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.
Indo-china, Capa jumps Jeep, two feet creep up the road
To photo, to record, meat lumps and war
They advance as does his chance, oh, oh
Very yellow white flash
A violent wrench grips mass, rips light, tears limbs like rags
Burst so high finally Capa lands
Mine is a watery pit
Painless with immense distance
From medic from colleague, friend, enemy, foe, him five yards from his leg
From you Taro
Oh, oh, oh
Do not spray into eyes
I have sprayed you into my eyes
Three ten
Pm Capa pends death, quivers, last rattles, last chokes
All colors and cares glaze to grey
Shriveled and stricken to dots
The left hand grasps what the body grasps not oh, oh
Le photographie est mort
Three point one four one five, alive no longer my amour
Faded for home May of '54
Doors open like arms, my love
Painless with a great closeness
To Capa, to Capa Capa dark after nothing, re-united with his leg
And with you Taro, oh, oh, oh
Taro, oh, oh, oh
Do not spray into eyes
I have sprayed you into my eyes
Hey Taro
To photo, to record, meat lumps and war
They advance as does his chance, oh, oh
Very yellow white flash
A violent wrench grips mass, rips light, tears limbs like rags
Burst so high finally Capa lands
Mine is a watery pit
Painless with immense distance
From medic from colleague, friend, enemy, foe, him five yards from his leg
From you Taro
Oh, oh, oh
Do not spray into eyes
I have sprayed you into my eyes
Three ten
Pm Capa pends death, quivers, last rattles, last chokes
All colors and cares glaze to grey
Shriveled and stricken to dots
The left hand grasps what the body grasps not oh, oh
Le photographie est mort
Three point one four one five, alive no longer my amour
Faded for home May of '54
Doors open like arms, my love
Painless with a great closeness
To Capa, to Capa Capa dark after nothing, re-united with his leg
And with you Taro, oh, oh, oh
Taro, oh, oh, oh
Do not spray into eyes
I have sprayed you into my eyes
Hey Taro
Lyrics submitted by shemovesshe
Taro Lyrics as written by Gwilym David Dylan Sainsbury Augustus Figaro Niso Unger-hamilton
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song is just incredible, lyrically and musically. I especially love the chorus instrumentals... just beautiful.
The comments here have really improved my understanding of this song, but there is still a question that I cannot seem to answer for myself: What is the significance of the first 5 digits of Pi in this song? (3.1415) I can't seem to fit that in properly with the rest of the piece, and it's really bugging me. If anyone reading this has some ideas, I would be delighted to hear them!
Thanks to everyone here for always making my music listening a deeper and more complete experience. Cheers!
3.1415 refers to Capa’s wedding ring as Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to it’s diameter. :)
Ah, I see! Thanks for the insight! :)
I took it to be the circle of the camera lens. The link between Taro and Capra. (She turned down his proposal, they were never married)
I think that it represents their love; lasting forever like death.
"What is the significance of the first 5 digits of Pi in this song? (3.1415) I can't seem to fit that in properly with the rest of the piece, and it's really bugging me. If anyone reading this has some ideas, I would be delighted to hear them!"<br /> <br /> I can't say for sure but I hunch is that it's used loosely to illustrate a circle. That is to say that Capa's life has come full circle as he passes into the afterlife and reunites with Taro. Why just the first 5 digits and not 4 or 6, probably just for poetic effect or cadence, essentially just fit well with the rest of the music/rhythm/lyrics. <br /> <br /> What a moving and beautiful song. Chorus is incredible. <br />
Since it seems that Taro died first, then Capa next, perhaps the full circle is their full circle ending in their life together in an afterlife of some sort.
Speaking to NME about this tune,Joe Newman explained: "The song's about that period just before he steps on the landmine. The two seconds before and two seconds after. It's a four-minute song about four seconds." Perhaps there's a connection between the 3:10pm and the 3.14.
I think, since at 3:10 he was awaiting death, perhaps 3:14.15 (a time) is when he died.
I think it is supposed to be a kind of "full circle" type of thing.
I am inclined to agree with the "full circle" conclusions others have come to. There's no context to indicate it might be a wedding ring - a camera lens would be perhaps a more likely reference, but I think it's more abstract than that.
Pi represents the circumference. Gerda Taro died in 1937 and Robert Capa died in 1954, both while performing their jobs as wartime photo journalists. I believe the Pi reference is alluding to their having come “full circle” and meeting up again in the afterlife.
I think that the first 5 digits of pi are a representation of Capa's time on earth, and his time to come. Literally it is the time that Capa died (3:14pm) but looking a little deeper it is interesting because pi is an infinite number. Capa's life has come full circle and now he is left to face the infinite test of time. 3.1415 begins the count to infinity as he moves on after his death, or "fades for home" as it is in the lyrics. The placement of the number and the number itself is very poetic, in that it has many meanings.
Given the band's obsession with Ancient Greek maths and geometry, I wouldn't put it past them to be making some reference to Pythagorean spiritual beliefs, particularly:<br /> <br /> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagoreanism<br /> <br /> From Wikipedia:<br /> <br /> "The Pythagoreans believed that a release from the "wheel of birth" was possible. ... Pythagoreans distinguished three kinds of lives: Theoretic, Practical and Apolaustic. Pythagoras is said to have used the example of Olympic games to distinguish between these three kind of lives. Pythagoras suggests that the lowest class of people who come to the games are the people who come to buy or sell. The next higher class comprises people who come to participate in the games. And the highest class contains people who simply come to look on. "<br /> <br /> In other words, as photographers, documenting and observing the world, they were both living apolaustic lives and destined to break free of the cycle of reincarnation and meet again after death.
You guys are funny, since he died in a medical facility a doctor would have had to call it when he died at 3:14.15.Pythagoras, lol
@nebulousapathy to shawn 10000, have you ever heard a doctor call a time of death to the hundredth of a second? No. That Pythagorean idea seems to be really well researched and does relate to the band's interests. Makes more sense. This isn't to say however 3:14 (3.14) didn't claim the time of death as well, giving that particular lyric an intended double meaning.