Itchin on a Photograph

I feel I put myself in a minority when I say this is the BEST song of the album. They're good, but this one is great.

I would like to start off by saying, I could definitely see this songs meaning multiple different things, though fairly similar to the following:

I think that this song is in general about the past, perhaps even the start of everything. Itchin' on a photograph.. now it obviously isn't stated what the photograph is of, but based off other clues in the song, it's definitely in the past. He's trying to discover his roots and what makes him himself, and how he got here. Waiting on his mom and dad.. obviously without them, he wouldn't exist. Ever wonder how you can see now.. often times, people take for granted all the privileges they have. The technology we have today makes our lives much simpler than the past. Mostly everything we see around us, it wasn't just put there, someone took the time to make whatever "it" is happen. The realization of this is quite shocking and could almost be overwhelming.. feel the rain come down and you know now. ...and it's all while you were sleeping.. the history of earth and how we know it today, all of it happened before most of us were even born, "sleeping." As people, we try and try to discover the unknown;; it's very difficult to comprehend just how everything is the way it is, or why we can't figure everything out. put the fire out, you'll burn.. fire spreads, just like the abstract ideas of past/future can spread. i'm living now and living loud.. now this is probably one of the strongest messages you should take from the song.. LIVE IN THE MOMENT! past = depression. anxiety = future. we often times just pass up a wonderful opportunity, reminiscing of the past (itchin' on a photo), or concerned about what the future lies ahead. If you can truly evaporate those thoughts and feelings and just enjoy living right now.. That is probably the key to true happiness. Obviously this can be taken in as a bad thing.. i.e. if you have bills coming up, or if your partying when you work in the morning, can really screw you up if you aren't wary of the future, just don't let it consume you.

submitting without proofreading. ;p..
and i feel that some points are better or farfetched than others, but this is just such a great song, and the comments were lacking a little on it, so hopefully someone can come around and interpret it better.

This song is basically about how he is going to stop looking back on/living in the past, "itching on a photograph"/"looking back",and is going to start living for now and the future, "living now and living loud".

what does this mean?

I can't get this out of my mind. It's haunting me.

Love this song and the band ! These people are seriously talented. I wonder if this song has any reference to adoption. Specifically the adoption of an older child...perhaps even from a foreign country, For some reason, the idea of clinging to a photograph of yourself or possibly parents who might have given you up for adoption and the endless hoping and waiting for "My Mum and Dad" ....or as the 6 year old little girl from Russia said to her adoptive parents ("what took you so long to find me....I have been waiting for you" as she jumped in to the arms of her adoptive parents and wept w joy). I hope Mr Putin reconsiders his ban on US adoption (sorry about the shameless plug).

The branch line is what got me so just bare with me

He's itching on a photograph, he's disturbed by his past He's scratching on a thermostat, he's trying to change the mood of his house/family

Giving up on looking back and letting go of what he has. Let us assume he's a young adult about 18 in a nice family of 5, it's time for him to branch out and start his own family, in order to do this he obviously must give up what he has already, his house, comfort etc,

Feel the rain come down and you know now. As I was saying this song is representation of a family tree. Rain makes crops grow, so he e knowns now it's time for him to grow. "put the fire out you'll burn now" it means he shouldn't destroy his family tree, fire is the opposite of water, it destroyes instead of grows. From the way it's phrased it sounds like it's his mum telling him. Fire burns things to ashes, so he should stop burning his wood lol. Meaning he won't be young forever and needs to start a family soon and keep the tree growing. Also the older you get the less kids you can have. Also he could be a raging blaze but the mum is telling him to simmer down before he burns up all his energy and has none left to raise his kids. "ever wonder how you can see now" his parents are saying he's only alive because they settled down and had kids. "and this landing ground is so y'know " it's time for the Apple to fall from the tree. Time for him to plan his own seed and grown his own family.

His waiting on his mum and dad, he's taking care of them, helping out around the house.

Swinging on a branch that'll last. His family tree, he hopes his family tree name and lineage will last forever. Going up and falling back, he's tried climbing his family tree to see his roots and discover who he is via his grand parents, what kind of man should he be? What careers in his family did they choose? But he's falling back. Meaning he now needs to become a new man and starting his own family will teach him things he never knew about himself.

The all while he was sleeping part means it all happened over night, he became an adult so quickly and his pressured with so many responsibilities

Living now living last... He's the last born

Living now and living large

In conclusion, he's realized, it's time to leave his family BUT he's not yet ready to start his own, he's gonna live free for awhile. And like a tree slowly he shall grow and mature before starting his own. But first getting a good job and wife before doing so

Hope you liked my interpretation, btw please sign up for free and be commenting. This is my first comment on this sight, I was inspired by the interpretation I saw of "little talks" by of monsters and men, suddenly I had so much clarity.

Maybe itching is more meaning scratching the people or things out of a photo, sorta destroying it symbolizing how he isnt going to look on the past anymore and is focusing on the future not sure about the thermostat line though

Just have to comment on how maddening the phrase "itchin' on a photograph" is. These words put together could only make sense if he meant scratching instead of itching, which he doesn't because he says scratching in the next line! The only thing I can possibly discern is that he had an itch when the picture was taken of him. There's just no getting past this line for me, help!