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 know I've seen your face somewhere
Selling something, some big idea
I know I've seen that vacant stare
Selling sunsets for somebody else
You find yourself asking yourself
What is any of it worth
You find yourself looking up at night
From the bottom of the earth
No, can this world not afford to sleep anymore?
No, did your sheep start jumping?
They grow out their teeth
Did they need a little something more than this?
The taste of trouble on your lips
'Cause now they're biting at your thoughts
You tell yourself just to turn away
But you know you've already lost
The smell of rain when you saw a way
Could never be paid in full
You try in vain to account for this mess
And everything that you stole
(Oh)
No, can this world not afford to sleep anymore? (Oh)
No, did your sheep start jumping?
They grow out their teeth
Did they need a little something more than this?
'Cause now they're biting at your feet
They got you running from this place
Now they're breathing down your neck
Your eyes look lonely in your face
I see you looking just out of frame
What is it pulling you there?
'Cause things can never stay the same
So what is keeping you here?
No, can this world not afford to sleep anymore? (Oh)
No, did your sheep start jumping?
They grow out their teeth
They need a little something now
Every time you think, well, they'll be biting at your thoughts
And every time you blink, well, you'll be so damn far
But you are more than this
I know I've seen your face somewhere
Selling something, some big idea
I know I've seen that vacant stare
Selling sunsets for somebody else
You find yourself asking yourself
What is any of it worth
You find yourself looking up at night
From the bottom of the earth
No, can this world not afford to sleep anymore?
No, did your sheep start jumping?
They grow out their teeth
Did they need a little something more than this?
The taste of trouble on your lips
'Cause now they're biting at your thoughts
You tell yourself just to turn away
But you know you've already lost
The smell of rain when you saw a way
Could never be paid in full
You try in vain to account for this mess
And everything that you stole
(Oh)
No, can this world not afford to sleep anymore? (Oh)
No, did your sheep start jumping?
They grow out their teeth
Did they need a little something more than this?
'Cause now they're biting at your feet
They got you running from this place
Now they're breathing down your neck
Your eyes look lonely in your face
I see you looking just out of frame
What is it pulling you there?
'Cause things can never stay the same
So what is keeping you here?
No, can this world not afford to sleep anymore? (Oh)
No, did your sheep start jumping?
They grow out their teeth
They need a little something now
Every time you think, well, they'll be biting at your thoughts
And every time you blink, well, you'll be so damn far
But you are more than this
I know I've seen your face somewhere
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
Sunsets for Somebody Else Lyrics as written by Jack Johnson
Lyrics © REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Great version of a great song,
“No, did your sheep start jumping? They grow out their teeth Did they need a little something more than this?” I relate to this song a lot in anxious times. When I am struggling with worrying thoughts, I dread going to sleep. Instead of counting sheep and drifting off too sleep, many nights are spent awake in a panic about everything I worry about. It’s so much easier to stay awake late and busy your mind with other things. “'Cause now they're biting at your feet, They got you running from this place, Now they're breathing down your neck, Your eyes look lonely in your face” It seems the person he is addressing is getting worse, and people around them are starting to notice. They are so tormented by their demons they carry that they avoid responsibility and exclude themselves. “Every time you think, well, they'll be biting at your thoughts, And every time you blink, well, you'll be so damn far, But you are more than this.” I think that this is jacks way of telling them that even if they don’t get better? This does not define them.