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.
Burn it down
Pad the circles 'round your life
To capture all the sides you sight
Magic tricks where skeptics sink
The ice is thin, stay off the lake
Waiting for a clock to punch
Wish I could breathe and stop for lunch
If I stop to count the leaves on one of these here trees
Not sure that I know what's pure
Born to kill the insecure
Some respect, some resent, some remain from start to end
Wear my heart on my short sleeves
I'm stuck out here, I lost my keys
From the roof I watch the street
And pray for those that's caught beneath
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
I dunno what I have to left
To give other than truth and breath
Angel when she shuts her eyes
Like we will leave to my demise
Between my time is short
About to start my last resort
Wake me up when it's time to make babies
Talkin' planet earthquakes
Tied the laces, touch the ground
Let emotions ruptured now
As long as I know right from wrong, I'll be OK I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
I want to lift every yellow brick
I never felt pressure to have to justify my selfishness
At least not to your and yours
Maybe just my friends and fellowships
As long as the mood is somehow linked to my enhanced development
I swear they'll understand!
There's a storm outside my tenement
Beats upon my windows with Mother Nature's adrenaline
I guess that's why my homey Blockhead stays glued to the television
Now I look less intelligent
'Cause I'm the one that tried to bear the elements and lost
Well it's warm by the filament
Huddled up close in the company of all my relatives
Stories lash like coffee and honest-to-God sentiment
Cocooned in the unified efforts to all get settled in
Away from where the rain pours!
Well count your delegates
Weed out the bums who practice migration under the elegant
Of course I realize to fill the ring, procedure's delicate
But lead devils inside to collide with your over-zealousness
And fall to rock bottom
Spot em with their carelessness
The urge could burst to turn even those hazardous to militant
You can't even have half of free second
The beat comes gelatin
You gotta aim, fire and the spider be model veteran
Buried in merit badges
I'm stuck in the center and could care less
About the eye of the storm and its monstrous measurements
I got a defense that I call coolin' with my brethren
Sometimes I get wet
But it's better than risking life and limb to me, don't you agree?
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
If you want to push, than I'm ready to push
But if you pulling while I'm pushing
Then why did you ask me to push?
If you want to push, than I'm ready to push
But if you pulling while I'm pushing
Then why did you ask me to push?
Pad the circles 'round your life
To capture all the sides you sight
Magic tricks where skeptics sink
The ice is thin, stay off the lake
Waiting for a clock to punch
Wish I could breathe and stop for lunch
If I stop to count the leaves on one of these here trees
Not sure that I know what's pure
Born to kill the insecure
Some respect, some resent, some remain from start to end
Wear my heart on my short sleeves
I'm stuck out here, I lost my keys
From the roof I watch the street
And pray for those that's caught beneath
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
I dunno what I have to left
To give other than truth and breath
Angel when she shuts her eyes
Like we will leave to my demise
Between my time is short
About to start my last resort
Wake me up when it's time to make babies
Talkin' planet earthquakes
Tied the laces, touch the ground
Let emotions ruptured now
As long as I know right from wrong, I'll be OK I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
I want to lift every yellow brick
I never felt pressure to have to justify my selfishness
At least not to your and yours
Maybe just my friends and fellowships
As long as the mood is somehow linked to my enhanced development
I swear they'll understand!
There's a storm outside my tenement
Beats upon my windows with Mother Nature's adrenaline
I guess that's why my homey Blockhead stays glued to the television
Now I look less intelligent
'Cause I'm the one that tried to bear the elements and lost
Well it's warm by the filament
Huddled up close in the company of all my relatives
Stories lash like coffee and honest-to-God sentiment
Cocooned in the unified efforts to all get settled in
Away from where the rain pours!
Well count your delegates
Weed out the bums who practice migration under the elegant
Of course I realize to fill the ring, procedure's delicate
But lead devils inside to collide with your over-zealousness
And fall to rock bottom
Spot em with their carelessness
The urge could burst to turn even those hazardous to militant
You can't even have half of free second
The beat comes gelatin
You gotta aim, fire and the spider be model veteran
Buried in merit badges
I'm stuck in the center and could care less
About the eye of the storm and its monstrous measurements
I got a defense that I call coolin' with my brethren
Sometimes I get wet
But it's better than risking life and limb to me, don't you agree?
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
As long as I know right from wrong
I'll be OK, I'll sing my songs
If you want to push, than I'm ready to push
But if you pulling while I'm pushing
Then why did you ask me to push?
If you want to push, than I'm ready to push
But if you pulling while I'm pushing
Then why did you ask me to push?
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
I'll Be Ok Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.