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.
You came into the party with a long black shawl
And the guys from the front lawn
Are making jokes about the white swan
Some nights we just need to get touched
And rub up against something plush
Some nights it's just a crush, yeah, and some nights it's blood lust
She said we might use you later on
Meet me right back here around dawn
And you came into the ER drinking gin from a jam jar
And the nurse is making jokes about the ER being like an after bar
You know you're weak and effete and I'm coming up from the streets
You're up in your loft getting soft
And I'm coming up the stairs and I'm coming from the streets
She said I love the guys you can't trust
Meet me here about dusk
I was half dead then I got born again
I got lost in all the lights but it was okay in the end
And when we hit the Twin Cities, I didn't know that much about it
I knew Mary Tyler Moore and I knew Profane Existence
I was keyed up, keys jangled in the stalls
They counted money in the motels, they mostly sold it in the malls
And the carpet at the Thunderbird
Has a burn for every cowboy that got fenced in
She said you remind me of Rod Stewart when he was young
Yeah, you've got passion and you think that you're sexy
And all the punks think that you're dumb
The guys around the lockers got a story about the stomach pump
And the guys behind the theater found a body in the garbage dump
She got screwed up by religion
She got screwed by soccer players
She got high for the first time
At the camps down by the banks of the Mississippi River
Lord, to be seventeen forever
And she got confused about the truth
And she came to in a confession
She got high for the last time
In the camps down by the banks of the river
Lord, to be thirty-three forever
And she got screwed up by her vision
It was scary when she saw him
She didn't tell a single person
About the camps on the banks of the Mississippi River
Lord, to be seventeen forever
She got strung out on the scene
And she got scared when it got druggy
The way the whispers bit like fangs in the last hour of the party
Lord, to be thirty-three forever
And the guys from the front lawn
Are making jokes about the white swan
Some nights we just need to get touched
And rub up against something plush
Some nights it's just a crush, yeah, and some nights it's blood lust
She said we might use you later on
Meet me right back here around dawn
And you came into the ER drinking gin from a jam jar
And the nurse is making jokes about the ER being like an after bar
You know you're weak and effete and I'm coming up from the streets
You're up in your loft getting soft
And I'm coming up the stairs and I'm coming from the streets
She said I love the guys you can't trust
Meet me here about dusk
I was half dead then I got born again
I got lost in all the lights but it was okay in the end
And when we hit the Twin Cities, I didn't know that much about it
I knew Mary Tyler Moore and I knew Profane Existence
I was keyed up, keys jangled in the stalls
They counted money in the motels, they mostly sold it in the malls
And the carpet at the Thunderbird
Has a burn for every cowboy that got fenced in
She said you remind me of Rod Stewart when he was young
Yeah, you've got passion and you think that you're sexy
And all the punks think that you're dumb
The guys around the lockers got a story about the stomach pump
And the guys behind the theater found a body in the garbage dump
She got screwed up by religion
She got screwed by soccer players
She got high for the first time
At the camps down by the banks of the Mississippi River
Lord, to be seventeen forever
And she got confused about the truth
And she came to in a confession
She got high for the last time
In the camps down by the banks of the river
Lord, to be thirty-three forever
And she got screwed up by her vision
It was scary when she saw him
She didn't tell a single person
About the camps on the banks of the Mississippi River
Lord, to be seventeen forever
She got strung out on the scene
And she got scared when it got druggy
The way the whispers bit like fangs in the last hour of the party
Lord, to be thirty-three forever
Lyrics submitted by letslightning, edited by rhysthuryn2003
Stevie Nix Lyrics as written by Galen M. Polivka Craig Finn
Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"she got screwed up by religion she got screwed by soccer players" that line's brilliant. along with the rest of them. this is one of my favourite ths songs. dont understand why no one else has commented
@selfishisgorgeous Not so much (brilliant).