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 Local Black And Red - Phantom Planet
Sitting in your room
Drinking your perfume
Wondering which day of the week
I'll die on now
I'm lying in your bed
Unscrewing your head
Trying to figure out what's wrong inside,
So you don't hate yourself tonight, Yeah
So now you fall asleep
Inside a tambourine
Next to broken headphones and your
High school yearbook
I wrote on the final page
Wish I could've stayed around
To watch the last band play
Hey, hey, hey, I heard
They just broke up yesterday
Frequenting the Local Black and Red
And how that band played
You really had to stare
You'd hardly be aware
That you were blinking
You'd hardly be aware
That you were blinking, Yeah
Frequenting the Local Black and Red
And how that band played
You really had to stare
You'd hardly be aware
That you were blinking
You'd hardly be aware
That you were blinking, Yeah
Sitting in your room
Drinking your perfume
Wondering which day of the week
I'll die on now
I'm lying in your bed
Unscrewing your head
Trying to figure out what's wrong inside,
So you don't hate yourself tonight, Yeah
So now you fall asleep
Inside a tambourine
Next to broken headphones and your
High school yearbook
I wrote on the final page
Wish I could've stayed around
To watch the last band play
Hey, hey, hey, I heard
They just broke up yesterday
Frequenting the Local Black and Red
And how that band played
You really had to stare
You'd hardly be aware
That you were blinking
You'd hardly be aware
That you were blinking, Yeah
Frequenting the Local Black and Red
And how that band played
You really had to stare
You'd hardly be aware
That you were blinking
You'd hardly be aware
That you were blinking, Yeah
Lyrics submitted by ShiverForMe
The Local Black and Red Lyrics as written by Jason Schwartzmann Alexander Greenwald
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Yup. This song is the best Phantom Planet song easily. And I think it's talking about this girl who is depressed (that's obvious) and I think he wrote it for her, telling her that she's gotta move on. He's saying that yes bad things happen and you can regret them, but everything moves on, and you gotta move on too. ("Wish I could've stayed around to watch the last band play, hey hey hey, I heard they just broke up yesterday.") Of course I'm also the girl that proclaimed that I hate when people rip apart a song and "find" some deep bullshit metaphorical meaning in it just to seem deep and thoughtful.