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.
Shoot for stars like astronauts
Keep the food until it rots
Lets all drink 'til our heart stops
With ink-stain blots and blue blood clots
Pick the scab it bleeds again
It's good to be American
Buy one and you'll get one free
It sounds like fuzzy math to me
There's no place, no place like home
It beats just like a metronome
Just for kicks some pick-up sticks
Were entertaining lunatics
Plus or minus nothings timeless
Automatic writers block
Bullet blackheads stare you down
And thank you, Strokes, for saving rock
Watching cock fights 'til dawn
You're the bishop to my pawn
Never really was that strong
Wayward son wont you carry on
Contractual obligation
Just one god under a nation
Premature masturbation, keep it here don't change the station
Do you think were better of dead?
Or just the best thing since sliced bread?
And do you believe I've lost my head?
Or just woke up on the wrong side of the bed?
An aphrodisiac for nymphomaniacs we need it like we need a heart attack
This was my wish, my dream that didn't come true so I'm taking it back
Rats doused in kerosene
Envy of the beauty queen
Something somewhat less obscene
The end will justify the means
Engine, engine number nine
Smash the grapes and make some wine
Mine is yours and yours is mine
Really though I'm feeling fine
Never mind panic attacks
Try not to step on the cracks
Something just occurred to me
My god wouldn't do this to me
Set it and forget it happened
Don't remember? Use a napkin
Guidelines of the laundry-mats
With extra saturated fats
Between a rock and a hard place
Vanished and gone without a trace
Pleasant for black comedy
And happiness don't grow on trees
Ignoring Sarah plain and tall
All for one and one for all
Let the scapegoat take the fall
It's his fault that we dropped the ball
Leave a message at the tone
Help me feel I'm not alone
Hate this feeling dry as a bone
Waiting for a ring from the phone
We rob the poor and give the rich
Scratch an unreachable itch
We turn lights off without a switch
It all goes off without a hitch
I don't know quite what I am saying
There's no way out just a way in
Flying high above the birds
A picture's worth a thousand words
Keep the food until it rots
Lets all drink 'til our heart stops
With ink-stain blots and blue blood clots
Pick the scab it bleeds again
It's good to be American
Buy one and you'll get one free
It sounds like fuzzy math to me
There's no place, no place like home
It beats just like a metronome
Just for kicks some pick-up sticks
Were entertaining lunatics
Plus or minus nothings timeless
Automatic writers block
Bullet blackheads stare you down
And thank you, Strokes, for saving rock
Watching cock fights 'til dawn
You're the bishop to my pawn
Never really was that strong
Wayward son wont you carry on
Contractual obligation
Just one god under a nation
Premature masturbation, keep it here don't change the station
Do you think were better of dead?
Or just the best thing since sliced bread?
And do you believe I've lost my head?
Or just woke up on the wrong side of the bed?
An aphrodisiac for nymphomaniacs we need it like we need a heart attack
This was my wish, my dream that didn't come true so I'm taking it back
Rats doused in kerosene
Envy of the beauty queen
Something somewhat less obscene
The end will justify the means
Engine, engine number nine
Smash the grapes and make some wine
Mine is yours and yours is mine
Really though I'm feeling fine
Never mind panic attacks
Try not to step on the cracks
Something just occurred to me
My god wouldn't do this to me
Set it and forget it happened
Don't remember? Use a napkin
Guidelines of the laundry-mats
With extra saturated fats
Between a rock and a hard place
Vanished and gone without a trace
Pleasant for black comedy
And happiness don't grow on trees
Ignoring Sarah plain and tall
All for one and one for all
Let the scapegoat take the fall
It's his fault that we dropped the ball
Leave a message at the tone
Help me feel I'm not alone
Hate this feeling dry as a bone
Waiting for a ring from the phone
We rob the poor and give the rich
Scratch an unreachable itch
We turn lights off without a switch
It all goes off without a hitch
I don't know quite what I am saying
There's no way out just a way in
Flying high above the birds
A picture's worth a thousand words
Lyrics submitted by airpbj
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