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.
Love was the air in your mother’s lungs,
When her father tore her fences down,
Plastic bags and panadol was out.
Love with your sold Gibson 335,
And her father’s dream died that night,
Just to keep the electricity on.
And it’s the darkest side of my heart that dies when you come to me,
And it’s the golden ticket I win when you kill my enemies,
I hear the father’s cry and the softest sigh when I’m empty,
But if you leave me I’ll hide in a game like SimCity.
Oh when I die I’m alive,
And when I lose I find,
My identity.
Son if I died on my bedroom floor,
Would you cry on your bedroom floor?
And tattoo my name underneath your arm.
Love that was alive in the olden days,
And put to death in this golden age,
By a colour TV.
And it’s the darkest side of my heart that dies when you come to me,
And it’s the golden ticket I win when you kill my enemies,
I hear the father’s cry and the softest sigh when I’m empty,
But if you leave me I’ll get me gone and drowned face down muddy in the water.
Oh when I die,
When I die,
Die I’m alive,
When I lose I find,
My identity.
Love was those dark clouds on the Friday,
It was a holy shaking earthquake,
And you were stuck up in the tree.
And it’s the darkest side of my heart that dies when you come to me,
And it’s the golden ticket I win when you kill my enemies,
I hear the father’s cry and the softest sigh when I’m empty,
But if you leave me I’ll hello goodbye I’m shining knight look I’m deadman.
Oh when I die,
When I die,
When I die,
When I die I’m alive,
When I lose I find,
My identity.
When her father tore her fences down,
Plastic bags and panadol was out.
Love with your sold Gibson 335,
And her father’s dream died that night,
Just to keep the electricity on.
And it’s the darkest side of my heart that dies when you come to me,
And it’s the golden ticket I win when you kill my enemies,
I hear the father’s cry and the softest sigh when I’m empty,
But if you leave me I’ll hide in a game like SimCity.
Oh when I die I’m alive,
And when I lose I find,
My identity.
Son if I died on my bedroom floor,
Would you cry on your bedroom floor?
And tattoo my name underneath your arm.
Love that was alive in the olden days,
And put to death in this golden age,
By a colour TV.
And it’s the darkest side of my heart that dies when you come to me,
And it’s the golden ticket I win when you kill my enemies,
I hear the father’s cry and the softest sigh when I’m empty,
But if you leave me I’ll get me gone and drowned face down muddy in the water.
Oh when I die,
When I die,
Die I’m alive,
When I lose I find,
My identity.
Love was those dark clouds on the Friday,
It was a holy shaking earthquake,
And you were stuck up in the tree.
And it’s the darkest side of my heart that dies when you come to me,
And it’s the golden ticket I win when you kill my enemies,
I hear the father’s cry and the softest sigh when I’m empty,
But if you leave me I’ll hello goodbye I’m shining knight look I’m deadman.
Oh when I die,
When I die,
When I die,
When I die I’m alive,
When I lose I find,
My identity.
Lyrics submitted by kwiggle
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According to Rohin Jones of The Middle East, who wrote the song:
"verse one. my mothers father killed himself when she was ten years old. her upbringing before that event was hellish to put it kindly. her father and sister were schizophrenic, which meant the money and attention of her mother and family was poured into them. she and her sister had severe malnutrition and health problems. her fathers tore her fences down is a picture of the effect of that event (and another) which stripped her of her ability to function as a person. when i was 17 my family had been going through hell for about 7 years at a particular church. ma was working about 50 hours a week for nothing in a pretty vulnerable environment under a person who i guess was a father figure. and dad was working as a groundsman for next to nothing. that environment had a similar effect on her as her upbringing. this is the second father. (in the lyric it is fathers). after a particularly damaging incident ma came home locked her self in her room with a packet of panadol and a plastic bag and was going to kill herself. the thought of her fathers suicide and the effects it had on her and her love for me and my siblings was the only thing she said stopped her. she only told me a couple years later.
the song is about the few incidents in my life where love has been truely communicated to me. i may share more in the future."