This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
We came here on his back
And we caught your eye
The salty ocean wind
Made the seagulls cry
The rocking of his house
Had me holding on
But I knew that I was safe
From there on out
And the waves that hit his face
Marked the past
And the furrows on his skin
Oh, how time goes fast
And we are far from home, but we're so happy
Far from home, all alone, but we're so happy
La, la-la-la
La-la-la, la-la-la
La, la-la-la
La-la-la, la-la-la
After every sunny day
Came a stormy night
That's when Finner would say
"Keep your heads held high"
And we are far from home, but we're so happy
Far from home, all alone, but we're so happy
La, la-la-la
La-la-la, la-la-la
La, la-la-la
La-la-la, la-la-la
And we are far from home, but we're so happy
Far from home, all alone, but we're so happy
Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey!
Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey!
Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey!
Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey!
And we caught your eye
The salty ocean wind
Made the seagulls cry
The rocking of his house
Had me holding on
But I knew that I was safe
From there on out
And the waves that hit his face
Marked the past
And the furrows on his skin
Oh, how time goes fast
And we are far from home, but we're so happy
Far from home, all alone, but we're so happy
La, la-la-la
La-la-la, la-la-la
La, la-la-la
La-la-la, la-la-la
After every sunny day
Came a stormy night
That's when Finner would say
"Keep your heads held high"
And we are far from home, but we're so happy
Far from home, all alone, but we're so happy
La, la-la-la
La-la-la, la-la-la
La, la-la-la
La-la-la, la-la-la
And we are far from home, but we're so happy
Far from home, all alone, but we're so happy
Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey!
Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey!
Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey!
Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey!
Lyrics submitted by TeeKayyTotally, edited by koonts
From Finner Lyrics as written by Arni Gudjonsson Arnar Rosenkranz Hilmarsson
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Apparently, finner is another word for rorqual, which according to Wikipedia “are the largest group of baleen whales…[which] include the largest animal that has ever lived, the Blue Whale.” Moreover, the article mentions “Rorquals take their name from French rorqual, which itself derives from the Norwegian word røyrkval, meaning ‘furrow whale’.[2] All members of the family have a series of longitudinal folds of skin running from below the mouth back to the navel…These are understood to allow the mouth to expand immensely when feeding.”
The song seems to use the ocean as a backdrop, so the connection to a whale is a real possibility, especially in light of the use of the word ‘furrows’ (I think the transcriber made a mistake in using the word farrows, which elsewhere I only found used to describe a litter of pigs).
In this sense, ‘the rocking of his house’ refers to the sea itself, reinforced by all the other marine references, including ‘the salty ocean wind made the seagulls cry,’ ‘the waves that hit his face,’ and the advice to ‘keep your heads held high.’
Along with the high seas setting, there seems to be a longing for adventure and even hardship. At times it verges on being a hymn for the pirate’s life, especially in the simplified, accordion-backed chorus.
I find this song to be fanciful yet nostalgic and somber. When I listen to it I simultaneously yearn for a sailor’s life, reminisce of time spent vagabonding around this wide world, feel empathy for (emi-/immi-)grants, and rock out. I think it’s the best track on an amazing album.
According to Raggi, the male vocalist, the song is "about a whale that has a house on its back on which people travel across the ocean, exploring different places and having adventures."
Pretty random, but cool, thing to write a song about!
This song, like most of the songs on the album is amazing. I love the seafaring style and you really can almost hear the slow movement of the whale and the somber happiness of the people who live on the whale's back. I love the fantastical story to the song.
Could use some help with these lyrics. If anyone knows what goes where the (?)s are, please let me know!
The line should be "and the farrows on his skin" according to the band's tumblr :)<br /> source: ofmonstersandmenmusic.tumblr.com/lyrics
Thank you! I'm gonna follow them on Tumblr now too. :)
Obviously, most songs have a deeper meaning than simply what story is being told. But from what I can gather, it's about riding on a whale's back. The song refers to "Finner" which is another name for Rorqual, referring to any of the several whales in Balaenoptera. That's a genus of different whale species.
I'm not sure where they went or are going on this whale, but it seems like they wanted it to be known that they're far from home and so happy. Like an adventure. I'm not sure.
I know nothing of Norse Mythology, but when I heard, "We came here on His back" I imagined the first Icelanders being carried to the island on the back of Thor. I'm disappointed by the comment by ImBetterOffWithoutYou that the lyric is about a whale with a house on his back.
the song really is about a whale with a house on his back...
Well, it has nothing to do with Norse mythology, because ImBetterOffWithoutYou was right in saying it was about a whale with a house on his back, Raggi actually said that.
Well, it has nothing to do with Norse mythology, because ImBetterOffWithoutYou was right in saying it was about a whale with a house on his back, Raggi actually said that.
i wish i had the same accent as her!!!!!
There is an episode of Dr. Who with a giant space whale that carries a space colony on its back. The whale saved all these people from earth when it was about to be destroyed. I know its not what the song is about but I can't listen to it without thinking of that episode.
A grandfather takes his two grandchildren away from their town, to live far away, by the sea. Something such as war was happening in their town. They were babies, so he carried them on his back. They left with barely any money, so they lived in a rickety house that rocked in the wind, but the girl knew that she was safe away from the war.
Apparently the grandfather fishes to earn pay, when the lyrics say "the waves that hit his face". He's getting older and more crippled each day.
And after each day of being carefree children, their grandfather would return and the children would begin to notice how old he was getting, worrying them - the "stormy nights". But their grandfather - Finner - tells them not to worry.