He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
I know I'm afraid, I know I'm afraid,
I'm drunk and I'm tired,
And the city I walk in, the city I walk in,
It feels like it swallows,
With my hand in my pocket,
I feel like a shadow, I feel like a shadow.
Though I'm afraid,
Afraid that I have made mistakes.
Now there's nothing here for me.
The things you once told me,
The thoughts you once gave me,
Sound like the wind in my ears
That blows out the knots I've got in my long brown hair.
I feel like the shadows I don't even bother for anymore than that.
What did you whisper in my ear?
What did you tell me that I wanted to hear?
What was the answer you wanted me to find out?
There's no lies, the lies, the lies, the lies
Brought back something,
A bit for you, a bit for everyone.
You and all your pieces,
You and all your pieces made me come,
And all that love you gave was strong enough to make me stay and now it will be alright.
I feel like the shadows I don't even bother for anymore than that.
I feel like the shadows I don't even bother for anymore than that.
What did you whisper in my ear?
What was the answer you wanted me to find out?
There's no lies, the lies, the lies, the lies
I'm drunk and I'm tired,
And the city I walk in, the city I walk in,
It feels like it swallows,
With my hand in my pocket,
I feel like a shadow, I feel like a shadow.
Though I'm afraid,
Afraid that I have made mistakes.
Now there's nothing here for me.
The things you once told me,
The thoughts you once gave me,
Sound like the wind in my ears
That blows out the knots I've got in my long brown hair.
I feel like the shadows I don't even bother for anymore than that.
What did you whisper in my ear?
What did you tell me that I wanted to hear?
What was the answer you wanted me to find out?
There's no lies, the lies, the lies, the lies
Brought back something,
A bit for you, a bit for everyone.
You and all your pieces,
You and all your pieces made me come,
And all that love you gave was strong enough to make me stay and now it will be alright.
I feel like the shadows I don't even bother for anymore than that.
I feel like the shadows I don't even bother for anymore than that.
What did you whisper in my ear?
What was the answer you wanted me to find out?
There's no lies, the lies, the lies, the lies
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Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
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.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
that i did. i misspoke though. it's not a book. the lyrics are printed on the back of the record sleeves.