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.
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Blood on the leaves
I just need to clear my mind now
It's been racin' since the summertime
Now I'm holdin' down the summer now
And all I want is what I can't buy now
'Cause I ain't got the money on me right now
And I told you to wait
Yeah I told you to wait
So I'mma need a little more time now
'Cause I ain't got the money on me right now
And I thought you could wait
Yeah, I thought you could wait
These bitches surroundin' me
All want somethin' out me
Then they talk about me
Would be lost without me
We could've been somebody
Thought you'd be different 'bout it
Now I know you not it
So let's get on with it
We could've been somebody
Instead you had to tell somebody
Let's take it back to the first party
When you tried your first molly
And came out of your body
And came out of your body
Running naked down the lobby
And you was screamin' that you love me
Before the limelight tore ya
Before the limelight stole ya
Remember we were so young
When I would hold you
Before the glory
I know there ain't wrong with me
Something strange is happening
You could've been somebody
We could've ugh, we could've been somebody
Or was it all our first party
When we tried our first molly
And came out of our body
And came out of our body
Before they call lawyers
Before you tried to destroy us
How you gon' lie to the lawyers?
It's like I don't even know ya
I gotta bring it back to the 'Nolia
Fuck them other niggas 'cause I'm down with my niggas
Fuck them other niggas 'cause I'm down with my niggas
Fuck them other niggas 'cause I'm down with my niggas
I ride with my niggas, I'll die for my
To all my second string bitches, tryna get a baby
Trying to get a baby, now you talkin' crazy
I don't give a damn if you used to talk to Jay-Z
He ain't with you, he with Beyoncé, you need to stop actin' lazy
She Instagram herself like #BadBitchAlert
He Instagram his watch like #MadRichAlert
He only wanna see that ass in reverse
Two-thousand-dollar bag with no cash in your purse
Now you sittin' courtside, wifey on the other side
Gotta keep 'em separated, I call that apartheid
Then she said she impregnated, that's the night your heart died
Then you gotta go and tell your girl and report that
Main reason 'cause your pastor said you can't abort that
Now your driver say that new Benz you can't afford that
All that cocaine on the table you can't snort that
That going to that owing money that the court got
On and on that alimony, uh, yeah yeah, she got you homie, yeah
'Til death but do your part, uh, unholy matrimony
Blood on the leaves
I just need to clear my mind now
It's been racin' since the summertime
Now I'm holdin' down the summer now
And all I want is what I can't buy now
'Cause I ain't got the money on me right now
And I told you to wait
Yeah I told you to wait
So I'mma need a little more time now
'Cause I ain't got the money on me right now
And I thought you could wait
Yeah, I thought you could wait
These bitches surroundin' me
All want somethin' out me
Then they talk about me
Would be lost without me
We could've been somebody
Thought you'd be different 'bout it
Now I know you not it
So let's get on with it
We could've been somebody
Instead you had to tell somebody
Let's take it back to the first party
When you tried your first molly
And came out of your body
And came out of your body
Running naked down the lobby
And you was screamin' that you love me
Before the limelight tore ya
Before the limelight stole ya
Remember we were so young
When I would hold you
Before the glory
I know there ain't wrong with me
Something strange is happening
You could've been somebody
We could've ugh, we could've been somebody
Or was it all our first party
When we tried our first molly
And came out of our body
And came out of our body
Before they call lawyers
Before you tried to destroy us
How you gon' lie to the lawyers?
It's like I don't even know ya
I gotta bring it back to the 'Nolia
Fuck them other niggas 'cause I'm down with my niggas
Fuck them other niggas 'cause I'm down with my niggas
Fuck them other niggas 'cause I'm down with my niggas
I ride with my niggas, I'll die for my
To all my second string bitches, tryna get a baby
Trying to get a baby, now you talkin' crazy
I don't give a damn if you used to talk to Jay-Z
He ain't with you, he with Beyoncé, you need to stop actin' lazy
She Instagram herself like #BadBitchAlert
He Instagram his watch like #MadRichAlert
He only wanna see that ass in reverse
Two-thousand-dollar bag with no cash in your purse
Now you sittin' courtside, wifey on the other side
Gotta keep 'em separated, I call that apartheid
Then she said she impregnated, that's the night your heart died
Then you gotta go and tell your girl and report that
Main reason 'cause your pastor said you can't abort that
Now your driver say that new Benz you can't afford that
All that cocaine on the table you can't snort that
That going to that owing money that the court got
On and on that alimony, uh, yeah yeah, she got you homie, yeah
'Til death but do your part, uh, unholy matrimony
Lyrics submitted by strykerchick
Blood On The Leaves Lyrics as written by Antony Von Williams Craig Stephen Lawson
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Ultra Tunes, WARP MUSIC LIMITED, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING, Hipgnosis Songs Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
Seeing that "Strange Fruit" was referencing the lynched slaves hanging from the poplar tress my interpretation is a bit more complicated. "New Slaves" being a track referencing modern slaves obsessed with materialistic possession and how stereotypes of blacks are on two extremes (poor and rich) and how they're treated by whites. Blood on the Leaves seems to be a companion to this, only instead of referencing new slaves, it's talking about literal slaves. However, Kanye, purposefully, seems to be delusional talking about a love of his life who is now seeking a divorce for some reason while slaves are being referenced to. Perhaps this is not what the slaves died for; for blacks to live the way they do now.
@seando Unless he's using marriage as an expression for the systematic racism that still exists. African Americans entered into peace after the civil rights movement with the dominate cultural system, white america. Looking back at this relationship black america now wants a divorce but they can't follow through because they cant afford the "alimony". Leading up to this line he talks about the interplay of the perception of equality against the reality of institutional racism.