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.
Last year's troubles are so old fashioned
The robber on the highway the pirate on the seas
Maybe it's the clothing that's so entertaining
The earrings and swashbuckling blouses that please
Here we have heroes of times that have passed now
But nobody these days has that kind of chin
Over there the petticoats of ladies of virtue
You can hardly tell them from the petticoats of sin
Last year's troubles
Look at all the waifs of Dickensian England
Why is it their suffering is more picturesque?
Must be cause their rags are so very Victorian
The ones here at home just don't give it their best
Last years troubles they shine up so pretty
They gleam with a luster they don't have today
Here it's just dirty and violent and troubling
Etc.
Last year's troubles
But trouble is still trouble and evil still evil
Sometimes we wonder; is there more now, or less?
If we had a tool or could tally the handfuls
Measure for measure it's the same would be my guess
The robber on the highway the pirate on the seas
Maybe it's the clothing that's so entertaining
The earrings and swashbuckling blouses that please
Here we have heroes of times that have passed now
But nobody these days has that kind of chin
Over there the petticoats of ladies of virtue
You can hardly tell them from the petticoats of sin
Last year's troubles
Look at all the waifs of Dickensian England
Why is it their suffering is more picturesque?
Must be cause their rags are so very Victorian
The ones here at home just don't give it their best
Last years troubles they shine up so pretty
They gleam with a luster they don't have today
Here it's just dirty and violent and troubling
Etc.
Last year's troubles
But trouble is still trouble and evil still evil
Sometimes we wonder; is there more now, or less?
If we had a tool or could tally the handfuls
Measure for measure it's the same would be my guess
Lyrics submitted by T_D_Phoenix
Last Year's Troubles Lyrics as written by Suzanne Vega
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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