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.
The restraints of action
They call out to me and ask, “How do you know?”
The places we worship
We’re silenced to never remember
Retrace and let it go, I tell myself that we'll never remember
Embrace and watch it die, to live again, or we will never remember
The righteous, the faceless
They melt away and allude to the sky
Our namesake, we honor
We swore that we'd never say never
Retrace and let it go, I tell myself that we'll never remember
Embrace and watch it die, to live again, or we will never remember today
Reach out! Can you hear me?
They’re sold on our every action
Reach out! Can you hear me?
They sold out our hearts for this passion
Or we will never remember
We will never remember
Or we will never remember
We will never remember today
They call out to me and ask, “How do you know?”
The places we worship
We’re silenced to never remember
Retrace and let it go, I tell myself that we'll never remember
Embrace and watch it die, to live again, or we will never remember
The righteous, the faceless
They melt away and allude to the sky
Our namesake, we honor
We swore that we'd never say never
Retrace and let it go, I tell myself that we'll never remember
Embrace and watch it die, to live again, or we will never remember today
Reach out! Can you hear me?
They’re sold on our every action
Reach out! Can you hear me?
They sold out our hearts for this passion
Or we will never remember
We will never remember
Or we will never remember
We will never remember today
Lyrics submitted by afilove
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This is my interpretation:
Those conservative individuals, who are supposedly wiser and more righteous, tell the band what they should do with their lives. Yet if they dwell on these restraints, on these doubts, they will not seize the day like they are supposed to. They will never remember today. Yet I think the song also references the fact that if they get carried away with their task, they will forget their loved ones and the facets of their lives that they took for granted. The song also gives a phoenix reference, which is the band's symbol. So basically, the song's moral is: Embrace the old but do not dwell on the detractions, but rather rise from the ashes of it and seize the day.