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 air is thick
the air is wasted
the lamb lies down for our entertainment
some mother's son
crashed at the pavement
his little eyes gone
we're one in the same man
now you know you never waste it
now you know you're wasted
i hear your voice, there's no emotion
did something die
you're not even responsive
when we were young we'd bottle water
collect reptile bones, commence the slaughter
now you know you never waste it
now you know you're wasted
all your dreams thrown in the trash
you were born into war
you were taught not to ask
for every single possibility
moving shadows in the dark
deciding fates over cocktail lunch
every single possibility
we better bust them out
you better bust them out
heart attacks won't get us down
our rifle butts pressed in the ground
our brains are lost, our skulls are found
we're kicking up the dust above them
the air is wasted
the lamb lies down for our entertainment
some mother's son
crashed at the pavement
his little eyes gone
we're one in the same man
now you know you never waste it
now you know you're wasted
i hear your voice, there's no emotion
did something die
you're not even responsive
when we were young we'd bottle water
collect reptile bones, commence the slaughter
now you know you never waste it
now you know you're wasted
all your dreams thrown in the trash
you were born into war
you were taught not to ask
for every single possibility
moving shadows in the dark
deciding fates over cocktail lunch
every single possibility
we better bust them out
you better bust them out
heart attacks won't get us down
our rifle butts pressed in the ground
our brains are lost, our skulls are found
we're kicking up the dust above them
Lyrics submitted by GrungyBeatle
Harmonium Lyrics as written by Zachary David Schwartz
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think chalking this down to war is missing a lot. There's a lot of that, to be sure, but it's also about our culture and how insensitive WE are to violence and the cost of our entertainment and lifestyle choices.
"the air is thick / the air is wasted" sets the table suggesting that the atmosphere we're living in is harsh and oppressive. the lamb speaks to US and OUR COLLECTIVE NEED for entertainment, perhaps even leading to some perverse enjoyment or at least fascination with suicide (i take the son/pavement/eyes to describe the leap from a building - i guess you could even draw out 9/11 if you try hard enough to interpret WAR), and finally the warning that it could just as easily be us on the pavement.
and that's life. and you know you shouldn't waste it, but lets face it... you're probably wasted.
i think the second verse is about the personal cost of serving in war. the first half might be about us again, and how we can send our soldiers to fight without even considering them or the so-called enemy. the last half is pretty clearly suggesting we kill for resources. or in other words, that we spill blood for luxury.
the third section is back to the atmosphere: your dreams are garbage, whenever you were born there was probably some kind of war, you're not allowed to question it and it might be useless anyway because the darkest things you can imagine are already in motion, having been decided by people hopelessly more powerful while they were distracted by a tipsy meal.
finally the last two lines have almost convinced me the entire song is meant to be about shell shock. i still think there's a lot more to it than simply war.