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.
Long neck, shipwrecked terrified swan
Lies in her mind left a burner on
We crowd into the grand salon
We're watching the mansion burn
And I'm not quite down with the way they roll
They throw knives from their eyes at my parasol
And I'm only human after all
Go easy on me
Oh it's not like a country lane
A day on the beach in Spain
I'm courting a madness
I cannot explain
Oh Virginia
We didn't know you had it in ya
Oh Sweet Virginia
And I coughed this up in a sooty perfume
Out of my mouth like a feather plume
And now here's one more crazy tune
Adversity rings my bell
And the wound came loose with a terrrible stench
The pain left a stain on my piano bench
And I chased it with a monkey wrench
Cursing in my broken french
It's not like a country lane
A day on the beach in Spain
I'm courting a madness
I cannot explain
Oh Virginia
We didn't know you had it in ya
Oh Sweet Virginia
And no you can't play that in this serious hall
Only apes wearing capes get the curtain call
Your invitation to the ball
Must be lost in the mail
And I don't quite feel like working this crowd
The rest has requested that I dumb it down
They'll run your circus right out of town
If you won't abide, but it's suicide
Not like a country lane
A day on the beach in Spain
I'm courting a madness
I cannot explain
Oh Virginia
We didn't know you had it in ya
Oh Sweet Virginia
We didn't know you had it in ya
Oh Sweet Virginia
Lies in her mind left a burner on
We crowd into the grand salon
We're watching the mansion burn
And I'm not quite down with the way they roll
They throw knives from their eyes at my parasol
And I'm only human after all
Go easy on me
Oh it's not like a country lane
A day on the beach in Spain
I'm courting a madness
I cannot explain
Oh Virginia
We didn't know you had it in ya
Oh Sweet Virginia
And I coughed this up in a sooty perfume
Out of my mouth like a feather plume
And now here's one more crazy tune
Adversity rings my bell
And the wound came loose with a terrrible stench
The pain left a stain on my piano bench
And I chased it with a monkey wrench
Cursing in my broken french
It's not like a country lane
A day on the beach in Spain
I'm courting a madness
I cannot explain
Oh Virginia
We didn't know you had it in ya
Oh Sweet Virginia
And no you can't play that in this serious hall
Only apes wearing capes get the curtain call
Your invitation to the ball
Must be lost in the mail
And I don't quite feel like working this crowd
The rest has requested that I dumb it down
They'll run your circus right out of town
If you won't abide, but it's suicide
Not like a country lane
A day on the beach in Spain
I'm courting a madness
I cannot explain
Oh Virginia
We didn't know you had it in ya
Oh Sweet Virginia
We didn't know you had it in ya
Oh Sweet Virginia
Lyrics submitted by HaveBlue
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I thought there were comments in here already?
Anyway, this was pretty easy to interpret.
It's about how Sarah Slean won't change her music for the big-wigs in the music business. She trys to do her best to be herself in her music, and she won't change into another manufactured, "porcessed" artist we see today in the business.
Sarah Slean rules by the way, plus she has good art works too.
From the woman herself; this song is about the shit time Sarah had in Paris while she was living there. Her stereo-typed Canadian friendliness didn't win her any praise from the French and it really started to get her down. She wrote this song as a message to herself, "Don't let the bastards get you down!"
LOL. I love the Paris meaning. Canadian Niceness lol. I must admit I have that altruistic niceness. Or at least I like to think so. lmao.<br /> <br /> But yeah, Sarah Slean rocks. She's so original and you can tell she really puts herself into her music.