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.
I saw a blue umbrella in Princes Street Gardens
Heading out west for the Lothian Road
An Evening News stuffed deep in his pocket
Wrapped up in his problems to keep away the cold
Grierson's spirit haunts the dockyards
(Where) the only men working (are on the) documentary crews
Shooting film as the lines get longer
As the seams run out, as the oil runs dry
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
Starlings wheeling round Georgian spires
And the fires of Grangemouth burn the skies
A lion sleeps in a tenement close
In the country that's tired and deaf to his roar
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
We've got to go now
Won't you please let us go now?
They bury a wasteland deep in the wilderness
Poison the soil and reap the harvest
Of blind indifference, greed and apathy
Sowed way back in our history
The fish are few and the harbours are empty
The keels now rot on our oil slicked shores
The sheep are gone, the farms deserted
(We're) It's out of sight and we're out of mind
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
(We're gonna go now)
(We're gonna go now)
Like our fathers before us we've eyes for America
Dream of a new life on foreign shores
(But) wherever we go we'll always know
That the land we stand on is never our own
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
We're internal exiles
We've got to, got to let go
We're internal exiles
As if we've got to let go
We've got to let go
We've got to go now
Won't you please let us go now?
Internal exile
Internal exile
Won't you please let us go now?
Heading out west for the Lothian Road
An Evening News stuffed deep in his pocket
Wrapped up in his problems to keep away the cold
Grierson's spirit haunts the dockyards
(Where) the only men working (are on the) documentary crews
Shooting film as the lines get longer
As the seams run out, as the oil runs dry
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
Starlings wheeling round Georgian spires
And the fires of Grangemouth burn the skies
A lion sleeps in a tenement close
In the country that's tired and deaf to his roar
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
We've got to go now
Won't you please let us go now?
They bury a wasteland deep in the wilderness
Poison the soil and reap the harvest
Of blind indifference, greed and apathy
Sowed way back in our history
The fish are few and the harbours are empty
The keels now rot on our oil slicked shores
The sheep are gone, the farms deserted
(We're) It's out of sight and we're out of mind
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
(We're gonna go now)
(We're gonna go now)
Like our fathers before us we've eyes for America
Dream of a new life on foreign shores
(But) wherever we go we'll always know
That the land we stand on is never our own
Hey there laddie, internal exile
When will you (realise) {see that} we've got to let go?
Hey there lassie, internal exile
When will you realise (we've) {you've} got to let go?
We're internal exiles
We've got to, got to let go
We're internal exiles
As if we've got to let go
We've got to let go
We've got to go now
Won't you please let us go now?
Internal exile
Internal exile
Won't you please let us go now?
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Internal Exile [Bonus Track] Lyrics as written by Mike Simmonds Derek William Dick
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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