From what I've read about Alex Ebert, the band's lead singer, he's dealt with a severe drug addiction in the past and to me this song sounds like it's about overcoming that. He's been "trying to pretend that death is his friend," meaning he wanted to give himself an excuse for his lifestyle and that death is okay, but the key word in the song is "now." "This life ain't for me NOW." To me, the lines, "Well I walked into black, Said I weren't coming back" represents either a blackout or a dream that began the point of turnaround, and the next lines "Saw my angel in blue, She tell me 'This life ain't for you'" represent an angel or some higher power intervening and making him realize that his lifestyle isn't for him. I'm not entirely sure about the choruses, but I think it has to do with his change in lifestyle in the eyes of others, i.e. friends, family, public, etc.
In their concert in Sydney, Australia at the Enmore Theater (April 2, 2014), "This Life" was the last song they performed, and Alex himself said he hadn't wanted to do this song because it takes so much out of him. In the recorded version of this song (on iTunes), you can hear him getting emotional with it, so it's obvious that whatever the subject matter is is something very personal to him.
From what I've read about Alex Ebert, the band's lead singer, he's dealt with a severe drug addiction in the past and to me this song sounds like it's about overcoming that. He's been "trying to pretend that death is his friend," meaning he wanted to give himself an excuse for his lifestyle and that death is okay, but the key word in the song is "now." "This life ain't for me NOW." To me, the lines, "Well I walked into black, Said I weren't coming back" represents either a blackout or a dream that began the point of turnaround, and the next lines "Saw my angel in blue, She tell me 'This life ain't for you'" represent an angel or some higher power intervening and making him realize that his lifestyle isn't for him. I'm not entirely sure about the choruses, but I think it has to do with his change in lifestyle in the eyes of others, i.e. friends, family, public, etc.
In their concert in Sydney, Australia at the Enmore Theater (April 2, 2014), "This Life" was the last song they performed, and Alex himself said he hadn't wanted to do this song because it takes so much out of him. In the recorded version of this song (on iTunes), you can hear him getting emotional with it, so it's obvious that whatever the subject matter is is something very personal to him.