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.
You can tell me your troubles, I?ll listen for free
My regulars trust me, seems
You can come and see Uncle to get through the week
Leave your pledges with me to redeem
Some folk sell their bodies for ten bob a go
Politicians go pawning their souls
Which doesn't make me look too bad, don't you know
Me with my heart full of holes
All my yesterdays broken, a watch with no face
All battered and old
Bits of the movement all over the place
And a heart full of holes
A heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
A heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
Brass knuckles and banjos are out on the town
At the knees-up in Teddy Boys? Row
The gold block and tackle tells the time upside down
Rock ?n? roll, well, I don't know
Dead people?s wedding gifts, walk out the door
A clarinet squeals to be free
Accordions hop from the shelves to the floor
Start playing their polkas to me
there's a ringing of bells, a dunderhead?s curse
Fingers are pointing at you
And you take work in hell, be glad it?s not worse
And you get to the back of the queue
Handcuffs and hunting knives clang on the bars
Air pistols shoot out the lights
I've a whole wailing wall of electric guitars
Could shatter the windows down Brick Lane tonight
If one of us dies, love, I think I?ll retire
See my boys and my beautiful girls
Garden of Eden, no gates or barbed wire
Who knows, maybe gates made of pearls
Well, if we go to heaven, and some say we don't
But if there's a reckoning day
Please God, I?ll see You and maybe I won't
I've a bag packed to go either way
Redeeming your pledge, dear, I?ll keep it for you
It?s not gonna go anywhere
But your soul, your soul, that is not what I do
There's not a lot I can do there
I remember the officer?s watch in my hand
Repair it or die I was told
It?s a wonder to me, I still don't understand
Why I ever survived to be old
With a heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
A heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
A heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
A heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
My regulars trust me, seems
You can come and see Uncle to get through the week
Leave your pledges with me to redeem
Some folk sell their bodies for ten bob a go
Politicians go pawning their souls
Which doesn't make me look too bad, don't you know
Me with my heart full of holes
All my yesterdays broken, a watch with no face
All battered and old
Bits of the movement all over the place
And a heart full of holes
A heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
A heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
Brass knuckles and banjos are out on the town
At the knees-up in Teddy Boys? Row
The gold block and tackle tells the time upside down
Rock ?n? roll, well, I don't know
Dead people?s wedding gifts, walk out the door
A clarinet squeals to be free
Accordions hop from the shelves to the floor
Start playing their polkas to me
there's a ringing of bells, a dunderhead?s curse
Fingers are pointing at you
And you take work in hell, be glad it?s not worse
And you get to the back of the queue
Handcuffs and hunting knives clang on the bars
Air pistols shoot out the lights
I've a whole wailing wall of electric guitars
Could shatter the windows down Brick Lane tonight
If one of us dies, love, I think I?ll retire
See my boys and my beautiful girls
Garden of Eden, no gates or barbed wire
Who knows, maybe gates made of pearls
Well, if we go to heaven, and some say we don't
But if there's a reckoning day
Please God, I?ll see You and maybe I won't
I've a bag packed to go either way
Redeeming your pledge, dear, I?ll keep it for you
It?s not gonna go anywhere
But your soul, your soul, that is not what I do
There's not a lot I can do there
I remember the officer?s watch in my hand
Repair it or die I was told
It?s a wonder to me, I still don't understand
Why I ever survived to be old
With a heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
A heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
A heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
A heart full of holes
Heart full of holes
Lyrics submitted by La_Grange57
Heart Full of Holes Lyrics as written by Mark Knopfler
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The next to last verse (If one of use dies, love) seems to be an aside from the story on a more personal level, and not an integral part of the pawnbroker bio. Just my take.