This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
You see him creeping around the church
For a year he's been alone
Sorrow took all his senses away
Every night he sleeps beside her grave
There by the bells there is a stone
I'm the only one who can read it
And on the fence is the red rooster
Who once had been in your heart
Fear driven on this fence
I go digging every night
To see what remained
From the face that smiled for me
There by the bells I'm spending the night
There among snails a lonely animal
During the day I run after the night
You escape me for the second time
Marry me
I'm digging deep with my hands
To find what I missed so much
And the moon in its most beautiful dress
I've kissed your cold lips
I embrace you tenderly
But your skin tears off like paper
And parts are falling off of you
You escape me for the second time
There by the bells I'm spend the night
There amongs snails a lonely animal
During the day I run after the night
You escape me a second time
Marry me
So I take what remained of you
The night is hot and we are stripped
To curse the rooster who greets the morning
I have his head hacked off
For a year he's been alone
Sorrow took all his senses away
Every night he sleeps beside her grave
There by the bells there is a stone
I'm the only one who can read it
And on the fence is the red rooster
Who once had been in your heart
Fear driven on this fence
I go digging every night
To see what remained
From the face that smiled for me
There by the bells I'm spending the night
There among snails a lonely animal
During the day I run after the night
You escape me for the second time
Marry me
I'm digging deep with my hands
To find what I missed so much
And the moon in its most beautiful dress
I've kissed your cold lips
I embrace you tenderly
But your skin tears off like paper
And parts are falling off of you
You escape me for the second time
There by the bells I'm spend the night
There amongs snails a lonely animal
During the day I run after the night
You escape me a second time
Marry me
So I take what remained of you
The night is hot and we are stripped
To curse the rooster who greets the morning
I have his head hacked off
Lyrics submitted by John M
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Anyone consider perhaps that he was the only one who could read the stone since this was a secret grave he dug up to bury the loved one? Maybe she killed herself or he killed her ... but somehow she escaped him grasps once. Now she is escaping again in death.
Also I am not well versed at all in German metaphors but could the red rooster just be the sun itself? Now of course I'm left to wonder as well whether chopping the head of the sun off measing he killed himself.