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.
We built this place with high hopes, blood on our hands
A giant on our shoulders and maps of unfound land
God would give his blessings in a language I don't speak
A blessing for the waking, the tired and the weak
A promise of a new day, born with every little seed
And gardens growing over with snow white baby thimbleweed
Then came the first eruptions and everybody was amazed
A triumph for the structure and all the memories it erased
But structures are forever and do not care about the mind
We hid behind our eyelids in fear of what we'd find
Now everyone was sleeping heavier than ever before
As broken vows and dead dreams washed upon a silver shore
I sat there by the window as the hours turned to years
And never gave up hoping there would be something for me here
Now everyone was waiting for a day that never came
And wherever the wind blew, the sky would stay the same
A giant on our shoulders and maps of unfound land
God would give his blessings in a language I don't speak
A blessing for the waking, the tired and the weak
A promise of a new day, born with every little seed
And gardens growing over with snow white baby thimbleweed
Then came the first eruptions and everybody was amazed
A triumph for the structure and all the memories it erased
But structures are forever and do not care about the mind
We hid behind our eyelids in fear of what we'd find
Now everyone was sleeping heavier than ever before
As broken vows and dead dreams washed upon a silver shore
I sat there by the window as the hours turned to years
And never gave up hoping there would be something for me here
Now everyone was waiting for a day that never came
And wherever the wind blew, the sky would stay the same
Lyrics submitted by Joshjoss
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I'm not sure if this is what the writer of this song meant, but this is what I think it means:
He’s trying to find a place, that doesn't exist, because he wants to hide. He wants to hide, because he feels like he did something horrible and has to carry a lot of weight and guilt. He wants to be forgiven, but he knows he won’t be forgiven.
But he kept hoping for a new tomorrow, a new life. He was trying to forget and made himself believe he really did forget. But then, he realizes he never really would. That he was just kidding himself, that he will always remember. And all the memories and emotions came back, but stronger and more painful. And he knows he’ll never be happy again.
He hoped that things would change and he would be happy again, but he never did. Everyone wanted him to and told him he should make a change in his life. Everyone was trying to get him back at his feet, but he never did. He never recovered, because he kept feeling guilty.