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.
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters
Let the river run
Let all the dreamers
Wake the nation
Come, the New Jerusalem
Silver cities rise
The morning lights
The streets that meet them
And sirens call them on
With a song
It's asking for the taking
Trembling, shaking
Oh, my heart is aching
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters
We the great and small
Stand on a star
And blaze a trail of desire
Through the dark'ning dawn
It's asking for the taking
Come run with me now
The sky is the color of blue
You've never even seen
In the eyes of your lover
Oh, my heart is aching
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters
It's asking for the taking
Trembling, shaking
Oh, my heart is aching
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters
Let the river run (let the river run)
Let all the dreamers (let all the dreamers)
Wake the nation (wake the nation)
Come, the New Jerusalem
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters
Let the river run
Let all the dreamers
Wake the nation
Come, the New Jerusalem
Silver cities rise
The morning lights
The streets that meet them
And sirens call them on
With a song
It's asking for the taking
Trembling, shaking
Oh, my heart is aching
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters
We the great and small
Stand on a star
And blaze a trail of desire
Through the dark'ning dawn
It's asking for the taking
Come run with me now
The sky is the color of blue
You've never even seen
In the eyes of your lover
Oh, my heart is aching
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters
It's asking for the taking
Trembling, shaking
Oh, my heart is aching
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters
Let the river run (let the river run)
Let all the dreamers (let all the dreamers)
Wake the nation (wake the nation)
Come, the New Jerusalem
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Blue
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
The song is about making the most of chances given to us.
"The New Jerusalem" is a way of saying making to the a promised land, whatever that may be for each of us.
It talks about the nervousness we all feel when facing a new situation in life. The uncertainty that makes us ache deep down. The "dark'ning dawn" is another way of saying "it's always darkest before the dawn", meaning our uncertainty of a change is usually at its worst right before we go into it.