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.
Pale horse songs of a slow decline
Sideshow words if the songs don't mind
G-d gave Noah the rainbow sign
No more water, is the H-Bomb next time?
Pale horse vows in a grave I-do-yes-definitely reply
Smile for the camera at a 'church' nearby
Threw a mute curse at the Boise sky
For my fucked up Napolean-of-St.-Helena-hairline
Black horse leaping when the frogs withdrew
The parable of the plums where the olives grew
Clouded rearrangement of sounds we knew
An Idaho sunset for my own private Waterloo
Pale horse songs of a slow decline
Side show words if our moms don't mind
Cloud gave no one a rainbow sign
Six-point starred ink flag next time?
With imperial crowns we were 'sent'
Riding out conquest-bent
Daylight is breaking
Weilding the sanctified sword
For the army of the Scarecrow Lord
Daylight is breaking
Balancing scales at our feet
Measuring out two pounds of barley, six pounds of buckwheat
Beasts of the Battersea Shield
At the opening of the fourth seal
The sky, I'd been told
Would roll up like a scroll
As the mountains and islands moved from their place
And the sun would turn black
As a dead raven's back
But there'd be nowhere hide
From the Judge's face
After which message-less birds take flight without cause
To the silence they've heard in the absence of laws
Or imperial crowns: Unsent, unsigned
The other night I dreamt I was finally out of college
In my own pair of sandals, I had turned into my father
Whistling our tune about the Rio Grande
Like an anchorite in June I took hold of my own hand
And started on the Abrahamic joke we knew
About apostrophes and pronouns and you-remember-who
"But let's keep that silly punchline between me and you
Little Haroon
And the man in the moon"
Sideshow words if the songs don't mind
G-d gave Noah the rainbow sign
No more water, is the H-Bomb next time?
Pale horse vows in a grave I-do-yes-definitely reply
Smile for the camera at a 'church' nearby
Threw a mute curse at the Boise sky
For my fucked up Napolean-of-St.-Helena-hairline
Black horse leaping when the frogs withdrew
The parable of the plums where the olives grew
Clouded rearrangement of sounds we knew
An Idaho sunset for my own private Waterloo
Pale horse songs of a slow decline
Side show words if our moms don't mind
Cloud gave no one a rainbow sign
Six-point starred ink flag next time?
With imperial crowns we were 'sent'
Riding out conquest-bent
Daylight is breaking
Weilding the sanctified sword
For the army of the Scarecrow Lord
Daylight is breaking
Balancing scales at our feet
Measuring out two pounds of barley, six pounds of buckwheat
Beasts of the Battersea Shield
At the opening of the fourth seal
The sky, I'd been told
Would roll up like a scroll
As the mountains and islands moved from their place
And the sun would turn black
As a dead raven's back
But there'd be nowhere hide
From the Judge's face
After which message-less birds take flight without cause
To the silence they've heard in the absence of laws
Or imperial crowns: Unsent, unsigned
The other night I dreamt I was finally out of college
In my own pair of sandals, I had turned into my father
Whistling our tune about the Rio Grande
Like an anchorite in June I took hold of my own hand
And started on the Abrahamic joke we knew
About apostrophes and pronouns and you-remember-who
"But let's keep that silly punchline between me and you
Little Haroon
And the man in the moon"
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
Rainbow Signs Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © TERRORBIRD PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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