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.
You wake up in the morning
And fall out of your bed
Mean cats eat parakeets
And this one's nearly dead
You dearly wish the wind would shift
And greasy window slide
Open for the parakeet
Who's colored bitter lime
Open the window
And lift into your dreams
Baby, baby
You can barely breathe
A broken wrist
An accident
You know that something's wrong
You fold the leavings of your past
No one knows you've gone
The sunspot flares of the early
Nineties light up your wings
And scan the shortwave radio
It's tracking outer rings
Open the window
To lift into our dreams
Baby, baby
You can start to breathe
The tectonic dispatcher shifts
To smooth the ocean floor
And flattens out to warmer winds
Of Brisbane's sunny shore
Where Buddhas tend to mending wrists
A tea made from the leaves
Of eucalyptus fragrances
And coriander seeds
Open the window
To lift into a dream
Baby, baby
You can start to breathe
Open the window
To lift into a dream
Baby, baby
You can start to breathe
You wake up in the morning
To warm Pacific breeze
Where mean cats chew on licorice
And cannot climb the trees
And fall out of your bed
Mean cats eat parakeets
And this one's nearly dead
You dearly wish the wind would shift
And greasy window slide
Open for the parakeet
Who's colored bitter lime
Open the window
And lift into your dreams
Baby, baby
You can barely breathe
A broken wrist
An accident
You know that something's wrong
You fold the leavings of your past
No one knows you've gone
The sunspot flares of the early
Nineties light up your wings
And scan the shortwave radio
It's tracking outer rings
Open the window
To lift into our dreams
Baby, baby
You can start to breathe
The tectonic dispatcher shifts
To smooth the ocean floor
And flattens out to warmer winds
Of Brisbane's sunny shore
Where Buddhas tend to mending wrists
A tea made from the leaves
Of eucalyptus fragrances
And coriander seeds
Open the window
To lift into a dream
Baby, baby
You can start to breathe
Open the window
To lift into a dream
Baby, baby
You can start to breathe
You wake up in the morning
To warm Pacific breeze
Where mean cats chew on licorice
And cannot climb the trees
Lyrics submitted by xpankfrisst
Parakeet Lyrics as written by Mike Mills Peter Buck
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The Parakeet thing on the answer machine, AND, the parakeet trade issue are both correct to my understanding, from accounts by Michael...
JP