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.
Drownin' in the Blue Nile
He sent me "Downtown Lights"
I hadn't heard it in a while
My boredom's bone-deep
This cage was once just fine
Am I allowed to cry?
I dream of crackin' locks
Throwin' my life to the wolves or the ocean rocks
Crashin' into him tonight, he's a paradox
I'm seeing visions
Am I bad or mad or wise?
What if he's written "Mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind?
One slip and fallin' back into the hedge maze
Oh, what a way to die
I keep recalling things we never did
Messy top-lip kiss, how I long for our trysts
Without ever touchin' his skin
How can I be guilty as sin?
I keep these longings locked
In lowercase, inside a vault
Someone told me, "There's no such thing as bad thoughts
Only your actions talk"
These fatal fantasies
Giving way to labored breath, takin' all of me
We've already done it in my head
If it's make-believe
Why does it feel like a vow we'll both uphold somehow?
What if he's written "Mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind?
One slip and fallin' back into the hedge maze
Oh, what a way to die
My bed sheets are ablaze
I've screamed his name
Buildin' up like waves crashin' over my grave
Without ever touchin' his skin
How can I be guilty as sin?
What if I roll the stone away?
They're gonna crucify me anyway
What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy?
If long-suffering propriety is what they want from me
They don't know how you've haunted me so stunningly
I choose you and me religiously
What if he's written "Mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind?
One slip and fallin' back into the hedge maze
Oh, what a way to die
I keep recalling things we never did
Messy top-lip kiss, how I long for our trysts
Without ever touchin' his skin
How can I be guilty as sin?
He sent me "Downtown Lights"
I hadn't heard it in a while
Am I allowed to cry?
He sent me "Downtown Lights"
I hadn't heard it in a while
My boredom's bone-deep
This cage was once just fine
Am I allowed to cry?
I dream of crackin' locks
Throwin' my life to the wolves or the ocean rocks
Crashin' into him tonight, he's a paradox
I'm seeing visions
Am I bad or mad or wise?
What if he's written "Mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind?
One slip and fallin' back into the hedge maze
Oh, what a way to die
I keep recalling things we never did
Messy top-lip kiss, how I long for our trysts
Without ever touchin' his skin
How can I be guilty as sin?
I keep these longings locked
In lowercase, inside a vault
Someone told me, "There's no such thing as bad thoughts
Only your actions talk"
These fatal fantasies
Giving way to labored breath, takin' all of me
We've already done it in my head
If it's make-believe
Why does it feel like a vow we'll both uphold somehow?
What if he's written "Mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind?
One slip and fallin' back into the hedge maze
Oh, what a way to die
My bed sheets are ablaze
I've screamed his name
Buildin' up like waves crashin' over my grave
Without ever touchin' his skin
How can I be guilty as sin?
What if I roll the stone away?
They're gonna crucify me anyway
What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy?
If long-suffering propriety is what they want from me
They don't know how you've haunted me so stunningly
I choose you and me religiously
What if he's written "Mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind?
One slip and fallin' back into the hedge maze
Oh, what a way to die
I keep recalling things we never did
Messy top-lip kiss, how I long for our trysts
Without ever touchin' his skin
How can I be guilty as sin?
He sent me "Downtown Lights"
I hadn't heard it in a while
Am I allowed to cry?
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