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.
Not much of this makes sense to me
The river leaves run cold and dry
But it keeps me from swinging tree to tree
And sometimes I’m too scared to even try
Hashing through the possibilities
They seem as endless as the sky
You seek the truth and the quiet breeze
But the air is too thin to reply
Well I know that’s where I’ll never be
Because I can see the summer’s done
I try to let the river flow in and out of me
And pray I float the way I think I want
And pray I float at all
Distant notions of subtle residue
Cling to minds from our past
Tell us what is what and who made who
But time’s events move us too fast
Simple sentiments whisked away by anxious steel wool
Struggling to content ourselves with what we think best
That what makes happy of which we seem never full
Is actually more than plenty though it is already possessed
Well I know that’s where I’ll never be
Because I can see the summer’s done
I try to let the river flow in and out of me
And pray I float the way I think I want
And pray I float at all
Not much of this makes sense to me
The river leaves run cold and dry
But it keeps me from swinging tree to tree
And sometimes I’m too scared to even try
Utter confusion feigns clarity
Scattered delusions excuses destiny
It’s never exactly how it appears to be
It’s too much for any of us who even try to see
Well I know that’s where I’ll never be
Because I can see the summer’s done
I try to let the river flow in and out of me
And pray I float the way I think I want
And pray I float at all
The river leaves run cold and dry
But it keeps me from swinging tree to tree
And sometimes I’m too scared to even try
Hashing through the possibilities
They seem as endless as the sky
You seek the truth and the quiet breeze
But the air is too thin to reply
Well I know that’s where I’ll never be
Because I can see the summer’s done
I try to let the river flow in and out of me
And pray I float the way I think I want
And pray I float at all
Distant notions of subtle residue
Cling to minds from our past
Tell us what is what and who made who
But time’s events move us too fast
Simple sentiments whisked away by anxious steel wool
Struggling to content ourselves with what we think best
That what makes happy of which we seem never full
Is actually more than plenty though it is already possessed
Well I know that’s where I’ll never be
Because I can see the summer’s done
I try to let the river flow in and out of me
And pray I float the way I think I want
And pray I float at all
Not much of this makes sense to me
The river leaves run cold and dry
But it keeps me from swinging tree to tree
And sometimes I’m too scared to even try
Utter confusion feigns clarity
Scattered delusions excuses destiny
It’s never exactly how it appears to be
It’s too much for any of us who even try to see
Well I know that’s where I’ll never be
Because I can see the summer’s done
I try to let the river flow in and out of me
And pray I float the way I think I want
And pray I float at all
Lyrics submitted by PLANES
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Not much of this song makes sense to me, but here's a theory, anyway: Maybe it's about growing up and figuring out what to do with your life.
I think the summer--as in "because I can see the summer's done"--is a metaphor for childhood. Both are thought of as fun, happy, carefree times. When you grow up, you have to start narrowing down the possibilities for your future that once seemed "as endless as the sky." But maybe he doesn't know exactly what he wants to do now, or he's acknowledging that life doesn't always work out the way you plan, hence "and pray I float the way I think I want."
I'm not just talking about career choices, by the way, but in the larger scheme of things: what sort of life do I want? What will make me happy?
I admit that this interpretation works better on the first verse than on the second, but I think it could fit there, too. And it makes a lot of sense when you consider the fact that they were juniors (?) in college when they wrote it...this is the sort of thing you think a lot about when you're 20.