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.
The ceiling is moving
Moving in time
Like a conveyor belt
Above my eyes
When under ether
The mind comes alive
But conscious of nothing
But the will to survive
I lay on the bed
Waist down undressed
Look up at the ceiling
Feeling happiness
Human kindness
The woman beside me
Is holding my hand
I point at the ceiling
She smiles so kind
Something's inside me
Unborn and unblessed
Disappears in the ether
This world to the next
Disappears in the ether
One world to the next
Human kindness
Moving in time
Like a conveyor belt
Above my eyes
When under ether
The mind comes alive
But conscious of nothing
But the will to survive
I lay on the bed
Waist down undressed
Look up at the ceiling
Feeling happiness
Human kindness
The woman beside me
Is holding my hand
I point at the ceiling
She smiles so kind
Something's inside me
Unborn and unblessed
Disappears in the ether
This world to the next
Disappears in the ether
One world to the next
Human kindness
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Ether was used for anaesthesia during childbirth, starting in the mid 1800s, up until about 1915 when they started using "twilight sleep" which used different drugs. The lyrics "feeling happiness" suggest childbirth to me, and not a miscarriage or abortion. "something's inside me... disappears into the ether" could be talking about her state of mind under the drugs, where she becomes "conscious of nothing but the need to survive". Childbirth is a bit like that anyway, it's like going through a tunnel even without drugs.