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 you're tellin' me I'm not on fire
You're just preachin' to the choir
I've gotten dull as old barbed wire from livin'
Last night I watched the evening news
It was the same ol' nothin' new
It should have cut me right in two
But it didn't
I don't know why it didn't
But I wanna feel somethin'
Somethin' that's a real somethin'
That moves me, that proves to me I'm still alive
I wanna heart that beats and bleeds
A heart that's bustin' at the seams
I wanna care, I wanna cry, I wanna scream
I just wanna feel somethin'
If you're tellin' me that's just how it is
I don't buy it 'cause once I was kissed
By a red-headed girl with cherry lips
On her porch when I was sixteen
And I felt it somewhere in my soul, and time stood still, and I couldn't let go
I can't tell you 'cause I don't know how I got so cold
When did I get so cold?
I just wanna feel somethin'
Somethin' that's a real somethin'
That moves me, that proves to me I'm still alive
Run my fingers through your fingers
Across your face and through your hair
And close my eyes and breathe you in like air
I just wanna feel somethin'
I hate that I'm jaded and I make you cry
But still you stick around me, only God knows why
Damn it all to hell, I'm done
'Cause I don't like what I've become
So come here, baby
Come here, baby
I just wanna feel somethin'
Somethin' that's a real somethin'
That moves me, that proves to me I'm still alive
Run my fingers through your fingers
Across your face and through your hair
And close my eyes and breathe you in like air
I just wanna feel somethin'
Come here, baby
You're just preachin' to the choir
I've gotten dull as old barbed wire from livin'
Last night I watched the evening news
It was the same ol' nothin' new
It should have cut me right in two
But it didn't
I don't know why it didn't
But I wanna feel somethin'
Somethin' that's a real somethin'
That moves me, that proves to me I'm still alive
I wanna heart that beats and bleeds
A heart that's bustin' at the seams
I wanna care, I wanna cry, I wanna scream
I just wanna feel somethin'
If you're tellin' me that's just how it is
I don't buy it 'cause once I was kissed
By a red-headed girl with cherry lips
On her porch when I was sixteen
And I felt it somewhere in my soul, and time stood still, and I couldn't let go
I can't tell you 'cause I don't know how I got so cold
When did I get so cold?
I just wanna feel somethin'
Somethin' that's a real somethin'
That moves me, that proves to me I'm still alive
Run my fingers through your fingers
Across your face and through your hair
And close my eyes and breathe you in like air
I just wanna feel somethin'
I hate that I'm jaded and I make you cry
But still you stick around me, only God knows why
Damn it all to hell, I'm done
'Cause I don't like what I've become
So come here, baby
Come here, baby
I just wanna feel somethin'
Somethin' that's a real somethin'
That moves me, that proves to me I'm still alive
Run my fingers through your fingers
Across your face and through your hair
And close my eyes and breathe you in like air
I just wanna feel somethin'
Come here, baby
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
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
love it
Awesome, sung with such emotion. When he sings, "Damn it all to hell, I'm done," you tell he really means it. Trace is an awesome singer, and whoever wrote this is a great writer. Bravo!