Feeding on a diet of The Pogues, Paul Kelly, and whatever else was playing, Joy cut his teeth performing at open mic nights in Melbourne. His style is folk music with pop influences. His songs capture the familiar pulse of everyday experiences in a unique and celebratory manner. His lyrics reach out to you and hold on for a moment.
Georgia
Vance Joy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Elegant and bold
She is electricity
Running to my soul
Oh, oh, oh, oh
And I could easily lose my mind
The way you kiss me
Will work each time
Calling me to come back to bed
Singing Georgia On My Mind
And I, and I
Lips generous and warm
You build me up like steps
Eyes innocent and wild
Remind me what it's like
Oh, oh, oh, oh
And I could easily lose my mind
The way you kiss me will work each time
Pulling me back into the flames
And I'm burning up again
I'm burning up
And I, I never understood what was at stake
I never thought your love was worth it's wait
Well now you've come and gone
I finally worked it out
I worked it out
I never should have told you
I never should have let you see inside
Don't want it troubling your mind
Won't you let it be
I never should have told you
I never should have let you see inside
Don't want it troubling your mind
Won't you let it be
I never should have told you
I never should have let you see inside
Don't want it troubling your mind
Won't you let it be
I never should have told you
I never should have let you see inside
Don't want it troubling your mind
Won't you let it be
And I could easily lose my mind
The way you kiss me will work each time
Pulling me back into the flames
And I'm burning up again, I'm burning up
And I, I never understood what was at stake
I never thought your love was worth it's wait
Well now you've come and gone
I finally worked it out
I worked it out
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Ooh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Vance Joy's "Georgia" is about falling in love and the all-consuming passion that comes with it. The lyrics describe the singer's admiration and attraction to the woman, who is elegant, bold, and electrifying. Her presence is like electricity running through his soul, which he can't resist. He is bewitched by her lips, generous and warm, and her innocent yet wild eyes that remind him what it's like to experience something new and exciting.
The chorus, "And I could easily lose my mind, the way you kiss me will work each time," captures the fervent intensity of their love, which is impossible to resist. The singer yearns to be with the woman, calling him to come back to bed, singing Georgia, which could be a reference to the woman's name or the state. However, the singer realizes that he never understood what was at stake and never thought that her love was worth the wait. After she's gone, he finally realizes what he had and how he let it slip away.
Overall, the song portrays the rush of falling for someone and the danger that comes with it. The singer's feelings are too strong to resist, and the consequences of losing the woman are too harsh to bear. It's a reminder that love is powerful and can drive us to the brink of madness.
Line by Line Meaning
She is something to behold
She is extremely beautiful and captivating
Elegant and bold
She exudes grace and confidence
She is electricity
She ignites and energizes my being
Running to my soul
She touches me deeply and profoundly
And I could easily lose my mind
She has a powerful effect on me, overwhelming my senses
The way you kiss me
Her kisses are intense and unforgettable
Will work each time
They never fail to have an impact on me
Calling me to come back to bed
She tempts me to stay with her, wrapped in her embrace
Singing Georgia on my mind
The memory of her lingers with me, making me think of home
And I, and I
I am completely under her spell
Lips generous and warm
Her kisses are loving and comforting
You build me up like steps
She encourages and supports me, helping me grow stronger
Eyes innocent and wild
Her gaze is both pure and passionate
Remind me what it's like
She brings back memories of a simpler, more carefree time
Pulling me back into the flames
She draws me into a passionate and intense relationship
And I'm burning up again
I am consumed by my desire for her
I'm burning up
My passion for her is consuming me completely
I never should have told you
I regret opening up to you and revealing my vulnerability
I never should have let you see inside
I should have kept my guard up and protected my feelings
Don't want it troubling your mind
I don't want to burden you with my worries and doubts
Won't you let it be
Let's forget about my insecurities and focus on our love
I never understood what was at stake
I didn't realize how much I had to lose by letting you in
I never thought your love was worth it's wait
I didn't appreciate how valuable and precious your love is
Well now you've come and gone
Now that you're no longer with me, I understand what I've lost
I finally worked it out
I've come to realize the true value of your love
And I, I
Despite everything, I still feel a deep connection to you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JAMES KEOGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheIndogamer
What are same is
-they both went out the forest
-had a face to face moment
-artillery/mortar/airstrike fired to the AO (Area of Operations)
-Infantry movement are in groups
-There are AKs and AR15s in both Georgia and Forrest Gump
the difference is :
-Georgia had more intense PTSD that they kissed
-the explosive strikes are hostile in Georgia while Forrest Gump are allied
-Explosive strikes caused the retreat in Georgia while Vietcong firepower caused the retreat in Forrest Gump
-set in different wars
-if you are racist, Forrest Gump is a white guy and a black guy, while Georgia is white and white
-Forrest is a brainless savior while this guy with mohawk in Georgia has shellshocks
There are 6 differences and 5 similarities..... Score: Georgia's video clip did not take a copy of Forrest Gump, no copyright indeed!
