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.
I tried to control my shaking
With just one sound
I tried to warm the ocean
By writing it down
I tried to tame my nightmare
Line by line
If I write a song about you
Does that make you mine?
The conductor caught in slow motion
The orchestra plays on
Over and over, the same motion
This work is never done
The only thing that's certain
Is your indecision
I guess it must be working
Cause you hit me with such precision
Now the strings are breaking
Their fingers run with blood
But they keep on playing
The cycle never stops
Who's in control?
Who's playing who?
She wants to be amongst them
Conducting them too
She knows the song won't save her
But what else can she do?
She weeps just like a willow
She's playing for you
She's fragile and she's ferocious
As the current flows through
She's a conductor caught in slow motion
The orchestra plays loud
Over and over, the same motion
This work is never done
Now here comes the crescendo
The music starts to swell
And now it's so ecstatic
I know this part so well
And then it goes staccato
The notes were flying up
Higher and higher
But they never reach the top
Who's in control?
Who's playing who?
[x2]
I am the orchestra
The conductor too
My heart is a concert hall
And I filled it with you
With just one sound
I tried to warm the ocean
By writing it down
I tried to tame my nightmare
Line by line
If I write a song about you
Does that make you mine?
The conductor caught in slow motion
The orchestra plays on
Over and over, the same motion
This work is never done
The only thing that's certain
Is your indecision
I guess it must be working
Cause you hit me with such precision
Now the strings are breaking
Their fingers run with blood
But they keep on playing
The cycle never stops
Who's in control?
Who's playing who?
She wants to be amongst them
Conducting them too
She knows the song won't save her
But what else can she do?
She weeps just like a willow
She's playing for you
She's fragile and she's ferocious
As the current flows through
She's a conductor caught in slow motion
The orchestra plays loud
Over and over, the same motion
This work is never done
Now here comes the crescendo
The music starts to swell
And now it's so ecstatic
I know this part so well
And then it goes staccato
The notes were flying up
Higher and higher
But they never reach the top
Who's in control?
Who's playing who?
[x2]
I am the orchestra
The conductor too
My heart is a concert hall
And I filled it with you
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
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