Lyric discussion by stdole 

Cover art for In My Teeth lyrics by Manchester Orchestra

I think he is talking about how hypocritical people are. By saying "make it seem like you never really needed it" he is saying that people are ridiculous because they try to cover up their need for salvation. I feel that he is trying to say that people just need to live and have fun and not worry "make it seem" like they never needed any help in getting to heaven. Maybe he is saying that the whole purpose of God was to save us because we couldn't do it ourselves and therefore its absolutely stupid to try and create an appearance that we didn't need God's grace. As far as the "doin what i gotta to stay awake" he could be referring to staying alive or he could be referring to his spiritual life like hes doing just what he feels he has to to get into heaven. I think he's trying to say that God gave us grace for a reason so we should accept that and not make such a fuss about looking perfect or whatever because whether you appear perfect or you screwed up and did the bare minimum you are gonna get to the same place. I don't know thats just what I get out of it. More of a laugh at the hypocrisy of the people in church than totally denying God in full.