@AS-TA
CA FC Hey, yeah! There's no right or wrong way to interpret the meaning of art! :)
My interpretation of the video itself is what I said in my comment. But what I think is the connection between the lyrics and the video is that the essence of both is love and loss.
To me, "Georgia" is a song about being in love with someone who cares about you, enchants you, who helps you become who you want to be. A deeper love than a infatuation or lust. Then, losing them changes your world, and you never realized how important they were to you until they leave you.
How I interpret it literally is: in the video, the soldiers lose their comrade, whom they care about. Both the dying soldier, and his lover, lose each other. The chorus of the song goes:
And I could easily lose my mind,
The way you kiss me will work each time,
Pulling me back into the flames,
And I'm burning up again, I'm burning up,
And I, I never understood what was at stake,
I never thought your love was worth it's wait,
Well now you've come and gone,
I finally worked it out,
I worked it out
The soldiers kiss. And if you see them as lovers, they would have kissed before, and it "works each time" to pull them closer to each other, physically, and emotionally. In the soldier's last moments of life, the lovers kiss to be close to each other one last time, before they are separated forever.
Another way I can see it is: these two men hid their feelings for each other because they were scared of how other people would treat them if the truth was revealed. "I never understood what was at stake, I never thought your love was worth it's wait..." can be interpreted as the realization, of both the soldiers, that they should have expressed their love for each other. They didn't acknowledge how much they cared about each other, and didn't understand that their love were at stake either way: if people rejected/hated them for being openly gay, they could risk harm, or expulsion from the military. And if they are in combat, they risk injury or death. In both scenarios, they are separated in some way. They realized that they could have loved each other, they should have "waited" out the negative response they got, instead of never having expressed it before it was too late.
"Well, now you've come and gone, I finally worked it out..." This is pretty straightforward: you don't realize what you truly felt until it was too late. In the video, the lover of the dying soldier realized after he died that he loved the dying soldier, or he now understands that you need to act on love when you can, because you never know when you'll lose the chance.
"I'm burning up" can be interpreted as a love so strong and passionate that it feels like it consumes you. In the context of the video, it can carry both that meaning, as well as the judgement/hate the LGBTQ community receives from society. And homosexuality (ex. don't ask, don't tell policy) has been controversial in the military in the past decade or so. The judgement/hate "burns up" the men, because it hurts them, and doesn't allow them to be themselves, or to love freely.
The refrain: "I never should have told you, I never should have let you see inside, don't want it troubling you mind, won't you let it be?" Can be interpreted as the dying soldier feeling guilty over the pain his lover will be in after he dies. He thinks that if they had never been together, never loved each other so strongly, that both of them could be spared the heartbreak that comes from his death. He doesn't want his death to haunt his lover, and he hopes he can "let it be" and accept it, and move on with his life.
Obviously these are only a few ways one can interpret the meaning of the song and video together. However you see it is how you see it, and it is not wrong.
I don't think it is necessary to have a music video that is a play-by-play of the lyrics of the song. The beauty of art is that everyone can see what they want to see, and what is meaningful/healing/helpful to them. Something being thought provoking, and open to interpretation, is valuable, because it allows us to think, and write our own narrative to process, and interact with, the art we see.
