Here we sit
Across the table from each other
A thousand miles from both our mothers,
Barely old enough to rust

Here we sit
Pretending both our hearts are anchors
Taking candy from these strangers
Amidst the diesel and the dust

And here we sit
Singing words nobody taught us
Drinking fire, and spitting sawdust,
Trying to teach ourselves to breathe

We haven't yet,
But every chorus brings us closer
Every flyer and every poster
Gives a piece of what we need

And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back

Morning's rough
It don't give a damn about the mission
Has no aesthetic or tradition,
Only lessons never learned

And I'd had enough
About a month ago tomorrow
Parting holds no trace of sorrow
For the bitter and the burned

And the piss they call tequila even Waylon wouldn't drink
Well I'd rather sip this Listerine I packed
But I swear, we've never seen a better place to sit and think
God bless the busted ship that brings us back

And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back


Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by emergingsynergy

New South Wales Lyrics as written by Jason Isbell

Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

New South Wales song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

12 Comments

sort form View by:
  • -1
    General Comment

    I mean it's not about the guy who names it goes home and dies. It's about the guy who works hard goes home and dies. Brings home memories.

    I mean the Virginia stock company or whatever work or don't eat. It was standard and they took advantage.

    "But I swear"

    What a songwriter.

    bkabbotton March 02, 2014   Link

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

Album art
Jesse with the long hair....
Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
Classic love story true to his western tx roots. One of my favorites as a story, but I think there are alot of songs that are amazing not even listed on this site. I guess I should figure out how to add them, because I have about 8 REK cd's.
Album art
Siberian Kiss
Glassjaw
its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Album art
The Spy
Doors, The
Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.