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.
Here comes another fall from grace,
I'm always falling on my face.
This attitude that I embrace,
For a love I'm trying to replace.
Try to kill this song,
'Cause the melody's all wrong.
And there's a fever, comin' on.
It's hard to reconcile,
What I've become.
With the wounded child,
Hiding deep inside.
Breathe underwater,
I'm comin' up for air!
I wanna see another dawn,
Comin' up for air!
Sick of the slaughter,
I'm comin' up for air!
'Cause I've floating here too long.
Take my ego for a ride,
'Cause there's nobody by my side.
It's getting hard to justify.
And it won't be long 'til I collide.
My weaknesses laid bare,
As people stop and stare.
But It's the last time, I swear.
It's hard to reconcile,
What I've become.
With the wounded child,
Hiding deep inside.
Breathe underwater,
I'm comin' up for air!
I wanna see another dawn,
Comin' up for air!
Sick of the slaughter,
I'm comin' up for air!
'Cause I've been floating here too long.
Stop breathing,
Stop breathing,
Stop breathing,
Stop breathing!
Breathe underwater,
I'm comin' up for air!
I wanna see another dawn,
Comin' up for air!
S-i-ck of the slaughter,
I'm comin' up for air!
'Cause I've floating here too long.
I'm coming, I'm coming,
I'm coming, ' coming
Comin' up for air
Comin' up for air!
Comin' up for air!
I'm always falling on my face.
This attitude that I embrace,
For a love I'm trying to replace.
Try to kill this song,
'Cause the melody's all wrong.
And there's a fever, comin' on.
It's hard to reconcile,
What I've become.
With the wounded child,
Hiding deep inside.
Breathe underwater,
I'm comin' up for air!
I wanna see another dawn,
Comin' up for air!
Sick of the slaughter,
I'm comin' up for air!
'Cause I've floating here too long.
Take my ego for a ride,
'Cause there's nobody by my side.
It's getting hard to justify.
And it won't be long 'til I collide.
My weaknesses laid bare,
As people stop and stare.
But It's the last time, I swear.
It's hard to reconcile,
What I've become.
With the wounded child,
Hiding deep inside.
Breathe underwater,
I'm comin' up for air!
I wanna see another dawn,
Comin' up for air!
Sick of the slaughter,
I'm comin' up for air!
'Cause I've been floating here too long.
Stop breathing,
Stop breathing,
Stop breathing,
Stop breathing!
Breathe underwater,
I'm comin' up for air!
I wanna see another dawn,
Comin' up for air!
S-i-ck of the slaughter,
I'm comin' up for air!
'Cause I've floating here too long.
I'm coming, I'm coming,
I'm coming, ' coming
Comin' up for air
Comin' up for air!
Comin' up for air!
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
I think this song is about a man who has lost the love of his life. In the first verse he's saying: 'This attitude that I embrace For the love I'm trying to replace.' He's trying to find someone new, but since his attitude is in the way he's simply not ready for another relationship. Maybe he thinks it will fail, either because the new partner is not like his lost love or maybe because he's scared he'll lose her too.
So every relationship he had since, had failed: 'Here comes another fall from grace I'm always falling on my face'. And added to that he's saying: 'I try to kill the song 'cause the melody's all wrong' which refers to once again feeling this cognitive dissonance that something's not quite right.
He's killing the song because his new relationships aren't the same as the one he was used to. So instead of trying to work with the melody, he's just breaking up with his new partners. But he's finally hit a turning point in his life. He's fallen on his face one too many times, and he understands now that he can't stay underwater any longer. He needs to get out of that place that numbs every feeling. 'It's getting hard to justify And it won't be long 'til I collide' - he even sees where his behavior will lead to. His friends have already abandoned him because he just got drunk in self-pity or even in alcohol, and it won't be long until he collapses.
Having come to that revelation, he's ready to start living again 'Breathe!'. It's a great song that shows how someone who's truly at the bottom finds his way back to life again. He recovers from a Worldview-Disillusionment incident and wants to find meaning again.
I also love how the song begins with the image of 'falling' and ends with him 'rising'.