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 indecencies of city streets,
The cleaners' sweeping trucks from nine to noon.
And the factories make clouds to keep,
The sun from being jealous like the moon.
While the husband holds his house,
He hates his children for being green when he is gray.
And his wife, she likes to talk on telephones,
But just to people far away.
Well, the big surprise was televised.
On a crowded couch, their eyes grew wide and wet.
Oh, was it really such a sad event?
You could capture this with camera clicks but it don't exist,
Just light on negatives.
Another number on a birthday cake.
You should act your age.
We were hungry for a holiday,
Won't cooperate with the calendar we found.
We just scattered snow like styrofoam,
And sang our Christmas carols all through town.
And the voices soared, the people joined.
With silver coins, they filled our coffee cans.
And we all agreed that charity was much in need.
Yes, a noble cause at that.
And I met a man, a mannequin that stood so still,
I know he was afraid.
And he preferred a place of permanence,
To this awful guessing game of choice and change.
But the big surprise was televised.
On a crowded couch, our eyes grew wide and wet.
Oh yeah, it's really such a sad event.
You can't capture this with camera clicks.
No, it don't exist, just light on negatives.
Another candle on a birthday cake and a wish you make.
Well, if the costume fits, keep wearing it,
But no Halloween could quite account for this.
I guess you're getting into character.
Just be yourself if that would help,
Or sink completely into someone else.
You've dreamt of mountains,
But sometimes a hole is more comfortable.
The cleaners' sweeping trucks from nine to noon.
And the factories make clouds to keep,
The sun from being jealous like the moon.
While the husband holds his house,
He hates his children for being green when he is gray.
And his wife, she likes to talk on telephones,
But just to people far away.
Well, the big surprise was televised.
On a crowded couch, their eyes grew wide and wet.
Oh, was it really such a sad event?
You could capture this with camera clicks but it don't exist,
Just light on negatives.
Another number on a birthday cake.
You should act your age.
We were hungry for a holiday,
Won't cooperate with the calendar we found.
We just scattered snow like styrofoam,
And sang our Christmas carols all through town.
And the voices soared, the people joined.
With silver coins, they filled our coffee cans.
And we all agreed that charity was much in need.
Yes, a noble cause at that.
And I met a man, a mannequin that stood so still,
I know he was afraid.
And he preferred a place of permanence,
To this awful guessing game of choice and change.
But the big surprise was televised.
On a crowded couch, our eyes grew wide and wet.
Oh yeah, it's really such a sad event.
You can't capture this with camera clicks.
No, it don't exist, just light on negatives.
Another candle on a birthday cake and a wish you make.
Well, if the costume fits, keep wearing it,
But no Halloween could quite account for this.
I guess you're getting into character.
Just be yourself if that would help,
Or sink completely into someone else.
You've dreamt of mountains,
But sometimes a hole is more comfortable.
Lyrics submitted by firefly716
Hungry For A Holiday Lyrics as written by Jimmy Leo Lavalle Conor M Oberst
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"he hates his children for being green when he is grey" Oh gee. My father. And his view on the world....
I think it's odd that no one else has come up with this interpretation, so maybe it's completely off, but here goes:
The first verse is about the monotony of life in suburbia and how an unnamed father "hates his children for being green when he is grey" and his wife only talks to "people far away."
Next thing we hear about is a "big surprise" told to several people, presumably a family since they're on a couch. From the first verse, it seems like a logical conclusion that the father committed suicide (or possibly just walked out on them). We get more and more evidence for this as the song goes on... "Was it really such a sad event" if he was miserable anyway? Camera clicks can't capture someone who no longer exists, and numbers on birthday cakes don't exist either... And I read "you should act your age" as someone else's words about how irresponsible a father is for taking his own life, though I may be reading into it too much.
Then they're hungry for a holiday to take their minds off the loss, and they go caroling and people give them money out of sympathy (By the way I'm fairly sure the line is "With silver coins they filled our coffee can.") The mannequin-man might be a metaphor for how the father felt living there... He prefers a place of permanence (state of death) to dealing with the choices life throws at him.
Even if my interpretation is reading too far into it, I'm fairly confident saying that the whole song is a reflection on the notion of giving up. The father figure clearly gave up in some way, whether suicide or leaving or something else, and mannequin man just stands in place rather than striving for anything better, because it's the easy thing to do. The final line tops it off: "You dreamt of mountains but sometimes a hole is more comfortable." That seems pretty clear to me..
Anyway, it's an absolutely beautiful song.
I thought of this same meaning. ^___^ Thanks for writing it out for me.
it dont exist just like our negatives
Great song with the Album Leaf...A few mistakes in the lyrics tho.
OH* was it really such a sad event and the last line of the song goes "You dreamt of mountains but sometimes a holes more comfortable"
lol just found a few more
"and i met a man, a mannequin" and "or sink completely into someone else"
it's actually, "it don't exist, just light on negatives"
and it's "You could capture this with camera CLICKS, but it don't exist" yeah..
I know it's "just light on negatives" because it stands for the fact that stories are never true any more, and you never hear the actual bad information. And before when he says camera clicks, that's why it's light on negatives. It isn't really alive, it literally is, just light on negatives. The situation that arose this quote, I don't know.
good song
I love this song, I can't tell if it is supposed to be positive or not.