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.
""reclaims the land and we return full in colour. Dark Sea don't bother me when water turns into land. Oh our end has come at last and we return full in colour. Oh I see I see the fires ahead but in my mind it's turning cold. The Sun will freeze and our fate don't bother me. The rise of the sea does not concern me when all of your city lights turn you brightest day into sleepless night. But it's not me No it's not me. The Sun will freeze and our fate don't bother me. The rise of the sea does not concern me when all of your city lights turn your brightest day into sleepless night. and the rising and all you are now watching out. But it's not me No it's not me. It's not me It's not me.""
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Plastic Bag
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
My interpretation is that the narrator has reached a state of resignation but it also has a somewhat resentful after-taste. Feeling that all shall become inverse in time but perhaps not simply feeling above it, he effectively declares that "The fires ahead." are not his concern because he did not wish or intend for cataclysmic events to occur. It's a denial and abdication of responsibility, they see others causing their own suffering: "All of your city lights Turn your brightest days Into Sleepless nights. But It's not me. No It's not me." The narrator feels that they did not cause or play into this, yet the sadness of the refrain and tone of the lyrics invites a reply. You can hear them hanging their head and turning away on the last line. They do care but are masking it with self-righteous disappointment and lamentation. A person feeling like they have not been listened to, acknowledged or valued wishes to turn their back on the world as it ends but their emotions reveal this as a hollow declaration made in sorrow. As though they are begging someone to show them otherwise.
Quite a cathartic and beautiful piece.