Thumbtacks

Lyrics:

I went to Greece in a dream
We were gonna go swimming
The Agean blue and clear
And I still couldn't believe that we were here

There were others that were going to join us
And they would come later
But we didn't want to wait
Didn't want to wait
No, we didn't want to wait

And when I woke up
It was all too real

Chorus:
Right now they're only places
Only names on a map
But I still wanna go
I still wanna go
I still wanna go where we put our thumbtacks

I wanna walk where Yeshua tread
And eat way too much chapati bread
And venture where we always said
It'd be fun to go before we're dead

Like the bright, gaping Door to Hell
Where geologists said, "Oh, well
Let's set it on fire,"
And years later, it's still burning

Like the want I have to wander

Chorus:
Right now they're only places
Only names on a map
But I still wanna go
I still wanna go
I still wanna go where we put our thumbtacks
where we put our thumbtacks
where we put our thumbtacks

When we said we'd be just a little older
We're getting older all the time
We'd be happy if we went or stayed
But I prefer the former
Take me to the edges
I wanna see the corners

Right now they're only places
Only names on a map

I still wanna go
I still wanna go
I still wanna go (I still wanna go!)
Where we put our thumbtacks

Right now they're only places
Only names on a map (where we put our thumbtacks)
I still wanna go
I still wanna go
I still wanna go (I still wanna go - take me!)

I still wanna go
I still wanna go
I still wanna go (I still wanna go - take me!)

I still wanna go
I still wanna go
I still wanna go
Where we put our thumbtacks

A few notes:

Sidebar:
Did you guys ever realize how clever that musical pun is right there?
"A few notes"?
Because songs are just made from a few notes?!??
I can tell it's lost on you.
Too bad.

Back to business:
This song is all about the concept of wanderlust, which Webster defines as "strong longing for or impulse toward wandering". Every once in a while, I get like this need for adventure and vacation and exploration and language learning and all things xenophilia.
Travelling to Istanbul nearly four years ago was one of the most eclectic trips I have ever taken in my life, and I really want to go somewhere drastically culturally different again. Preferably in the middle east/India where all the good food is.

But we can't. Because the corona plague is among us.
But that's not what this song is about.

This song is about feeling that need to wander and wondering why you haven't done it yet.
The thumbtacks are reminders that at one point you had a goal to go there and do you even know why you did?

So dissecting this a bit deeper:

The first verse is a dream about Greece.
TRUE STORY. I totally had a dream I went there with some friends. I love travelling internationally in my dreams because it is way less expensive and time consuming than travelling abroad. On the other hand, the experiences are limited, and, unfortunately, you can't just dream up where you want to go.

For whatever reason, I dreamt about swimming in Greece, and it was SO COOL before Sam woke me up and pulled me back to reality.
^.^
But I love the line "We didn't want to wait, didn't want to wait, no we didn't want to wait" because it's like I even felt the anticipation in my dream, which then translated over into real life.

The chorus all like, "Right now they're only places, only names on a map" is no slight toward the cultures and/or people in those areas. It's just that the city doesn't mean anything to me personally until I've been there and interacted in it.
(Google Earth can only do so much.)

The second verse is a small little bucket list of sorts.
TRUE STORY about the Door to Hell in Turkmenistan.
Google the "Darvaza gas crater" - that thing has been lit since 1971.

Another great line: "Years later, it's still burning like the want I have to wander."
Meaning, yeah, I still really want to go there and see that.

And the rest of the song is just cool harmonies and the normal Allie H chorals you've come to expect and enjoy.

You guys like the music box in the background?
I thought it was cute.

Take me to the edges. I wanna see the corners.