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.
This is how I tell it
O' but it's long
One Sunday morning
O' One son is gone
Against the weather dawning
Over the sea
My father said what I had become
No one should be
Outside I look lived in
Like the bones in a shrine
How am I forgiven
O' I'll give it time
This I learned without warning
Holding my brow
In time we thought I would kill him
O' but I didn't know how
I said it's your God I don't believe in
No your Bible can't be true
Knocked down by the long lie
He cried I fear what waits for you
I can hear those bells
Spoken and gone
I feel relief I feel well
Now he knows he was wrong
Ring 'em cold for my father
Frozen underground
Jesus I wouldn't bother
He belongs to me now
Something sad keeps moving
So I wandered around
I fell in love with the burden
Holding me down
Bless my mind I miss
Being told how to live
What I learned without knowing
How much more I owe than I can give
This is how I tell it
O' but it's long
One Sunday morning
One son is gone
O' but it's long
One Sunday morning
O' One son is gone
Against the weather dawning
Over the sea
My father said what I had become
No one should be
Outside I look lived in
Like the bones in a shrine
How am I forgiven
O' I'll give it time
This I learned without warning
Holding my brow
In time we thought I would kill him
O' but I didn't know how
I said it's your God I don't believe in
No your Bible can't be true
Knocked down by the long lie
He cried I fear what waits for you
I can hear those bells
Spoken and gone
I feel relief I feel well
Now he knows he was wrong
Ring 'em cold for my father
Frozen underground
Jesus I wouldn't bother
He belongs to me now
Something sad keeps moving
So I wandered around
I fell in love with the burden
Holding me down
Bless my mind I miss
Being told how to live
What I learned without knowing
How much more I owe than I can give
This is how I tell it
O' but it's long
One Sunday morning
One son is gone
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Hayalperest
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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Great version of a great song,
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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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While I understand that the intentional meaning was about Jane Smiley's boyfriend, I believe that the beautiful thing about music is that it can mean whatever you want it to. I believe that the song is about a religiously rebellious boy who religion imposed upon. he is emotionally destroyed because his ideas of reality are undermined so terribly by his own father. It is almost as if he is lost his own life when his father does, because he is left in a turmoil. It is an endless cycle that causes him to die inside, hence the line, "One son is gone."
Maybe the son is gone but he's only gone in the eyes of the father. Now that the father is out of the picture the son is reborn to a new life.