Keeping the balloon in the air
February 15, 2009Ben Gibbard sings on Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” and there’s something about the nerdy thinness of his voice that works with the pulsing electronic background to somehow feel…warm. And the way the lines overlap makes it impossible to sing, but somehow eager– like he just can’t wait to get the words out.
I picked this one because, though we look so different and have such different backgrounds, I really do think we were carved out of the same block, and meant to fit back together. That’s why it feels like coming home, and that’s why no matter how scared I get, I always know you’re the one.
Lyrics:
I am thinking it’s a sign that the freckles
In our eyes are mirror images and when
We kiss they’re perfectly aligned
And I have to speculate that God himself
Did make us into corresponding shapes like
Puzzle pieces from the clay
True, it may seem like a stretch, but
Its thoughts like this that catch my troubled
Head when you’re away when I am missing you to death
When you are out there on the road for
Several weeks of shows and when you scan
The radio, I hope this song will guide you home
They will see us waving from such great
Heights, ‘come down now,’ they’ll say
But everything looks perfect from far away,
‘come down now,’ but we’ll stay…
I tried my best to leave this all on your
Machine but the persistent beat it sounded
Thin upon listening
That frankly will not fly. You will hear
The shrillest highs and lowest lows with
The windows down when this is guiding you home
[I actually like this cover too]
