AFI: Girls Not Grey Meaning

Song Released: 2003

Girls Not Grey Lyrics

I'll lay me down tonight
Much further down
Swim in the calm tonight
This art does drown

(What follows) me as the whitest lace of light
(Will swallow whole) just begs to be imbrued?
What follows has lead me to this place
where I belong,...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Mar 1st 2009 !⃝

   This is the only AFI song I know of (although I admit I don't know that many) that I find kind of hopeful. The “I” in the song is being given a new beginning, a new chance, and he isn't sure what to do with it. By ‘I'll lay me down tonight/Much further down/Swim in the calm tonight/This art does drown’, he means he'll stop and think and look at his choices now. ‘What follows will swallow whole’ means that whatever he comes next will wipe out his past, all his old mistakes. The ‘me as the whitest lace of light’ is a vision of himself as a good person. Imbrued means saturated or stained, often with blood, but I think there’s a positive connotation – blood is necessary for life. He means that the vision of himself as a good person begs to be made real. He’s wondering “what next?”, which is the repeats of ‘what follows?’ ‘[Fate] has led me to this place where I belong with all erased’ means that he’s now somewhere that he can be accepted for who he is and forgiven for his mistakes. By ‘all insects sing tonight/the coldest sound’, he means that he can hear the whole world going on and it’s scaring him. He wants to do something to make the world better (‘I’d send God’s grace tonight’), and he thinks he might be able to (‘Could it be found?’). The chorus means the same thing as before. He says ‘I lay me down tonight/Much further down’, to mean he’s settling into this new place and away from his old life. ‘Watch stars go out tonight/On sinking ground’ means that there is a price to pay: he’ll watch the bright parts of his old life end and he’ll feel unsupported, which is the downside of a new beginning. The repeat of ‘I’ll lay me down’ means that he’s going to give up his old life anyway. He hopes that he’ll do something right (the chorus a third time meaning the same thin), and the final ‘what follows will swallow whole’ means that what comes next will be everything about him; he’s given up his messed-up past.
   The video, I think, is anti-drug, especially as it looks like I’d imagined an acid trip would be like (I’ve never dropped acid, so I wouldn’t know), but I think this band is certainly capable of having a song mean one thing and its video mean another.

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Nov 25th 2006 !⃝

   I think this song is about how artists music can be ruined and their careers destroyed by drugs, especially cocaine. The title "girls not grey" can be confusing but "girl" is often used as like a codename by many bands, for cocaine "grey" could have multiple meanings.
   
   "I'll lay me down tonight,
   Much further down.
   Swim in the calm tonight.
   This art does drown"-- that is the point of view that davey has, the art of music does drown when the writer is a drug user.
   
   "What follows me as the whitest lace of light
   will swallow whole just begs to be imbrued?
   What follows has led me to this place where I belong with all erased?
   What follows?"-- what follows the use of cocaine... anyone that uses it is just begging to be imbrued.It leads to death.
   
   "All insects sing tonight the coldest sound"-- the insects are drug users and their songs don't have much feeling.
   "I'd send Gods grace tonight, Could it be found?"-- I try to explain that it is ruining the music, will someone understand.
   
   "What follows Me as the whitest lace of light
   Will swallow whole
   Just begs to be imbrued?
   What follows has led me to this place, where I belong with all erased?"
   
   "I'll lay me down tonight,
   Much further down.
   Watch stars go out tonight.
   On sinking ground."-- he is watchin bands fall apart because of the drugs.
   
   This meaning is debatable. The song could also have something to do with suicide but with Davey Havoks strong stance against taking drugs, drinking alcohol and smoking. I think this meaning is more plausable.
3. anonymous

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   Jul 15th 2014 !⃝

   Before I start, I do not believe A.F.I. is a Christian band. However, I do believe that some of their songs are about their belief in God. Sometimes, they are very angry with God, like in the song "God called in sick today." But sometimes, they are happy with God.
   
   
   Verse: 1
   "I'll lay me down tonight, Much further down"
   
   I lay me down is a beginning of a prayer. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
   If I shall die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen. This line, to me, means he finally is giving up sin. This time, he fully embraces God's will (much further down than ever before).
   
