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.
thrown out of a moving limousine
tied up in corners with no hope of escape
followed at high speed
roughed up and handcuffed and led away
dangled up-side-down from a great height
tied to the rails as the train rounds the bend
hijacked and hotwired
snarled at by dogs against the chain-link fence
then she tells you, then she tells you uh huh huh
then she tells you you're not home
sucked out of the airlock
cornered like a rat in a crowded city square
lowered into vulcanos
bound up back to back in smart matching chairs
Then she tells you, then she tells you uh huh huh
then she tells you you're ...
my sweetheart dreams, my sweetheart dreams in an empty bed
my sweetheart dreams of revenge
left for dead in mexico
forged in counterfeit invisible ink
cut-out words on a ransom note
oh, I beg you honey, it's not what you think
Then she tells you, then she tells you uh huh huh
then she tells you you're not home
tied up in corners with no hope of escape
followed at high speed
roughed up and handcuffed and led away
dangled up-side-down from a great height
tied to the rails as the train rounds the bend
hijacked and hotwired
snarled at by dogs against the chain-link fence
then she tells you, then she tells you uh huh huh
then she tells you you're not home
sucked out of the airlock
cornered like a rat in a crowded city square
lowered into vulcanos
bound up back to back in smart matching chairs
Then she tells you, then she tells you uh huh huh
then she tells you you're ...
my sweetheart dreams, my sweetheart dreams in an empty bed
my sweetheart dreams of revenge
left for dead in mexico
forged in counterfeit invisible ink
cut-out words on a ransom note
oh, I beg you honey, it's not what you think
Then she tells you, then she tells you uh huh huh
then she tells you you're not home
Lyrics submitted by In_November, edited by sainters
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From an interview of Paul Dempsey in Jmag: "This whole song is built out of typical scenes from old suspence thrillers. The hero of the story is always persecuted and chased, put through hell. And when he finally makes it home his friends or his lover never believe what he's trying to tell them, they think he's making it all up, or that he's lost his mind, or he's crying wolf. The viewer can never tear themselves away until the hero is finally vindicated... which he always is... except in this song!"
Great idea jetsam7... this really struck a chord with me. <br /> <br /> I have to agree, it does sound like someone going out alot and coming home with wild excuses for why he was late, only to realise that all his partner was concerned about was the fact that he simply wasn't home. <br /> <br /> Also interesting is the line about "Oh, i beg you honey, its not what you think" making it sound like she has confronted him about cheating on her, and he's recounting the wild events that are his side of the story. "of course im wasn't out with the secretary, i was thrown out of a moving limosine and dangled in volcanoes!?" <br /> <br /> The dreaming in an empty bed, and dreaming of revenge tends to sound like the animosity between him and her is growing the more he is away.
Not bad at all! The missing bits are:
she tells you you're not home
and
my sweetheart dreams of revenge
And I never try to interpret Dempsey lyrics because it gets far too confusing for me and he's got five different meanings to each song, so. Still, I love his words.
I'm not a native speaker - I have problems understanding the "..." parts of the song...
Meaning? Maybe Paul has been watching too many Tarantino/Mafia/Crime movies lately and , as a result, has come up now with x ways to get into trouble!
Very nice song!
given dempsey's penchant for science themes and the cinematic elements of characters meeting disaster he mentions, i think that he's referring to being sucked out of a spaceship airlock. still can't quite piece it all together but whatever, it's such a beautiful song.
my sweetheart dreams, my sweetheart dreams in an empty bed my sweetheart dreams of revenge
how good is that!
Its a song about a man not coming home after a night out (which obviously happens to this guy a lot) and facing his upset partner who has had enough of it that it's the last straw and he's being kicked out. "My sweetheart dreams in an empty bed, my sweetheart dreams of revenge"<br /> <br /> In the verses he's reeling off every ridiculous excuse for not coming home, and in a juxtaposition these lyrics express the feelings of the neglected partner. "oh i beg you honey it's not what you think"<br /> <br /> In the end it's too much and the relationship is broken, and his partner is telling him their home is not his home anymore. "Then she tells you you're not home"
"then she tells you uh huh huh/ then she tells you you're not home"
Recently triple J played a live recording of Paul Dempsey from a show for triple j listeners, and before he played this song, he said that this song was about pain, suffering, heartache etc "all that shit that people think my songs are all about" That's not an exact quote, I can't remember his exact words, but that's almost exactly what he said. Personally, I see the song that way too.
I'm going to start by saying that i'm probably but these are just a few thoughts that came to mind.<br /> <br /> I stll can't make sense of the "left for dead in mexico" vere, however for the others, i get the impression that he is referring to when you go through much to get something or someone, considering that it's "SHE tells you you're not home". But, dangled up-side down from a height" and "lowered into volcanoes", phrases like that indicate that he gets pushed around and that he's done so much, yet still he' not good enough for her??? "She tells you you're not home".<br /> <br /> Just a guess.
I'm going to start by saying that i'm probably but these are just a few thoughts that came to mind.
I stll can't make sense of the "left for dead in mexico" vere, however for the others, i get the impression that he is referring to when you go through much to get something or someone, considering that it's "SHE tells you you're not home". But, dangled up-side down from a height" and "lowered into volcanoes", phrases like that indicate that he gets pushed around and that he's done so much, yet still he' not good enough for her??? "She tells you you're not home".
Just a guess.
I feel he is using cliched situations in movies to show how his relationship lacks uniqueness. The idea kind of stops there. The other interpretations have more merit than mine, but it was just an idea.
It always stuck me that this song seems to be a list of wild excuses (lifted from movie plots) to explain otherwise unexplained absences from home.
Great idea jetsam7... this really struck a chord with me.
I have to agree, it does sound like someone going out alot and coming home with wild excuses for why he was late, only to realise that all his partner was concerned about was the fact that he simply wasn't home.
Also interesting is the line about "Oh, i beg you honey, its not what you think" making it sound like she has confronted him about cheating on her, and he's recounting the wild events that are his side of the story. "of course im wasn't out with the secretary, i was thrown out of a moving limosine and dangled in volcanoes!?"
The dreaming in an empty bed, and dreaming of revenge tends to sound like the animosity between him and her is growing the more he is away.