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.
What you look for on a dirty street
Is a patch of green beneath your feet
A stubborn weed or a traveling rose
Either one lives to grow
What you look for in a stranger's eyes
Is if he sees through your disguise
How we long to be revealed
To be known we might be healed
Send it out into the Universe
A humble plea, a wish, a broken verse
Be a seed that lands inside the cracks
Seek the sun and it shines back
What you looked for when you were a girl
Was a window out into the world
From a speeding car or a passing train
You were hypnotized just the same
And what you look for now that you are grown
Is proof of how time has flown
An empty house, a strand of grey
And an endless longing for yesterday
Send it out into the Great Elsewhere
A kind of hope, a chant, a simple prayer
Be the child whose dreams won't ever fade
Shout and storm the barricades
What you look for in your darkest hour
Is a dirty street with just a flower
Send it out not knowing where it went
Into the blue, into the firmament
Be the one who wonders at it all
Send it out into the Universe
A humble plea, a wish, a broken verse
Be a seed that lands inside the cracks
Seek the sun and it shines back
It shines back
Is a patch of green beneath your feet
A stubborn weed or a traveling rose
Either one lives to grow
What you look for in a stranger's eyes
Is if he sees through your disguise
How we long to be revealed
To be known we might be healed
Send it out into the Universe
A humble plea, a wish, a broken verse
Be a seed that lands inside the cracks
Seek the sun and it shines back
What you looked for when you were a girl
Was a window out into the world
From a speeding car or a passing train
You were hypnotized just the same
And what you look for now that you are grown
Is proof of how time has flown
An empty house, a strand of grey
And an endless longing for yesterday
Send it out into the Great Elsewhere
A kind of hope, a chant, a simple prayer
Be the child whose dreams won't ever fade
Shout and storm the barricades
What you look for in your darkest hour
Is a dirty street with just a flower
Send it out not knowing where it went
Into the blue, into the firmament
Be the one who wonders at it all
Send it out into the Universe
A humble plea, a wish, a broken verse
Be a seed that lands inside the cracks
Seek the sun and it shines back
It shines back
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
What You Look For Lyrics as written by Mary Carpenter
Lyrics © Sentric Music
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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