   "Swim in the calm tonight, This art does drown"
   
   His life now is peaceful, since he is embracing God's will. However, he knows that life "art" will come to an end "drown."
   
   
   Chorus:
   "What follows me as the whitest lace of light"
   
   What follows him, everywhere he goes, is God. God is the purest light. White=pure. Light=Good=God.
   
   "Will swallow whole, just begs to be imbrued."
   
   God will, one day, carry out judgement on the entire world (will swallow whole). Imbrue means to stain or soak in blood. In the Christian religion, Jesus gave his life and blood for our sins. God wishes (begs) for us to accept his blood so it can stain (imbrue) evil.
   
   "What follows, has led me to this place where I belong, with all erased"
   
   (What follows) God has led him to the point in his life. This moment in his life is God's will (Where he belongs) and at this point of salvation, all his sins are forgiven (with all erased).
   
   
   Verse: 2
   "All insects sing tonight, The coldest sound"
   
   Insects have been symbolized as demons. This night, where he embraces God's will, the demons (insects) sing to him to try and tempt him away from God. Demons tempt us with pleasurable items. However, their temptation (song, sound) is evil (coldest).
   
   "I send God's grace tonight, could it be found?"
   
   Tonight, the night he embraces God's will, he chooses to spread God's love (Send God's Grace). Will God's love be heard though? (Could it be found?)
   
   
   Verse 3:
   "I'll lay me down tonight, Much further down"
   
   Back to his prayer. He is fully embracing God's will.
   
   "Watch stars go out tonight, On sinking ground"
   
   When the dawn is breaking, the stars go out. I think he is saying that the darkness or night is coming to an end. The darkness is ending because it is on "sinking" unstable ground. Evil or Sin is not stable foundation.
   
   
   The song ends with:
   "What follows, will swallow whole. What follows, will swallow whole"
   
   I think he is reinforcing the idea that God (who follows) will return and carry out judgement on the world (swallow whole).
   
   
   Final thought, being happy and sometimes angry with God is a relationship that is seen in many Christians. Many prophets and saints became angry with God at some point. However, they always carry out God's will.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
4. XartXmustXdrownX

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   Nov 8th 2008 !⃝

   In my personal opinion, I believe this song is stating that in life, nothing is forever. At the beginning of time, or the beginning of a life, things are whole and pure. However, in the end everything dissipates and returns to the earth. This is just my personal opinion. Other may have different views, and this is expected. We, after all, are all different people with different minds.
5. Deckard88

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   Sep 9th 2007 !⃝

   This is a song about AFI suffering from some sort of nervous shock after finding out that the girls they found to be having sex with them at the bronx had no grey pubic hair so they went emo about it. Hence the song

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
6. anonymous

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   Jul 30th 2007 !⃝

   I think by 'Silver and Cold', they mean dead. It's the simplest explanation, from my point of view. The verse that goes 'I'll fall asleep for you, I only ask you turn away' means, 'I'll die for you, but I don't want you to watch'. The line 'Your sins into me,' means he's willing to cover up for his 'beautiful one' at all costs. When Davey says he'll 'tremble a prayer and beg for forgiveness' I think he means he'd ask for forgiveness for his beautiful ones sins.
   
   Anyone agree?
   
   ~Rach, rachel-random.deviantart.com
7. bibliophilefreak

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   Feb 10th 2007 !⃝

   I think this song is about him (davey) finding a place where he can just be and forget about everything and just live in the black abyss of the 'place' he found.
8. meltingboy01

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   Jan 16th 2007 !⃝

   my personal interpritation of this song and it is my personal opinion because in all honesty davey and jade probably write songs that might not have a specific meaning but songs fans can interprit for them selves but back to my thing,
   if you think about it,it might be that its all about getting home after the first big night with some one,like a passionate night,if you catch my drift,in the beginging "I lay me dwn tonight much further down" your probably exhausted from all the excitement and the reality of whats just happened, and with "what follows" and "what swallows" it might be that the guilt is consuming,maybe this refers to his or her first time,the guilt from a loss of innocence at his exspense,its just a thought and I'm probably way off,and I must give kudos to the coke theory,not what I would of thought of but a good theory none the less

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