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.
Where am I tonight? La, da, da
My hotel room won't remember me
And this dream will die, die by morning
And this dream won't remember me
Awakened by a droning voice
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
Is it a lady or is it a man
Humming helicopters through the blades of a fan
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
On my feet to chase it down
The lights were spokes and rungs away
I stumbled back and hit the floor
Long shadows crawl beneath the door
To a passage so poorly lit
There's moths flying away from it
Who am I tonight? La, da, da
My hotel room won't remember me
Darkness enter prison girls
Pushing mops and kicking pails
Now's my chance
I clasp my chest
And declare unto my audience
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
Prison girls are not impressed
They're the ones that have to clean this mess
They've traded more for cigarettes
Than I've managed to express
Filing past miles long
The cheek is frozen to the floor
The prison girls have filled their beds
Their thoughts too dry above their heads
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
My hotel room won't remember me
And this dream will die, die by morning
And this dream won't remember me
Awakened by a droning voice
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
Is it a lady or is it a man
Humming helicopters through the blades of a fan
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
On my feet to chase it down
The lights were spokes and rungs away
I stumbled back and hit the floor
Long shadows crawl beneath the door
To a passage so poorly lit
There's moths flying away from it
Who am I tonight? La, da, da
My hotel room won't remember me
Darkness enter prison girls
Pushing mops and kicking pails
Now's my chance
I clasp my chest
And declare unto my audience
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
Prison girls are not impressed
They're the ones that have to clean this mess
They've traded more for cigarettes
Than I've managed to express
Filing past miles long
The cheek is frozen to the floor
The prison girls have filled their beds
Their thoughts too dry above their heads
I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes
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This song really gets to me. It's phenomenal. I think it tells a story. I could be way off, but here is my take...
Verse One: Setting - Late at night in a prison cell. She's in that state between awake and asleep. She's dreaming of somewhere else, trying to keep the dream going because it's better than where she is. She envisions her cell as a hotel room. It's a logical comparison. It's not home. It's transient.
Verse Two: She hears the night guard and is trying to figure out which one it is. The guards that pass are like "humming helicopters. They only hover a while outside her cell. When they pass by the bars distort the light from the hallway like the blades of a fan would. She tries to discern who the voice belongs to because one of the guards routinely rapes her. She convinces herself she loves him. "I love your long shadows and your gunpowder eyes" refers to that guard. Because she never sees him during the daylight, shadows and darkened eyes are the only associations she can make with him.
Verse Three: She gets out of bed to follow the voice outside her cell. She turns on the light, but the guard turns it off. He does not wish to draw any unwanted attention. In darkness she stumbles to the floor and the guard takes her there. Although the prisoner is enjoying the attention, its a twisted sort of love. "A passage so poorly lit there are moths flying away from it," refers both to the location of their coupling, and also to the darkness of their relationship.
Verse Four: It is morning. The guard is long gone and the prisoner is once again waking up in her "hotel room," but seeing the other prison girls also rising to begin their chores reminds her that she is in fact in prison and the things that happen at night are not "real." Desperate to validate her night-time "relationship" she tell the other girls, i.e. "her audience" about the guard that comes to her cell a night. Their secret is out.
Verse Five: The other prison girls feel sorry for her. They know she will be punished for not keeping quiet. She's not the only one the guards rape. Some of the other girls even try to use sex to barter for favors such as cigarettes. It's an uneven trade.
Verse Six: It's sometime in the middle of the night. The girl is dead. The guard killed her. She's laying on the same floor where they used to have sex, her cold cheek pressed to the hard ground. The other girls are in bed, not thinking of much in particular. In the morning the news of her death will have spread. She will "wear" their thoughts, because they won't be able to think of anything else. She is a cautionary tale.
Final Line: In the girl's twisted mind there are no regrets. She loved her long shadowed night guard. She died happy.