@tomsantisimusic
Ok so for the people who don't get it, here's my interpretation of the video. Bearing in mind these are just thoughts, and they may or may not be correct but here goes.
So we think of "Georgia" as a character, a girl. who is portrayed as stunning, beautiful, his everything. And at the end "georgia" finally made sense. James isn't using "Georgia" to refer to just a single person, but a metaphor for one's soul mate, if you will. And with the guys kissing at the end, he was his Georgia. Everyone has a Georgia. Not necessarily named Georgia but i'm sure that when the majority of us first heard the lyrics of this song we thought of someone. We thought of that special person. Our metaphorical Georgia.
So with the film within a video camera crew thing at the end, i can't figure out what this could mean other than that there are different perspectives on things? idk.
The rest is all pretty straightforward.
Those were just some thoughts. But i guess we'll just have to wait for James to tell us what this crazy video means.
@tenikav
This my interpretation.
This song is about unexpected love. He recognises that she is magnificent or 'something to behold' and he shares this strong ethereal connection with her ('She is electricity' / 'Running to my soul'). Despite this, he never acknowledged how much she actually meant to him or how valuable she truly was ('I never understood what was at stake' / 'I never thought your love was worth it's weight'). He understood the extent of their physical relationship ('The way you kiss me will work each time'), but now that he has realised his feelings for her, she has gone. He admits to telling her something about himself or his life, which enabled her to 'see inside' of him. He regrets this decision and pleads for her to 'let it be', which perhaps is something that she was never able to do.
The video on the other hand, is quite different.
There were many soldiers who were unable to express or act upon their love for one another during wartime. However, the conventional portrayal of camaraderie and bravery among soldiers has never extended to the expression of romantic feelings or love. When the wounded soldier screams for help, one of the soldiers, presumably the leader of the group, carries him to a nearby safe place. Their loving embrace invokes some powerful emotions from the men currently filming the scene. There is an interesting distinction between the men and women, as many of you have noted, the women do not show any emotion. If you take this literally, you may see this as a reflection of a woman's inability to understand the harsh realities of the battlefield, when soldiers lose countless friends and possibly lovers. Others have suggested that the men are saddened because they are veterans, and have witnessed the horrors of war personally. This isn't particularly clear.
What was interesting to me was the lack of emotion displayed by the younger man carrying the smoking prop. He was the only man who wasn't emotionally affected, who also happens to appear much younger than the others. The younger generations of our society have been far more accepting of homosexuality, as opposed to the older generations. Yet, they are completely unfazed and disengaged from the sadness of the scene. Perhaps, the older men are saddened and distraught by the scenes around them because they have never been able to relate to, or even witness the expression of same-sex love. Just my thoughts :)
@CrazyMix2319
Vance Joy is so underrated
@cheobla9722
Nogla is underrated .....
@CrazyMix2319
+Cheobla97 What does Nogla got to do with Vance Joy? Yeah I know he did great on the cover but we're talking about the guy who actually sang it.
@opgamer-tm7bo
+Cheobla97 leave nogla alone he is a good singer i bet your bad at singing
@cheobla9722
+Spencer Thompson do you even know what underrated means kid ? Search up the word lil boy then you'll see I wasn't talking about Nogla
@mertbaysal1280
+Cheobla97 I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't. I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't. I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't. I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't. I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't.
@beidouvirus3978
As a guitar player myself, I feel so confused how, scrolling through these comments, no one has mentioned how good the guitar part in this song is. It deserves a lot more credit. This guy just took a simple chord progression and spiced it up near perfectly for this song. This type of playing and composition is amazing in any genre, but in the realm of modern pop music? As someone who favors older music over the new, this type of music reminds me that there is still loads of talent in the music industry today.
@alexgreen1823
I'd argue there is more good music like this today, just gotta find it. Guitar is definitely underrated due to to his voice that steals the spotlight
@orsattilucila5253
this what I was looking for
@ochuwaiachallam27
Ikr and the moment I heard the guitar I get goosebumps