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.
I needed it most
When I was eighteen
But now that I'm older
I don't need many things
Just someone to hold
That's what you give me
When dark touches your skull baby
Ah, babe, you can drop that on me
So I say Lord
All the heavens you've made
Can't hold back the ghosts
That haunt my baby and me
Oh can't ye hold 'em back
From comin' on in
To a lovely woman
That just wants
Her mind back again
I cannot crumble
What you want this to be
Or bring peace of mind
If it ain't there to see
Ah, if you don't know yourself
How could you ever know me
But to have and to hold you
Yeah, that's the way its gotta be
When I was eighteen
But now that I'm older
I don't need many things
Just someone to hold
That's what you give me
When dark touches your skull baby
Ah, babe, you can drop that on me
So I say Lord
All the heavens you've made
Can't hold back the ghosts
That haunt my baby and me
Oh can't ye hold 'em back
From comin' on in
To a lovely woman
That just wants
Her mind back again
I cannot crumble
What you want this to be
Or bring peace of mind
If it ain't there to see
Ah, if you don't know yourself
How could you ever know me
But to have and to hold you
Yeah, that's the way its gotta be
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
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Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
shes not there for him when he was going through a very difficult time...she couldnt open up about her feelings and couldnt respond to his when he had the courage to conjure up the words that were jumbled up in his head. And it hurts him very badly and he lost some of the trust he had...but he loves her and even though he doesnt think she might ever change and be able to communicate her feelings, he can't help but want to be with her...and god damn I can tell you right now that sucks lol...
I think it might be more about a relationship where the woman has something from her past haunting her or possibly psychological/mental illness or grief and it is about their strength in dealing with these issues.
So I say Lord, All the heavens you've made, Can't hold back the ghosts That haunt my baby and me. Oh can't ye hold 'em back, From comin' on in, To a lovely woman, That just wants Her mind back again.
this stanza pretty much says it all. He cannot crumble, he needs to stay strong and be her rock. He loves her and will stick by her through everything.
I think the first stanza is saying when he was younger, he was just interesting in the physical aspect of love, but now that he is older, he has a more mature perspective of love and what it means to be with/there for another person.
anyone have some thoughts on this one?
Thissong rocks Looks like its a bout two people in a relationship who dont exactly meet on the same page when it comes to the trials in each of their minds. Like "Or bring peace of mind if it aint there to see" Sometimes people are justt wired and think differently but to have and to hold them, well thats the way its gotta be
I think the line "I cannot crumble, what you want this to be" might me wrong...
I hear "I will not crumble, what you want this to be?" as in 'what do you want this to be?'
Larry's right, that does suck and I think his description is good, but axround3r brings up a good point as well. Just one thing I would add, the first three lines make me think the relationship began with unrequited love and at some point that ended, now they're together but it's not perfect. I would just like to know what "dark" and "ghosts" he's referring to.
It is only when you know yourself, that you understand the world around you. To have and to hold, that's the way it's got to be. Duh!