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.
Give me mercy and a minute now
I'm a bleed a little poison out
I'm a cry a little river down
And then I'm setting this whole thing on fire
And I'm burning up the night she died
And I'm putting every last picture aside
I'm gonna say what I need to say
In my very last letter to you
'Cause you always made it clear
Said that you'd never be my pain
So here's to you and your bright baby blues
And just a pause to cool the refrain
And you said you were satisfied
And now this body's just waiting to die
And that you missed him sometimes but you said it's alright
It's just a whole lot harder alone
But I wish you knew her now
She's a better side of me now
And I'm doing the best I can
It's what you wanted
And I see you like you were there
And I know just how you'd smile
Mary, you looked just like it was 1930 that night
But here the days will eat you alive
But I won't give in tonight
You said it's not worth my time
And not to regard them
And not to settle just for piece of mind
But I can wait it out all night
If you'll just keep breathing
But Mary I found a sound
And this heart keeps pouring it out
And the glory hasn't come and it's probably gonna fade
Like a tattoo that hides the shame
And the reasons always fade
And the pain gets out some day
So I'm saying my goodbyes to your deep blue eyes
'Cause I don't know how to say, "Stay still in the pain
Stay still in the pain"
But I wish you knew her now
She's a better side of me now
And I'm doing the best I can
It's what you wanted
And I see you like you were there
And I know just how you'd smile
Mary, you looked just like it was 1930 that night
If I recall the last thing you said to me
Before it broke up, before it took you from me
And you said, "I love you more than the stars in the sky
But your name just escapes me tonight"
I'm a bleed a little poison out
I'm a cry a little river down
And then I'm setting this whole thing on fire
And I'm burning up the night she died
And I'm putting every last picture aside
I'm gonna say what I need to say
In my very last letter to you
'Cause you always made it clear
Said that you'd never be my pain
So here's to you and your bright baby blues
And just a pause to cool the refrain
And you said you were satisfied
And now this body's just waiting to die
And that you missed him sometimes but you said it's alright
It's just a whole lot harder alone
But I wish you knew her now
She's a better side of me now
And I'm doing the best I can
It's what you wanted
And I see you like you were there
And I know just how you'd smile
Mary, you looked just like it was 1930 that night
But here the days will eat you alive
But I won't give in tonight
You said it's not worth my time
And not to regard them
And not to settle just for piece of mind
But I can wait it out all night
If you'll just keep breathing
But Mary I found a sound
And this heart keeps pouring it out
And the glory hasn't come and it's probably gonna fade
Like a tattoo that hides the shame
And the reasons always fade
And the pain gets out some day
So I'm saying my goodbyes to your deep blue eyes
'Cause I don't know how to say, "Stay still in the pain
Stay still in the pain"
But I wish you knew her now
She's a better side of me now
And I'm doing the best I can
It's what you wanted
And I see you like you were there
And I know just how you'd smile
Mary, you looked just like it was 1930 that night
If I recall the last thing you said to me
Before it broke up, before it took you from me
And you said, "I love you more than the stars in the sky
But your name just escapes me tonight"
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It seems to me that he's singing to two different people throughout the song- one is his current lover and the other is some person whom he no longer has contact with but was very close to a long time ago.. This could be his dead grandmother, a deceased or long lost lover, or a woman he has divorced as he refers to in countless other songs such as great expectations...
I think the first verse he's singing to a lover about his dead grandmother (yeah a bit wierd..)or some other passed away person who he was close to and that he is really distraught about said person's death which is backed up by the line "i'm a burning up the night she died" (although "she died" could be metaphorical if they were divorced or split up) as if he can't get it out of his head but hes gonna make one last ditch attempt to do so...
It seems that she died quite a long time ago though
But I think the chorus is sung to this deceased person about his lover and how he wished that the two could have met and that said person would have approved of/really liked his lover.. Then again I think the last two lines of the chorus "Mary you look just like, it was 1930 that night" are sang to the lover and that is why he is so upset.. the way that his lover is looking, lovely as she may be, is reminding him of this other person which is why he is so distraught...
The second verse could have been to either...
And the last bit could be quoting either as well.. perhaps both..
Epic song though... Best on the album?