She says sometimes she sees these things
Right before they're happening
Hail Mary full of grace
Some nights she swears she feels her face
She's known a couple boys that died
And two of them were crucified
And the last one had enlightened eyes
But the first guy he was jesus Christ

Hey Judas - I know you made a grave mistake
Hey Peter - you've been pretty sweet since easter break
Now she's four a.m. and she's wide awake
She's shivering and smiling
Let's clutch and kiss and sing and shake
And now lets try to levitate
You catholic girls you stop much too late

Baby lets transverberate
Baby lets transverberate
Baby lets transverberate

And she saw all the footage right before it got cut
And she saw all the bodies and she saw the blood
She saw the angel put a sword in his side
And baby thats how we got canonized

She saw him gushing blood right before it got cut
She saw him put a body in a bag in the trunk
She saw the guys coming in from the sides
And baby thats how we get energized
She said you know I'm down to pay for it
She said just grab me some indulgences

'Cause I've been mostly dying
And I've been mostly [unknown]
And I've been mostly crying
And I've been thinking 'bout both crosses

She saw the film right before it came out
And at first she thought judas might go for the mouth
And she saw the nails and she saw the hands
She saw the crowd and she heard the band
And the new kid begged them not to do it
And jesus just said hey I still love you judas
Since you've been up in Massachusetts

I've been dreaming about dos cruces
And I've been thinking about both crosses
And ive been dreaming about dos cruces
Yea I've been thinking about both crosses


Lyrics submitted by CharlatanSin

Both Crosses Lyrics as written by J Kubler C Finn

Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC

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Both Crosses song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    I don't think that the girl is Holly - it's Sapphire, the psychic girlfriend from "Chips Ahoy". Back in happier times, she used to tell Charlemagne which horse was gonna finish in first, but now she's seeing visions of his murder.

    He gets stabbed anyway, but the tip-off might have saved him - in "Yeah Sapphire" he tells her that "it all went down exactly like your visions" and that "I'm not drunk, I'm cut / I'm gushing blood /And I need someone to come and pick me up."

    Throughout the rest of the album we hear inconsistent accounts of one murder, or two murders -- so while some townie definitely gets killed, we don't know if it's Charlemagne or not.

    The album also has a few hints that it's Holly who is the "Judas" who tells the bad guys where Charlemagne is hiding out -- she previously told people she was up in Massachusetts. She's definitely the strung out girl in "Lord I'm Discouraged" - there's your relapse.

    dylan2on September 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Possibly my favorite Hold Steady song yet. Amazing.

    CharlatanSinon May 31, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It's a great song but what is it about?

    Supersly87on July 05, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    There's some obvious references to viewing "The Passion," and filling the girl with Catholic guilt, yet in spite of that she continues to deal with shady people.

    I'm almost 100% certain this is Holly in the midst of a relapse.

    loganrappon July 20, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I agree that this is probably 'bout Holly. Heck, aside from the fact that Finn's really singing here, this sounds like it could be a song from Seperation Sunday, right down to the fact that it doesn't have a chorus. I mean, granted, most HS songs with choruses are great, but I've always kind of had a soft spot for the old-style ones.

    On a completely unrelated note, "transverberate" is apparently a real word. It means to pierce, which I assume is supposed to go with the line about the sword in Jesus' side.

    Also, theremins are love.

    Keterianon July 27, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The tranverberate thing is weird. It's listed in the dictionary as "To beat or strike through", but it has a second meaning in Catholicism involving an ecstatic experience, related to a "dart of love" piercing the heart and inflaming within it an intense love of God. Source:maryschild.blogspot.com/2005/08/feast-of-transverberation-of-st-teresa.html

    chairmanroflmaoon April 08, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    transverberate is him talking about sex. Between it meaning "to stab" and "ecstasy," he's playing with words, as Craig often does.

    skybleachon August 18, 2011   Link

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