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 was out with some transgender friends, we were having a real nice time,
When a bunch of cishet dickhead boys yelled at us from behind,
And as the smell of their Lynx Africa wafted from every pore,
I said “Oh no Toto, we’re not in Transas anymore”
I sat down at my computer, I was feeling pretty damn shitty,
So I googled “21 year old trans girl", to know there’s people just like me.
But all I got were death tolls and porno sites tattooed across my screen,
(And there’s quite a great deal more than that I think I wanna be)
So stand up straight, and say, the wrong things in the right fashion
And walk this way, do all that’s in your power not to,
Draw a stare, or show the ones that you love you that you’re hurt;
I’m just a product of the world, trying to build a girl
Midnight, trying to hail in a cab in ripped stockings and a dress,
When a West Footscray Police car parked in front of me instead
And they asked me what a girl like me was doing selling sex;
It took ten minutes of “it’s a joke” before they finally left
I’ve got rashes all over my body, from shaving head to toe each week
I’ve got blisters on both my ankles, from size 8 heels on size 12 feet
I’m just trynna be 100% myself, and nothing less,
So baby tell me how my cock looks in this brand new Kmart dress
The kids from school, will say, "I should have got that faggot,
When I had the chance”, and doesn’t he know he still looks just,
Like a man, I wouldn’t even fuck him, it, or her"
I’m just a product of the world, trying to build a girl
They screamed at us on every train, every tram and every bus
You stared into me, eyes full of tears - “why do they hate us so much?”
And how the fuck are we to prosper in a world that’s so messed up?
How the fuck are we to survive in a world that’s trying to kill us?
Sometimes I think about the life I might have had in Brisbane,
If I stayed inside, if I never transitioned
Yeah, I might be fine;
but since you helped me realise that I needed to try,
I haven’t tried to die
When a bunch of cishet dickhead boys yelled at us from behind,
And as the smell of their Lynx Africa wafted from every pore,
I said “Oh no Toto, we’re not in Transas anymore”
I sat down at my computer, I was feeling pretty damn shitty,
So I googled “21 year old trans girl", to know there’s people just like me.
But all I got were death tolls and porno sites tattooed across my screen,
(And there’s quite a great deal more than that I think I wanna be)
So stand up straight, and say, the wrong things in the right fashion
And walk this way, do all that’s in your power not to,
Draw a stare, or show the ones that you love you that you’re hurt;
I’m just a product of the world, trying to build a girl
Midnight, trying to hail in a cab in ripped stockings and a dress,
When a West Footscray Police car parked in front of me instead
And they asked me what a girl like me was doing selling sex;
It took ten minutes of “it’s a joke” before they finally left
I’ve got rashes all over my body, from shaving head to toe each week
I’ve got blisters on both my ankles, from size 8 heels on size 12 feet
I’m just trynna be 100% myself, and nothing less,
So baby tell me how my cock looks in this brand new Kmart dress
The kids from school, will say, "I should have got that faggot,
When I had the chance”, and doesn’t he know he still looks just,
Like a man, I wouldn’t even fuck him, it, or her"
I’m just a product of the world, trying to build a girl
They screamed at us on every train, every tram and every bus
You stared into me, eyes full of tears - “why do they hate us so much?”
And how the fuck are we to prosper in a world that’s so messed up?
How the fuck are we to survive in a world that’s trying to kill us?
Sometimes I think about the life I might have had in Brisbane,
If I stayed inside, if I never transitioned
Yeah, I might be fine;
but since you helped me realise that I needed to try,
I haven’t tried to die
Lyrics submitted by username-ben
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