Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
If the elephants have past lives yet are destined to always remember
It's no wonder how they scream
Like you and I they must have some temper
And I am dreaming of them on the plains dirtying up their beds
Watching for some kind of rain to cool their hot heads
And how dare that you send me that card when I'm doing all that I can do
You are forcing me to remember when all I want is to just forget you
If the tiger shall protect her young then tell me how did you slip by
All my instincts have failed me for once I must have somehow slept the whole night
And I am dreaming of them with their kill tearing it all apart
Blood dripping from their lips and teeth sinking in too hearts
And how dare that you say you will call when you know I need some peace of mind
If you had to take sides with the animals won't you do it with one who is kind?
If the hawks in the trees need the dead if you're living you don't stand a chance
You can lie there and say you are fed but there are only two ends to this dance
You can flee with your wounds just in time or lie there as he feeds
Watching yourself ripped to shreds and laughing as you bleed
So for those of you falling in love keep it kind keep it good keep it right
Throw yourself in the midst of danger but keep one eye open at night
It's no wonder how they scream
Like you and I they must have some temper
And I am dreaming of them on the plains dirtying up their beds
Watching for some kind of rain to cool their hot heads
And how dare that you send me that card when I'm doing all that I can do
You are forcing me to remember when all I want is to just forget you
If the tiger shall protect her young then tell me how did you slip by
All my instincts have failed me for once I must have somehow slept the whole night
And I am dreaming of them with their kill tearing it all apart
Blood dripping from their lips and teeth sinking in too hearts
And how dare that you say you will call when you know I need some peace of mind
If you had to take sides with the animals won't you do it with one who is kind?
If the hawks in the trees need the dead if you're living you don't stand a chance
You can lie there and say you are fed but there are only two ends to this dance
You can flee with your wounds just in time or lie there as he feeds
Watching yourself ripped to shreds and laughing as you bleed
So for those of you falling in love keep it kind keep it good keep it right
Throw yourself in the midst of danger but keep one eye open at night
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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.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"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
"Some and now none of you"
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"
This song is haunting, yet delicate. The lyrics create such vivid, horrifying images "blood dripping from their teeth", that so rightly fit the idea of someone ripping your heart out. Her imagery is truly genius, and creates in me a sad, sick feeling... I remember what this feels like... and I'm ALWAYS sleeping with one eye open from now on. smh.