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.
Groan Man says I don't have to work no more.
But given all his privileges, Groan Man wouldn't know.
It's all good, it's alright, crisis solved, but it's revolting
To watch you complaining at the lake,
The smallest little violin stuck in your eye,
It makes you cry,
Rivers made of fake.
Groan Man, Don't Cry
Groan Man, Don't Cry
When you're on your own, leave the past behind.
When you walk alone, relax, unwind.
Joseph says I don't have to hold my head now,
But given all his privileges, Groan Man wouldn't know.
It's all good, it's alright, crisis solved, but it's revolting
To watch you complaining at the lake,
The smallest little violin stuck in your eye,
Groan Man, Don't Cry
Groan Man, Don't Cry
When you're on your own, leave the past behind.
When you walk alone, relax, unwind.
But given all his privileges, Groan Man wouldn't know.
It's all good, it's alright, crisis solved, but it's revolting
To watch you complaining at the lake,
The smallest little violin stuck in your eye,
It makes you cry,
Rivers made of fake.
Groan Man, Don't Cry
Groan Man, Don't Cry
When you're on your own, leave the past behind.
When you walk alone, relax, unwind.
Joseph says I don't have to hold my head now,
But given all his privileges, Groan Man wouldn't know.
It's all good, it's alright, crisis solved, but it's revolting
To watch you complaining at the lake,
The smallest little violin stuck in your eye,
Groan Man, Don't Cry
Groan Man, Don't Cry
When you're on your own, leave the past behind.
When you walk alone, relax, unwind.
Lyrics submitted by cliftongibbons
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skipping the "wtf, this song's great why am i the 1st...", but still feeling it!
this sunovagun and his puns/double-/quadruple-meanings. it makes me wary of trying to talk about what he means in any of his songs. so:
grown men don't cry groan, man, don't cry groan-man/grown man, don't cry
the narrator calls him "groan man" as a joke/insult, using it to say this person complains a lot.
but i'm sure everyone here already knows that. this is a story about an adult male who is sad or tired about something (can i use "first world problem" here and not sound like a douche?) that the narrator doesn't think is that important, which i think is kind of a theme in some of these songs (i haven't given the album a thorough listen don't kill me).
this person has it easier than others (who, though?) and still worries about inane (in the narrator's opinion) problems. he lets the past get to him, he worries about unnecessary things, maybe he's a little lazy. he's been living a pretty good life and he still complains. and the narrator judges him (maybe lovingly).
"world's smallest violin"
(humorous) A notional violin that plays tragic music for the afflicted; used in dismissive responses to oversensitive complaining. (wiki)
i like how he uses the phrase in a new way, pretty much making a pataphor (look it up) of it.
", but it's revolting To watch you complaining at the lake," - i think the narrator took this person out to nature to try to get them to calm down, but still this person nags/complains.
"The smallest little violin stuck in your eye, It makes you cry, Rivers made of fake." - and here's where it gets hairy. the narrator thinks this person is lying, is putting on a show. crying and not meaning it. personally that's kind of insulting cause pain is in the eye of the beholder, no? this guy's judging someone for feeling sad. though we've all been there on either end at some point, right?
the chorus is the only thing that brings it back to feeling (em/sympathetic?) for "groan man". the narrator wants "groan man" to move on, to live life in the present. it feels almost like the narrator is breaking up with "groan man"... this isn't the first time i've been inclined to trace connections between the lyrics on this album and the fact that it's the first post-Books album of mr. zammuto's.
fun wordplay, though, rite?