This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
I relate to your kind, your design, your devotion to wave.
Get your brain on the prize then dive inside,
The mindset of a killer with your mind out of phase.
It's a game that we like. We crave yet nobody wins.
Any way you decide, you try but you die,
The mindset of a killer,
With your gaze you paint the room blood red
With tears pouring from the stage.
And you cant stop now row by row almost out.
Covered in black and gold no one cares and no one knows.
My gift to the world outside.
It's OK, I'm all right
Now open your empty hands
'cause here comes the fun here comes the end.
Click erase the device, give thanks, then clear out the room.
Blow kisses, wave them goodbye, goodnight.
Mindset of a killer, with your gaze,
You paint the room blood red with tears pour from the stage.
And you cant stop now row by row almost out.
Covered in black and gold no one cares and no one knows.
My gift to the world outside.
It's OK, I'm all right
Now open your empty hands
'cause here comes the fun here comes the end.
Get your brain on the prize then dive inside,
The mindset of a killer with your mind out of phase.
It's a game that we like. We crave yet nobody wins.
Any way you decide, you try but you die,
The mindset of a killer,
With your gaze you paint the room blood red
With tears pouring from the stage.
And you cant stop now row by row almost out.
Covered in black and gold no one cares and no one knows.
My gift to the world outside.
It's OK, I'm all right
Now open your empty hands
'cause here comes the fun here comes the end.
Click erase the device, give thanks, then clear out the room.
Blow kisses, wave them goodbye, goodnight.
Mindset of a killer, with your gaze,
You paint the room blood red with tears pour from the stage.
And you cant stop now row by row almost out.
Covered in black and gold no one cares and no one knows.
My gift to the world outside.
It's OK, I'm all right
Now open your empty hands
'cause here comes the fun here comes the end.
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“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Everything about this screams out that its about Chi. Even before you've figured out what he's saying, it starts with this RX-Queen-esque verse with the bass part. Also, the i to vi progression used predominantly in this song makes it harmonically immediately associated with the white pony album, which for some reason to me feels like Chi's 'golden days', and I wonder if this (along with the entire instrumentation of the song) is a direct hint. If that seems a bit vague, all you need to do is listen to the lyrics. I don't think they really need analysing.
Also, it seems that this isn't the only one on this album in that vein.