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.
The only thing worse than bad memories
Is no memories at all
From the age of 20 to 22 I had five friends
None of whose names I can recall
And as I would walk down K Street to some temping job
As winter froze the life out of fall
Yeah, I must’ve been having a ball, yeah
Different scene outside your window now
Same VCR, same cats
Different people at the very same job
Similar alley, different rats
The trash goes out on a Tuesday now
You got to make a note about that
Yeah, this time you’re where it’s at
You can’t say it but I know it’s in there
You don’t know it but I know that you’re scared
Obvious, alone —a spider in the snow
Now you find the very same pit still yawns
Deep down within the very same gut
The very same ghosts still seem to haunt you down
Down those lines you always tried to cut
You thought you just might need a little change
And now you find you got nothing but
How can a body move the speed of light
And still find itself in such a rut?
You can’t say it but I know it’s in there
You don’t know it but I know that you’re scared
Obvious, alone—afraid to not let go
You can’t say it but I know it’s in there
You don’t know it but I know that you’re scared
Obvious, alone—a spider in the snow
Is no memories at all
From the age of 20 to 22 I had five friends
None of whose names I can recall
And as I would walk down K Street to some temping job
As winter froze the life out of fall
Yeah, I must’ve been having a ball, yeah
Different scene outside your window now
Same VCR, same cats
Different people at the very same job
Similar alley, different rats
The trash goes out on a Tuesday now
You got to make a note about that
Yeah, this time you’re where it’s at
You can’t say it but I know it’s in there
You don’t know it but I know that you’re scared
Obvious, alone —a spider in the snow
Now you find the very same pit still yawns
Deep down within the very same gut
The very same ghosts still seem to haunt you down
Down those lines you always tried to cut
You thought you just might need a little change
And now you find you got nothing but
How can a body move the speed of light
And still find itself in such a rut?
You can’t say it but I know it’s in there
You don’t know it but I know that you’re scared
Obvious, alone—afraid to not let go
You can’t say it but I know it’s in there
You don’t know it but I know that you’re scared
Obvious, alone—a spider in the snow
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During a low period in his/her life the protagonist of the song had five friends/acquaintances, and cannot remember any of their names just a short time later. He/she works in a temp job, daily doing the same labor amongst a group of strangers, forming a bond with no one.
The protagonist is afraid of getting close but doesn't even realize it. The narrator tries to impress this point on the protagonist, but it never sticks. The protagonist just keeps doing busy-work like to take away the sting of being alone. I'm not 100% sure what a spider in the snow has to do with any of this, but I imagine it is a way of saying the protagonist feels cold, alone, exposed (a black spider would stand out against white snow).
JMHO.