WARNING:: Very long, detailed interpretation ahead!
I agree with everyone, that this song is about severe depression and the contemplation of suicide. My interpretation, however, is that Matt Good is trying desperately to talk people out of it.
"Good morning//Don't cop out//You crawled from the cancer to land on your feet." -- Don't take the easy way out and give in to your depression. You've already endured so much and fought through a lot to get to where you are, successfully. You DID land on your feet, even if your legs feel unsteady underneath you.
"Are you crazy to want this//Even for a while?" -- Even if you don't really intend to kill yourself, are you crazy for even considering the idea?
"We're making this shit up//The reasons for being are easy to pay." -- You're just picking out the bad things in your life, piecing them together, trying to give yourself more reasons to keep yourself miserable. All the things you have to go through in life are a small price to pay for the privilege of actually LIVING. You're just making up excuses, because realistically everything you go through only makes "being" more worthwhile in the long run.
"You can't remember the others//They just kind of went away." -- This interpretation can go one of two ways. It's either about others that have committed suicide that just drifted into oblivion, forgotten. OR it is about the people in your life that would miss you if you were gone, but your depression encompasses so much of you that you can't even consider them. They don't register in your mind; it's as if they don't exist.
"You're driving//It's rush hour//The cars on the freeway are moving like slugs." -- You have to endure monotonous tasks of every day life.
"When you drift off//To wake up//Do you always hit the breaks?" -- You've been in this position before. This depression and these thoughts of suicide have hounded you before, and didn't you always stop before you actually ended yourself? You always wake up from it; you always reconsider.
"We're done lying for a living//The strange days have come and you're gone//Either dead or dying//Either dead or trying to go." -- You're done pretending that everything is okay and suffering through the same routines every day that never seem to get any better. You're empty inside, and the only thing you can think about is your depression. You're gone--you've put yourself in a stubborn mindset that things can't improve and you're better off dead, even though you should know that it isn't the case.
"It's evening//You're tired//You sleep walk//A robot out on the street." -- After a long day [or a long LIFE], you're just worn out and haggard and ready for everything to be over. You're on automation, not allowing yourself to even feel anything anymore.
"Are you crazy to want this//Even for a while?" -- The idea of suicide is still playing on your mind, and you're still mulling over whether or not it is an appropriate solution.
"You're driving//It's rush hour//The cars on the freeway are moving backwards//Into a wall of fire." -- You're caught up in your own problems, but everyone else is in or HAS been in the same position. Everyone gets "stuck in rush hour" at some point. What if they all gave in to self-destruction the way you are considering? "Into a wall of fire" is the visual of everyone else in the world in your very same position giving in to the very same temptation as you.
Chorus is the same.
"Good morning//Don't cop out." -- The final blow, once again reiterating that this is NOT the way to handle things. Keep things in perspective. Stay strong. Don't give up on your life.
WARNING:: Very long, detailed interpretation ahead!
I agree with everyone, that this song is about severe depression and the contemplation of suicide. My interpretation, however, is that Matt Good is trying desperately to talk people out of it.
"Good morning//Don't cop out//You crawled from the cancer to land on your feet." -- Don't take the easy way out and give in to your depression. You've already endured so much and fought through a lot to get to where you are, successfully. You DID land on your feet, even if your legs feel unsteady underneath you.
"Are you crazy to want this//Even for a while?" -- Even if you don't really intend to kill yourself, are you crazy for even considering the idea?
"We're making this shit up//The reasons for being are easy to pay." -- You're just picking out the bad things in your life, piecing them together, trying to give yourself more reasons to keep yourself miserable. All the things you have to go through in life are a small price to pay for the privilege of actually LIVING. You're just making up excuses, because realistically everything you go through only makes "being" more worthwhile in the long run.
"You can't remember the others//They just kind of went away." -- This interpretation can go one of two ways. It's either about others that have committed suicide that just drifted into oblivion, forgotten. OR it is about the people in your life that would miss you if you were gone, but your depression encompasses so much of you that you can't even consider them. They don't register in your mind; it's as if they don't exist.
"You're driving//It's rush hour//The cars on the freeway are moving like slugs." -- You have to endure monotonous tasks of every day life.
"When you drift off//To wake up//Do you always hit the breaks?" -- You've been in this position before. This depression and these thoughts of suicide have hounded you before, and didn't you always stop before you actually ended yourself? You always wake up from it; you always reconsider.
"We're done lying for a living//The strange days have come and you're gone//Either dead or dying//Either dead or trying to go." -- You're done pretending that everything is okay and suffering through the same routines every day that never seem to get any better. You're empty inside, and the only thing you can think about is your depression. You're gone--you've put yourself in a stubborn mindset that things can't improve and you're better off dead, even though you should know that it isn't the case.
"It's evening//You're tired//You sleep walk//A robot out on the street." -- After a long day [or a long LIFE], you're just worn out and haggard and ready for everything to be over. You're on automation, not allowing yourself to even feel anything anymore.
"Are you crazy to want this//Even for a while?" -- The idea of suicide is still playing on your mind, and you're still mulling over whether or not it is an appropriate solution.
"You're driving//It's rush hour//The cars on the freeway are moving backwards//Into a wall of fire." -- You're caught up in your own problems, but everyone else is in or HAS been in the same position. Everyone gets "stuck in rush hour" at some point. What if they all gave in to self-destruction the way you are considering? "Into a wall of fire" is the visual of everyone else in the world in your very same position giving in to the very same temptation as you.
Chorus is the same.
"Good morning//Don't cop out." -- The final blow, once again reiterating that this is NOT the way to handle things. Keep things in perspective. Stay strong. Don't give up on your life.