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.
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It's funny that everyone looks at this song (well, most people)as a song about a relationship. I don't think it necessarily has to be about a relationship but rather I see it as a comment on a person's general attitude towards life. Like one friend talking to another or an older person to a younger, giving them their observations about that person's behavior. The friend is trying to warn the person that if you live your life "on the fence", never committing to anything - whether that's a relationship, a family, a job, etc - you will never know true joy. While you may shield yourself from pain, by not getting 'involved', you are also not allowing yourself to experience happiness. In order to know happiness, you have to know pain ("you're losing all your highs and lows, ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?"). That is the result of a life lived with no strings attached. And how free are you really? You aren't - you think you are, but you're actually a prisoner of your own making. You built the walls, put up the cage, and threw away the key. So that's why at the end he says freedom is just some people talkin and that you should come down from your fence and open the gate. Get into life - live it. I could learn a thing or two from my own words here. I guess that's why I like the song.
@richgirl90 LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your perception of this song. So true. I've been there too. All it takes is deciding to change your mind cause we are often the only thing preventing us from getting what we want...
@richgirl90 I think you nailed it!
@richgirl90 I think parts of the song are more general but some parts are specifically about relationships.<br /> <br />
@richgirl90 It is about relationships and maybe even family, it is asking the cowboy, are you going to spend the rest of your tough life on your own.
@richgirl90 Very well said.
@richgirl90 <br /> I had 2 or 3 missing parts and I like your point of view. What is good of good songs is that they may have different meanings depending on who and when is listening.<br /> For me this is a great song about loneliness and how in the end we need from others. it is 'Everybody needs somebody' in a somber mood.