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.
Pin my name to the back of my coat
this last entry have I willed
June 3rd, Virginia, 1864
"Mother, I was killed"
See it coming like the rising sun
or a storm passing by
smell the blood in the air
I'm so lonesome I could cry
a curse upon Cold Harbor
a stain upon the land
a curse upon Cold Harbor
won't you fight me like a man
you can kill me if you can
you can kill me if you can
You think I'm close to cracking up?
you think I'm gonna fall apart?
just wait 'till that rebel cannister comes
and plows right through my heart
You can hang that picture on your wall
you can stick me in a frame
another used up country boy
covered with pieces of someone else's brain
a curse upon Cold Harbor
a stain upon the land
a curse upon Cold Harbor
won't you fight me like a man
a curse upon Cold Harbor
won't you kill me if you can
won't you kill me if you can
smash my head off of breastworks
just like I'm a battering ram
you don't know what the hell you're doing
you don't even know who I am
Stick your romance up your arses
and your flag where the sun don't shine
move your own self to Richmond
leave all of me to mine
If this war ever ends
and I pass this way again
please strike me blind and dumb
don't want to see or remember when
a curse upon Cold Harbor
a stain upon the land
a curse upon Cold Harbor
won't you fight me like a man
you can kill me if you can
you can kill me if you can
Pin my name to the back of my coat
this last entry have I willed
June 3rd, Virginia, 1864
"Mother, I was killed"
this last entry have I willed
June 3rd, Virginia, 1864
"Mother, I was killed"
See it coming like the rising sun
or a storm passing by
smell the blood in the air
I'm so lonesome I could cry
a curse upon Cold Harbor
a stain upon the land
a curse upon Cold Harbor
won't you fight me like a man
you can kill me if you can
you can kill me if you can
You think I'm close to cracking up?
you think I'm gonna fall apart?
just wait 'till that rebel cannister comes
and plows right through my heart
You can hang that picture on your wall
you can stick me in a frame
another used up country boy
covered with pieces of someone else's brain
a curse upon Cold Harbor
a stain upon the land
a curse upon Cold Harbor
won't you fight me like a man
a curse upon Cold Harbor
won't you kill me if you can
won't you kill me if you can
smash my head off of breastworks
just like I'm a battering ram
you don't know what the hell you're doing
you don't even know who I am
Stick your romance up your arses
and your flag where the sun don't shine
move your own self to Richmond
leave all of me to mine
If this war ever ends
and I pass this way again
please strike me blind and dumb
don't want to see or remember when
a curse upon Cold Harbor
a stain upon the land
a curse upon Cold Harbor
won't you fight me like a man
you can kill me if you can
you can kill me if you can
Pin my name to the back of my coat
this last entry have I willed
June 3rd, Virginia, 1864
"Mother, I was killed"
Lyrics submitted by azkm
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