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.
Burning down
We can't stop it
We gotta get out
Start again
The memories are gone forever
Don't try
To turn this around on me
I'm the one that saved you
This was my home
This was my life
It's not always just about you
And as I heard
The sirens begin to chime
I can feel my heart begin to race
I can see through the flames
That the fire cleanses me
Mind and soul now the same
And my body guides the way
I threw you over my shoulder
With the angel
On my other
I'm not your hero
I'll never be
What you wanted
What you thought I would be
I can see through the flames
That the fire cleanses me
Mind and soul now the same
And my body guides the way
I can see through my tired eyes
My sickness controls me
Deep inside I know trust (I know trust)
Is the mother of deceit
(Is the mother of deceit)
And there you were
Six years old, ashes in your hair
You're not scared
You've seen so much pain in so few years
As the world
Becomes a place where no one wants to stay
We remain
Silent until it's too late
And as I see
The planes take over the sky
I can feel it coming to the end
I can see through the flames
That the fire cleanses me
Mind and soul now the same
And my body guides the way (and you're burning)
I can see through my tired eyes (down my life so slowly)
My sickness controls me (I know in my heart)
Deep inside I know trust (I know trust)
Is the mother of deceit
(Is the mother of, is the mother of deceit)
We can't stop it
We gotta get out
Start again
The memories are gone forever
Don't try
To turn this around on me
I'm the one that saved you
This was my home
This was my life
It's not always just about you
And as I heard
The sirens begin to chime
I can feel my heart begin to race
I can see through the flames
That the fire cleanses me
Mind and soul now the same
And my body guides the way
I threw you over my shoulder
With the angel
On my other
I'm not your hero
I'll never be
What you wanted
What you thought I would be
I can see through the flames
That the fire cleanses me
Mind and soul now the same
And my body guides the way
I can see through my tired eyes
My sickness controls me
Deep inside I know trust (I know trust)
Is the mother of deceit
(Is the mother of deceit)
And there you were
Six years old, ashes in your hair
You're not scared
You've seen so much pain in so few years
As the world
Becomes a place where no one wants to stay
We remain
Silent until it's too late
And as I see
The planes take over the sky
I can feel it coming to the end
I can see through the flames
That the fire cleanses me
Mind and soul now the same
And my body guides the way (and you're burning)
I can see through my tired eyes (down my life so slowly)
My sickness controls me (I know in my heart)
Deep inside I know trust (I know trust)
Is the mother of deceit
(Is the mother of, is the mother of deceit)
Lyrics submitted by CHaMP1323, edited by gonesovereign
A Great Fire Lyrics as written by Joshua Bradford Neil Boshart
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Some changes.
Verse 2: I feel you up on my shoulder Like the angel, like my other Im not your hero Ill never be what you wanted, what you thought I would be
Chorus 2: I can see through the flames that the fire cleanses me, Mind and soul, now the same And my body guides the way I can see through my tired eyes my sickness controls me Deep inside, ?I know this? is the mother of deceit
And as I see the flames that go in the sky I can feel it coming to the end