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.
Someone said to me, "I'll come into your dream and speak it to you."
I already knew.
I found her in an attic where, dramatically, she leaned in to me, and she whispered these lines: "Wake and be fine. You've still got time to wake and be fine."
Embracers meet with more embracers on the street.
They say, "Hold me, dear stranger. Grab on to me.
We're carrying our years around us, or they're chasing down us.
We're all here at the same time. Can we wake and be fine?
Have we still got time to wake and be fine??"
Villians on the creep and killers in the crowd are carving apart our childhood house.
Lovers in their sheets, dreaming lovers sweetly turn in their sleep all under sunbeams.
Everybody's crashing, running, calling out the coming of things they kind of can see.
Someone said to me, "It's just a dream. Why don't you wake up and you'll see, it's fine."
In those miles racing over endless fields of snow (you already heard, you already know),
the rescue party finally lost their hearts,
and then they shattered their bones, and then they died all alone.
The ships all float from beaches by themselves above the hot afternoons.
(Goodbye, you balloons!) Adrift above indifferent clouds.
Our hearts are crashing loudly on some rock where the gulls whine, to
Wake and be fine
Still have time to wake and be fine
Fine
Fine
I already knew.
I found her in an attic where, dramatically, she leaned in to me, and she whispered these lines: "Wake and be fine. You've still got time to wake and be fine."
Embracers meet with more embracers on the street.
They say, "Hold me, dear stranger. Grab on to me.
We're carrying our years around us, or they're chasing down us.
We're all here at the same time. Can we wake and be fine?
Have we still got time to wake and be fine??"
Villians on the creep and killers in the crowd are carving apart our childhood house.
Lovers in their sheets, dreaming lovers sweetly turn in their sleep all under sunbeams.
Everybody's crashing, running, calling out the coming of things they kind of can see.
Someone said to me, "It's just a dream. Why don't you wake up and you'll see, it's fine."
In those miles racing over endless fields of snow (you already heard, you already know),
the rescue party finally lost their hearts,
and then they shattered their bones, and then they died all alone.
The ships all float from beaches by themselves above the hot afternoons.
(Goodbye, you balloons!) Adrift above indifferent clouds.
Our hearts are crashing loudly on some rock where the gulls whine, to
Wake and be fine
Still have time to wake and be fine
Fine
Fine
Lyrics submitted by XeeGen, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Wake and Be Fine Lyrics as written by Will Sheff
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
This is a very rough version. Will update when the lyrics become more clear. Credits go to tdunnigan and albinoboaoncoca from the okkervilforums.
Updated the lyrics to the ones given directly by Will.
"“Wake and be fine. You’ve still got time to wake and be fine.”"
His life's shit but he's realised it has potential, he has hope for it to get better.
"Embracers meet with more embracers on the street. They say, “Hold me, dear stranger. Grab on to me. We’re carrying our years around us, or they’re chasing down us. We’re all here at the same time. Can we wake and be fine? Have we still got time to wake and be fine??”"
Talking about people that aren't him. People who are open, confident and friendly. People who socialise a lot and think it's the key to happiness. They're saying everybody has problems and life is difficult, we should help each other with it.
"Villians on the creep"
Confident aggressive people. People in gangs. People with guns. People who shout stuff at you for staring at them.
"and killers in the crowd"
Crazy people. People who feel misunderstood. Serial killers.
"are carving apart our childhood house."
Destroying the sense of safety we felt as a child.
"Lovers in their sheets, dreaming lovers sweetly turn in their sleep all under sunbeams."
People who are accepted by other people. They're happy.
"Everybody’s crashing, running, calling out the coming of things they kind of can see."
People are all stressed out about bad things happening: global warming, terrorism, totalitarianism etc.
"Someone said to me, “It’s just a dream. Why don’t you wake up and you’ll see? It’s fine.”"
The world is better/safer than you think it is. You should stress out less and be happy.
I don't understand the next paragraph really. The following is a big stretch...
"the rescue party finally lost their hearts, and then they shattered their bones, and then they died all alone."
People who dedicate their lives to helping others. He's saying you can't be happy if you live like that.
"The ships all float from beaches by themselves above the hot afternoons."
I was thinking "ships" could symbolise people who live life the way they think they're supposed to: They go to university, get jobs, move up in their career-path, get rich and buy boats. he could be saying these people are out of touch from life (the boats are floating away from the world).
"(Goodbye, you balloons!)"
He isn't keen on this type of person (balloons = fat people = rich snobby people = insult).
"Adrift above indifferent clouds."
These people have this idea about the 'right' way to live, and what's 'proper'. They think they're moving up (the boats are floating upwards geographically) in the world. He's saying the universe (clouds = nature = universe) is indifferent, it doesn't care about what's 'proper'. He knows these types of people would not be hearing these lyrics, he's not talking to them.
"Our hearts are crashing loudly on some rock where the gulls whine, “Wake and be fine.”"
People get really emotional about things, and this is saying "the world (rocks/gulls = nature = the universe) is indifferent, forget about it and move on, tomorrow is another day, you can start again".
I think this song's pretty positive. It's saying there's a lot of different types of people, but at the same time it's talking to the listener as a group; saying "you all have problems but things are better than you think they are. Life is short. Be happy together. Live in the moment".