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.
Definitely this is the wrong place to be
There's blood on the futon
There's a kid drinking fire
Going down to the sea
They got people to meet
Shaking hands with themselves
Looking out for themselves
When they ask you for credit
Give them a branch
When they want you to get it
Chew on the grass
I know, I know
Cause they told me to tell you
There's nothing to tell you
There's nothing to sell you
In the afternoon
Riding the scapegoat
Burning equipment
Decomposing
Cool off your jets
Take off your sweats
I got a funny feeling
They got plastic in the afterlife
When they want you to cry
Leap into the sky
When they suck your mind,
Like a pigeon you'll fly
I know, I know
It's the positive people
Running from their time
Looking for some feeling
There's blood on the futon
There's a kid drinking fire
Going down to the sea
They got people to meet
Shaking hands with themselves
Looking out for themselves
When they ask you for credit
Give them a branch
When they want you to get it
Chew on the grass
I know, I know
Cause they told me to tell you
There's nothing to tell you
There's nothing to sell you
In the afternoon
Riding the scapegoat
Burning equipment
Decomposing
Cool off your jets
Take off your sweats
I got a funny feeling
They got plastic in the afterlife
When they want you to cry
Leap into the sky
When they suck your mind,
Like a pigeon you'll fly
I know, I know
It's the positive people
Running from their time
Looking for some feeling
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I've always believed that this song was about rising above the superficiality of normal belief systems or consumer ideals. When he says "I got a funny feeling they got plastic in the afterlife," it's like he's saying that the consumer minded have even incorporated their soullessness into their religious beliefs, taking the passion and feeling (which he mentions in the last line) from the very thing that is supposed to be pure or above "modern" life.
He's basically asking the listener to refuse to settle and not conform to the conceited and self serious (those who would be "shaking hands with themselves") and refuse to let them corrupt your individuality and, by doing so, you'll rise above it ("when they suck your mind/like a pigeon you'll fly").
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some of the lines are wrong (or my version is different). this is what i have:
Definitely this is the wrong place to be There's blood on the ceiling There's a kid drinking fire. Going down to the sea Got people to meet Shaking hands with themselves Hanging all to themselves
When they want you to get it Grab on the branch When they want you to shred it Sleep in the grass Well I know, I know It's the positive people running from their time Looking for some feeling
In the afternoon Riding the scapegoat Decomposing, burning equipment Cool off your jets Take off your sweats I've got a funny feeling There's no feeling in the afterlife
When they want you to cry Leap into the sky When they suck your mind Like a pigeon you'd fly I know, I know It's the positive people Running from their time Looking for some feeling
When they want you to get it Grab on the branch And when they want you to shred it Sleep in the grass I know I know It's the positive people Running from their time Looking for some feeling
this is quite honestly i think the most bitter, vitriolic attack on the modern day record company i've ever heard. there's nothing to tell you nothing to sell you. burning equipment and riding scapegoats beck somehow focused his vocal spew into something that remains highly relevant to any singer/songwriter today. be wary be wary still. as one person put it, it's bitterly ironic. one half tastes good and the other will kill you.