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.
Nah, you don't know me
Lightning above and a fire below me
You cannot catch me, cannot hold me
You cannot stop, much less control me
When it rains, it pours, when the floodgates open brace your shores
That pressure don't care when it breaks your doors
Say it's all you can take, better take some more
(Oh)
'Cause I know what it's like to test fate
Had my shoulders pressed with that weight
Stood up strong in spite of that hate
(Oh)
Night gets darkest right before dawn
What don't kill you makes you more strong
And I been waiting for it so long
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
Oh
Oh
Oh
Waiting for a light that never comes
When I was young, they told me, they said
Make your bed, you lie in that bed
A king can only reign 'til instead
There comes that day it's "off with his head"
(Oh)
The night gets darkest right before dawn
What don't kill you makes you more strong
You'll have my mercy then when you're gone
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
Oh
Oh
Oh
Waiting for a light that never comes
And I told them, nah, you don't know me
Lightning above and a fire below me
You cannot catch me, cannot hold me
You cannot stop, much less control me
When it rains, it pours
When the floodgates open, brace your shores
That pressure don't care, it breaks your doors
Say it's all you can take, better take some more
Oh
Oh
Oh
Waiting for a light that never comes
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
Oh
Oh
Oh
Waiting for a light that never comes
Lightning above and a fire below me
You cannot catch me, cannot hold me
You cannot stop, much less control me
When it rains, it pours, when the floodgates open brace your shores
That pressure don't care when it breaks your doors
Say it's all you can take, better take some more
(Oh)
'Cause I know what it's like to test fate
Had my shoulders pressed with that weight
Stood up strong in spite of that hate
(Oh)
Night gets darkest right before dawn
What don't kill you makes you more strong
And I been waiting for it so long
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
Oh
Oh
Oh
Waiting for a light that never comes
When I was young, they told me, they said
Make your bed, you lie in that bed
A king can only reign 'til instead
There comes that day it's "off with his head"
(Oh)
The night gets darkest right before dawn
What don't kill you makes you more strong
You'll have my mercy then when you're gone
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
Oh
Oh
Oh
Waiting for a light that never comes
And I told them, nah, you don't know me
Lightning above and a fire below me
You cannot catch me, cannot hold me
You cannot stop, much less control me
When it rains, it pours
When the floodgates open, brace your shores
That pressure don't care, it breaks your doors
Say it's all you can take, better take some more
Oh
Oh
Oh
Waiting for a light that never comes
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
Oh
Oh
Oh
Waiting for a light that never comes
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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I'm going to get a lot of flak for this, but I think this is a Satanic song.
Try to see where this is coming from before you make assumptions.
-- "Lightning above and a fire below me" Jesus told followers that he beheld Satan 'as lightning fall from heaven.' A lightning bolt is a Satanic symbol. The fire is hell. What else would this line mean, anyway?
-- "When it rains, it pours" -- "When the floodgates open brace your shores" Satan is sometimes referred to as "rain man".
-- "You cannot catch me, cannot hold me" -- "You cannot stop, much less control me" The rest of the verse is things that Satan would say to believers.
-- "The nights go on / Waiting for a light that never comes" In an increasingly secular society, how should this line be interpreted? -- "I chase the sun / Waiting for a light that never comes" Sun worship. The entire song follows this doubting God theme.
-- "A king can only reign 'til instead -- There comes that day it's "off with his head"" Reference to God. Think songs like "Morte et Dabo" by Asking Alexandria
I know Chester said he believes in God, but the media has taken a very dark turn lately, and these sorts of lines come up fairly often nowadays, though sometimes more subtly than in this song. Please take this submission seriously.
@Apocalypse716 That is simply the most far fetched explanation I have read :P<br /> <br /> I guess we humans are able to connect things to anything else, irrelevant of their actual meaning.