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.
earnesty and clarity
those wonderful mentalities
of decent positivity
are all that we can strive
but misery and poverty
they follow me and my family
and though it seems that i can't win
i think i have to try
but everyone's afraid of me
they'll never see that we all bleed
the same damn blood each night
so you'll go your way
and i'll go mine
i hope we meet up later on down the line
and sense and sensibility
and peaceful productivity
a pretty girl with broken wings
is all that i desire
but there's so much hostility
in all the things surrounding me
the awful glow of enmity
is trying to stop my shine
so i try to look inwardly
at all the things inside of me
but sodomy and buggery keep bubbling to the top
so you'll go forward
and i'll go back
i hope we catch up with each other on the track
and i've been thinking awkwardly
about the things that are holy
like Jesus, Joseph, and Mary
and Mary Magdalene
and even theoretically
i don't think i could ever see
the perfect human being
Jesus live without sin
so you'll go upward
and i'll go down
you'll go upward
and i'll go down
you'll go upward
and i'll go down
i'll see you in hell when we die
those wonderful mentalities
of decent positivity
are all that we can strive
but misery and poverty
they follow me and my family
and though it seems that i can't win
i think i have to try
but everyone's afraid of me
they'll never see that we all bleed
the same damn blood each night
so you'll go your way
and i'll go mine
i hope we meet up later on down the line
and sense and sensibility
and peaceful productivity
a pretty girl with broken wings
is all that i desire
but there's so much hostility
in all the things surrounding me
the awful glow of enmity
is trying to stop my shine
so i try to look inwardly
at all the things inside of me
but sodomy and buggery keep bubbling to the top
so you'll go forward
and i'll go back
i hope we catch up with each other on the track
and i've been thinking awkwardly
about the things that are holy
like Jesus, Joseph, and Mary
and Mary Magdalene
and even theoretically
i don't think i could ever see
the perfect human being
Jesus live without sin
so you'll go upward
and i'll go down
you'll go upward
and i'll go down
you'll go upward
and i'll go down
i'll see you in hell when we die
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I think the song is about a guy who is finding it harder and harder to remain positive and strong through the harder times in his life.
At the beginning, despite the "poverty and misery" and the feelings that he's fucked, he feels he has to try anyways, which shows determination and endurance. The next chorus shows his feelings of isolation and his desire for some form of unity or companionship.
In the middle of this song, he talks about he wants a girl with "broken wings", or a girl whom will look up to him and someone he can do something for that will love him for it. Unfortunately, this is where things really go down hill for him. The negative perception kicks in when he looks at his surroundings, and even when he looks inside himself, he can't see the better part of his own nature and instead only sees the uglier things.
Even if that's not enough to convince you, I'd urge you to look at the shorter stanzas. Notice how his attitude slowly shifts from, "You go your way and I'll go mine," which acknowledges that it's not about who's better or worse, just a difference of opinion. As the song goes on, he starts to see his way as a way of digression and failure and the other's as the way of success. "You go forward and I'll go back," and "You go upward, and I'll go down" show this pretty clearly.