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.
I'm Sorry that
I could never love you back
I could never care enough
In these last days
Her tears
Fell on her pages found me well
On her words I don't know what
To do or say
Wading through
Warm canals and pools clear blue
Where Tuscarawas flow into
The Great Lakes
Riding back
To where the highway met
Dead end tracks
The ground is now cement and glass
And far away
Heal her soul, carry her, my angel, Ohio
Green green youth
What about the sweetness we knew
What about what's good what's true
From those days
Can't count to
All the lovers I've burned through
So why do I still burn for you
I can't say
Sorry that
I could never love you back
I could never care enough in these last days
Heal her soul, carry her, my angel, Ohio
Children bless
And gather round the bed she rests
So poor and cold in their Midwest
Moon and sun
Flashes bringing on
My open eyes to lightning storm
The touch of mist felt soft, felt warm
On my face
Graving dreams
A million miles ago you seem
A star that I just don't see
Anymore
Words long gone
Lost on journeys we walked on
Lost are voices heard along the way
Sorry for
Never going by your door
Never feeling love like that
Anymore
Heal her soul, carry her, my angel, Ohio
I could never love you back
I could never care enough
In these last days
Her tears
Fell on her pages found me well
On her words I don't know what
To do or say
Wading through
Warm canals and pools clear blue
Where Tuscarawas flow into
The Great Lakes
Riding back
To where the highway met
Dead end tracks
The ground is now cement and glass
And far away
Heal her soul, carry her, my angel, Ohio
Green green youth
What about the sweetness we knew
What about what's good what's true
From those days
Can't count to
All the lovers I've burned through
So why do I still burn for you
I can't say
Sorry that
I could never love you back
I could never care enough in these last days
Heal her soul, carry her, my angel, Ohio
Children bless
And gather round the bed she rests
So poor and cold in their Midwest
Moon and sun
Flashes bringing on
My open eyes to lightning storm
The touch of mist felt soft, felt warm
On my face
Graving dreams
A million miles ago you seem
A star that I just don't see
Anymore
Words long gone
Lost on journeys we walked on
Lost are voices heard along the way
Sorry for
Never going by your door
Never feeling love like that
Anymore
Heal her soul, carry her, my angel, Ohio
Lyrics submitted by mab, edited by timbertime, PMWilson, phcfo
Carry Me Ohio Lyrics as written by Mark Edward Kozelek
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Well, I've read through the other comments, but I think I take it a little differently. I don't think it's about a literal person, but rather a personification of Ohio. I think the author of the song is grieving the death of "green green youth" of the midwest by the modern destruction of the land and communities i.e "riding back/where the highway met dead end tracks/the ground is now cement and glass/so far away." He's singing about leaving and how, unlike other lovers, he still "burns" for her, however can't love her back in the same way anymore. The metaphorical use of an intimate relationship to describe his love for what is presumably his home town, illustrates how everything is relative and that places, just like people, change over time, but it's the memories that keep you bonded. It was a part of who you became, but the romance cannot last forever because ultimately lovers grow apart. Which pairs nicely with the morose tone and weeping inflections in his voice.