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.
Now listen here, drunken driver
While here on earth you dwell
You never know when the time will come
When you'll have to say farewell
I saw an accident one day
Would charm the hearts of man
And teach him never to drink a drop
With a steerin' wheel in his hand
This awful accident occurred
On the twentieth day of May
And caused to loving children
To sleep beneath the clay
These two dear kids walked side by side
Out on a state highway
Their lovin' mother, she had died
And their father had run away
They were talking of their loving parents
How sad their hearts did feel
When around the curve came a speedin' car
With a drunk man at the wheel
The driver saw these two dear kids
And hooted a drunkard sound
"Get out of the road, you little fools"
And the car had brought them down
The driver staggered from his car
To see what he had done
His heart sank within him
When he saw his dyin' on
He then picked up his little one
And carried him to his car
Then leanin' on the runnin' board
He prayed a drunkard's prayer
Sayin', "Please, oh Lord, forgive me
For this awful crime I've done"
His attention then was called away
To the words of his dyin' son
Sayin' "Take us to our mother, Dad
She sleeps beneath the ground
It was you and her we was talkin' about
When the car had knocked us down"
"And please, dear Dad, don't drink no more
While drivin' on your way
But meet us with our mother, Dad
In heaven some sweet day"
While here on earth you dwell
You never know when the time will come
When you'll have to say farewell
I saw an accident one day
Would charm the hearts of man
And teach him never to drink a drop
With a steerin' wheel in his hand
This awful accident occurred
On the twentieth day of May
And caused to loving children
To sleep beneath the clay
These two dear kids walked side by side
Out on a state highway
Their lovin' mother, she had died
And their father had run away
They were talking of their loving parents
How sad their hearts did feel
When around the curve came a speedin' car
With a drunk man at the wheel
The driver saw these two dear kids
And hooted a drunkard sound
"Get out of the road, you little fools"
And the car had brought them down
The driver staggered from his car
To see what he had done
His heart sank within him
When he saw his dyin' on
He then picked up his little one
And carried him to his car
Then leanin' on the runnin' board
He prayed a drunkard's prayer
Sayin', "Please, oh Lord, forgive me
For this awful crime I've done"
His attention then was called away
To the words of his dyin' son
Sayin' "Take us to our mother, Dad
She sleeps beneath the ground
It was you and her we was talkin' about
When the car had knocked us down"
"And please, dear Dad, don't drink no more
While drivin' on your way
But meet us with our mother, Dad
In heaven some sweet day"
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
The Drunken Driver Lyrics as written by Paul Westmoreland
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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