Common Knowledge

I think think "when he comes too sure, he'll apologize" is "when he comes to, sure he'll apologize" -- seems to refer someone problematically drunk and damaging

So far this is my favorite on the album. As for the meaning, I think of Bright Eyes' Poison Oak. Perhaps this song could again be referring to his cousin who commit suicide. Conor writes "I've done this all for you. I've suffered long for you." Obviously Conor had/has his moments of feeling on the verge of suicide but his cousins' suicide maybe kept him going. "And die young in the dark, that's poetry. But it was not to be. It was not for me." He's living and pushing and doing it all in honor of his cousin who just couldn't take it all anymore. In my opinion I'm pretty damn positive it's about his cousin if you put it in perspective as you listen to the whole song through.

I won't pretend that this is accurate or even close, but i feel like Conor is talking to a younger version of himself. We all know he has battled several demons throughout his career and in several interviews recently he has stated that he can barely relate to his younger self. also in the video the flashback scenes show him partying late in new york which could be a call back to lua or the lifestyle he had at the time.

I'm pretty darn sure that

"Chase that fatalistic comet And die young in the dark"

is a reference to Mark Twain; there's a certain comet that passes the Earth once every 75 years or so and Twain predicted that he would die around its passing, and he somehow guessed right. The rest of the verse may be about him as well.

Then the last verse mentions Hemmingway.

Makes me wonder if each verse has something to do with a famous (and famously crazy) American author, mixed with things from his own life, of course. Very interesting, as always.

I don't know what this song is about but it's worrying because Hemingway shot himself, so to "go out with a bang" means to kill oneself. Sad to think that after all these years, and all the success, these dark themes still prevail...

As some of Conor Oberst's other songs this is a portrait of a person who finds it hard to cope with his reality. Bright Eyes songs like Hot Knives and I Know You comes to mind as somewhat similar. These persons seem to pity themselves so much that they lose their morals. In both "Hot Knives" and "I Know You" it's clear that the persons he is describing badly wants to be something else. In both those songs they turn to things that are quite unconventional. In Common Knowledge the person is described as someone who "says he sees what no one else can see" which is very much the same behaviour as the persons in the other songs I've mentioned. Also he seems to focus so much about himself that he fails being a good person. He also deceives himself as he seems to need some kind of affirmation(especially this comes through in the third verse) but instead of trying to be a balanced person which is very much what a good person is, he is trying to force things. "Holds on to his mind just like a kite" describes a person who is thoughtless and desperate to achieve something that makes things better immediately, like in "A good strong win can keep you honest, fill you with some common knowledge." And it's like the common knowledge is what makes one a good person and that he cannot be a good person until he is satisfied with himself, which is of course very deceptive.

The third verse is a longing for affirmation in form of sex. He takes one more dance and is aiming for a woman who is drunk and wild in "One more dance, he's in that champagne room She moves like a chocolate fountain Pouring, spilling all around him Makes him wonder what else she can do" It's like he sees his chance with a woman who perhaps have had to much to drink. We know that a chocolate fountain is something that is used to dip things in, and that is exactly what main character is looking for.

The last verse is also a description of a person who really tries hard to succeed but deceives himself when he is not realizing that what he really lacks is balance and judgement. And "go out with a bang like Hemingway" is of course refering to commiting suicide by shooting oneself but also that one does something loudly so that it kind of "echoes" and makes people talk about it. And the the last words "some will say your brave, some will say you aint" is of course refering to the usual discussion on wether suicide is brave or if its cowardly. And the character seems to have failed immensely with being brave enough to examine himself and come to clarity with his behaviours.