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.
You got me jumpin' like a cat strung up on a wire;
Waiting for the sandman to put me to sleep.
I got a no-show; take it slow, waiting for the whistle blow.
Nowhere job on a dead end street.
You ain't got a minute when the siren sounds;
Gotta get movin' to the underground.
But I gotta woman, gonna love me through the night,
Slippin' and slidin', and holding me tight.
Well, here it comes again, another Saturday night.
Pour another drink - I hope I make it home alright.
Oh boy, oh boy, gotta keep headin' for the state line.
Makin' time; gotta meet a friend of mine.
My old Ford runs fine I gotta say.
Got a new set of plugs; I wish the rain would go away.
A hundred U.F.O.'s by the Holiday Inn.
I should really go to sleep but, baby, here I go again.
Well, take me the hotel; no one's there, oh well.
Whatever happened to news on the radio?
Every little place in this little town
Looks like a bomb just leveled to the ground.
Drivin' through Jersey, headed for D.C.;
Look at all the boarded up factories.
All the kings men have a summerhouse in France,
But you and me live on the radiation ranch.
Waiting for the sandman to put me to sleep.
I got a no-show; take it slow, waiting for the whistle blow.
Nowhere job on a dead end street.
You ain't got a minute when the siren sounds;
Gotta get movin' to the underground.
But I gotta woman, gonna love me through the night,
Slippin' and slidin', and holding me tight.
Well, here it comes again, another Saturday night.
Pour another drink - I hope I make it home alright.
Oh boy, oh boy, gotta keep headin' for the state line.
Makin' time; gotta meet a friend of mine.
My old Ford runs fine I gotta say.
Got a new set of plugs; I wish the rain would go away.
A hundred U.F.O.'s by the Holiday Inn.
I should really go to sleep but, baby, here I go again.
Well, take me the hotel; no one's there, oh well.
Whatever happened to news on the radio?
Every little place in this little town
Looks like a bomb just leveled to the ground.
Drivin' through Jersey, headed for D.C.;
Look at all the boarded up factories.
All the kings men have a summerhouse in France,
But you and me live on the radiation ranch.
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All the time Reagan was president he was talking trash to the American people about trickle down economics meanwhile all the artists were writing lyrics like this
Drivin' through Jersey, headed for D.C.; Look at all the boarded up factories. All the kings men have a summerhouse in France, But you and me live on the radiation ranch.
Reagan was setting the stage for an oligarchy and that what we have now with the top 25 richest men in America have more wealth than the entire U.S. treasury. We should have been listening...
@angryrobot A lyric may be good, but a detailed argument might be needed to support the much debated claim that the trickle down economics theory is "trash". We all love cool lyrics here, but to use that theory as the bounce off to Reagan also wishing an oligarchy for America is grossly ignorant and an obviously biased assertion completely contradictory to his platform and the economic results of it that many of us (maybe even you or your family) were a benefactor of. Were you alive then? More people became more prosperous in America by a huge degree after recovering from the opposite economic policy of the prior president that had led to questions (by the prior president himself) of whether America would survive the "malaise" it was enduring in the 70's. Does that recovery sound like oligarchy? The fact that this is at the top of the board here with no one counterpointing should alarm the sheep, but history has taught us that they're not typically frightened til the blade is at the neck. And those top 25 households pay roughly 50% of the nation's total tax liability, while 40 % pay nothing. But they're the bad guys right? Stop with the class warfare and fight something real man! if you are the fighter you present yourself to be then stand up and take an honest look around at policy results. Give me lyrics about a fight against human trafficking or fentanyl from over our borders killing our youth. If you want to fight, then fight for something that is actually happening and don't be another hackneyed poser. This country isn't perfect, but it is the best vehicle on earth to allow for the RIGHTING of past wrongs and to wage support of our freedom of ideas to do as much. The world needs more doers and less talkers, so move out of your parents basement and grab a post/take the hill. The artists can art all day long very beautifully but none of us would have heard any of it - if not for the Reagans of the world that would stand up against the countries run by oligarchs and fight for individual God given freedom as the most basic tenant of America.