this life is short - you'll be leaving all the gold someday, so lead your life in a way that counts for something worth more than material things which won't matter when you die (or "leave").
Its the same idea as the lyric in "Awakening" where Jon sings "I wanna live like I know what I'm leaving" and in "Circles" where he completes it with "I've left all that I've wanted to leave". Its interesting how Jon scatters similar things throughout the album. Like for example, the idea of "spinning circles" is not just in "Circles" but also in LYLBS.