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.
On the corner of Main Street
Just tryna keep it in line
You say you wanna move on and
You say I'm fallin' behind
Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?
I never really gave up on
Breakin' out of this two-star town
I got the green light, I got a little fight
I'm gonna turn this thing around
Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?
The good old days, the honest man
The restless heart, the Promised Land
A subtle kiss that no one sees
A broken wrist and a big trapeze
Oh well, I don't mind if you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Before you go
Can you read my mind?
It's funny how you just break down
Waitin' on some sign
I pull up to the front of your driveway
With magic soakin' my spine
Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?
The teenage queen, the loaded gun
The drop dead dream, the Chosen One
A southern drawl, a world unseen
A city wall and a trampoline
Oh well, I don't mind if you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Before you jump
Tell me what you find
Can you read my mind?
Slippin' in my faith until I fall
He never returned that call
Woman, open the door, don't let it sting
I wanna breathe that fire again
She said, "I don't mind if you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine"
Put your back on me, put your back on me
Put your back on me
The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds
Cut out of the sun
Can you read my mind?
Just tryna keep it in line
You say you wanna move on and
You say I'm fallin' behind
Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?
I never really gave up on
Breakin' out of this two-star town
I got the green light, I got a little fight
I'm gonna turn this thing around
Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?
The good old days, the honest man
The restless heart, the Promised Land
A subtle kiss that no one sees
A broken wrist and a big trapeze
Oh well, I don't mind if you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Before you go
Can you read my mind?
It's funny how you just break down
Waitin' on some sign
I pull up to the front of your driveway
With magic soakin' my spine
Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?
The teenage queen, the loaded gun
The drop dead dream, the Chosen One
A southern drawl, a world unseen
A city wall and a trampoline
Oh well, I don't mind if you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Before you jump
Tell me what you find
Can you read my mind?
Slippin' in my faith until I fall
He never returned that call
Woman, open the door, don't let it sting
I wanna breathe that fire again
She said, "I don't mind if you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine"
Put your back on me, put your back on me
Put your back on me
The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds
Cut out of the sun
Can you read my mind?
Lyrics submitted by foldsbaldwin
Read My Mind Lyrics as written by Dave Brent Keuning Brandon Flowers
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think this song is about the images we apply to things that happen in our life--or the way we apply symbolism to memories we have: "Teenage queen," "A world unseen," etc. It's about a bunch of little events or things that are the building blocks for a memory: "never returned that call," "southern drawl." All these little things may bug him, or give him joy. But they all hold him back in one way--they keep him living in the past and not moving on--he's "falling behind." He's been wanting to break out of "this 2 star town" for a while--the prison of memories that are holding him back. Now, something has given him inspiration to make a change--he's got "the green light" and he can work towards moving on from all this stuff in his head. I think the title and the question "can you read my mind" symbolize how only he knows about what goes on in his head. Only he himself understands the deep symbolism and images that he keeps on returning to. No one else can read his mind and try to help him move on. No one can truly understand the pain he goes through when he remembers things--they don't really have a right to tell him to move on when they can't see what he sees. This theme of a one-man war echoes throughout the album, in my opinion
I also like the images of the trapeze and the trampoline. Those compliment the circus imagery used in "This River is Wild" as well.
I don't know about anyone else, but I see this whole album as a big story about an epic personal struggle. Looking at this song from that perspective, this song kind of imposes a deeply personal aspect to this whole "battle" that the speaker is going through--it could all be in his head.
Sorry to reply to my own comment, but now that I think about it, the question "can you read my mind" could be a plea by the speaker for someone to understand him, or to interpret these crazy thoughts that he's having. Maybe he's haunted by dreams, or he's mentally insane or something, and he just wants someone to make some sense of it all.
Not sure if you'll even get a notification for this, but you're the only person I've seen who really got the same interpretation that i got. Flowers' parents gave him the opportunity to leave a small town in Utah to Vegas by himself when he was a teenager. I think this song is about his struggle deciding whether he wanted to leave or not.<br /> <br /> He lists these images in a kind of stream of consciousness; they are just a bunch of small images that make up what his town is to him- what his life has been about so far. He desperately wants to leave for a bigger and better town (as described in "This River Is Wild" and "Playing with Fire") but can't seem to work out what is holding him back. I think he is asking his girlfriend to realise this as he is too confused to work it out for himself. By reading his mind, she will be able to make sense of these images' meaning, and give him the strength to take that leap and use the trampoline to get over the city wall with her.<br /> <br /> The line "the stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun" perfectly sums up the song. The two of them are like the rebel diamonds cut out of the sun- two people who left a loving town that find a way to shine by themselves in a greater town.