Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: emo
Song Meaning of “Cardiff Giant” by mewithoutYou
“Cardiff Giant” by mewithoutYou is an introspective and emotionally charged song exploring the depths of inner turmoil and the challenge of choosing between the life-changing consequences of action or inaction.
The track opens with a palpably pensive mood, expressed in somber and brooding instrumentation and vocal delivery. This mood immediately sets the tone for the lyrical journey of introspection and uncertainty that follows. The narrator reflects on the shifting complexities of life and questions the validity of past decisions. He expresses a longing for simpler times when life was less convoluted, but recognizes this is no longer an option. The line “But you know and I know, that the Cardiff Giant was never real” serves as a metaphor for periods in our lives when futile attempts to fix something rather than accept the situation only complicate and exacerbate it further.
The second verse furthers the internal wrestling within the narrator as they confront anxiety-inducing choices and an impending sense of distress. The speaker acknowledges an increasingly imminent danger–the need for an all-important decision. The dilemma must be faced, regardless how fearful and incapacitating it may be. The wrenching line, “A lack of action, how could I?” personifies this especial quandary. Even while crippled with indecision, the narrator understands there must eventually be a resolution.
The chorus reflects the narrator’s frustrated attempts to escape from their own mind. The line, “Oh to find a way to be free” outlines how inadequate they find their current state. Intermittently throughout, the repetition of the line, “We’re all stardust I suppose” reinforces the leading and ultimately permeating conclusion of the track–the realization that all outcomes must eventually be accepted.
The emotive chords that build to a climatic peak in the bridge of the song signify the unavoidable arrival of an answer. It conveys the narrator’s confident resolution in the face of the difficult decision they are forced to make. After much reflection and self-doubt, the decision is made, and the resolve to proceed with it is strong.