I'm surprised there's not a lot of actual discussion about the lyrics themselves. This song is essentially the sequel to "Close to Home" from Something to Write Home About, in that it's a song about the fact that despite being one of the most respected and popular second-wave emo bands, they never got any recognition in their hometown.
They actually remarked at their farewell show in 2005 that the song was about "our fair city," and that the "Valentine" in the song is actually a reference to Valentine Road, the street they grew up on and played their "last" show on. (Not so "last" now, anyway.) Having lived in Kansas City, it's a truly strange phenomenon. Not even many of the hipster kids there know of this band, even though they've influenced so much popular music today, and if you ask any fan of the genre in most any city in the country if they've heard of The Get Up Kids they would say yes.
I'm surprised there's not a lot of actual discussion about the lyrics themselves. This song is essentially the sequel to "Close to Home" from Something to Write Home About, in that it's a song about the fact that despite being one of the most respected and popular second-wave emo bands, they never got any recognition in their hometown.
They actually remarked at their farewell show in 2005 that the song was about "our fair city," and that the "Valentine" in the song is actually a reference to Valentine Road, the street they grew up on and played their "last" show on. (Not so "last" now, anyway.) Having lived in Kansas City, it's a truly strange phenomenon. Not even many of the hipster kids there know of this band, even though they've influenced so much popular music today, and if you ask any fan of the genre in most any city in the country if they've heard of The Get Up Kids they would say yes.