Having no idea that his youngest son was dead
The farmer and his sweet young wife slept soundly in his bed
In the shadow of the mountain as the cattle hung their heads
Grazing only feet from where the broken body lay
And would lay undiscovered for another couple days

When the farmer would find vultures at their banquet in the hay
The killer traveled eastbound in a golden brown sedan
Weighing his most recent deviation from the plan counting down the hours til the sun came up again hired to hit the farmer by the farmer's asshole sun he had not yet decided between poison or a gun
When suddenly he realized he would not use either one


Lyrics submitted by sarahsavedlatin, edited by jfoxx, Mr3dPHD

Discretion Lyrics as written by David Shannon Bazan

Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY

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Discretion song meanings
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19 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    I believe that since the son left the method of killing his father open, the killer choose to kill the son because he knew how much the father loved his son, so by killing the son, the father would kill himself.

    jonathanbindelon June 23, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I've recently read that Pedro's newest album won't be a concept album, but I can't really understand that. I can't make heads nor tails of this song if it doesn't fit into some larger timeline. If this song stands alone, I'm not really sure how much sense it makes...

    Grim713on April 12, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I just see it as a very entertaining yet cynical anecdote. The farmer’s son hired a man to kill his father, the farmer, any way the man wished. The man decided to kill the farmer via suicide. In doing this he accomplished just what the son asked.

    There is no symbolism or hidden meaning that I can see. It is a very straightforward and simple example of irony. It accomplished just what the song is meant to do, entertain and hopefully make you think a little bit.

    rtconneron April 17, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    There are many ways to interpret this song and indeed many hidden symbols that I will not now divulge into. However, if you notice the farmer is not dead, his son is. The farmer's song hired a hitman to kill his father, but he is the one who ended up dying.

    theDubScouton April 28, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The song definitely leaves you questioning the motives of the hit man. Why did he kill the son and not the father?

    I assumed it was because perhaps he realized that the son was an asshole, and the loving father seemed innocent, so he just killed the son instead.

    Sepulchraveon June 07, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    theDubScout, might I ask when you plan to divulge into these deeper knowledges you have? Don't post telling us you're not going to post. Say something or don't, just don't tell us your not going to say it

    In my opinion the Father is dead at the end of the song. In his heart he is dead, any Father hates to see his son die before he does. Possibly the Father's heart is so dead that he might kill himself. The son did not specify how to kill his Father, just that he needed killing. Job accomplished if you ask me.

    rtconneron June 17, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The hit man is one pretty clever dude if you ask me.

    pureindisguiseon April 08, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is one example of why David Bazan has been named one of the greatest living storytellers. Look at this... it's an entire story, but it fits perfectly into a song. A melody and beat have been applied, and now it's one of my favorite songs because of the awesome usages of the crescendos... and the keyboard.

    thewalrusamion July 23, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    For you guys that don't get it:

    Farmer's son hires hitman to kill farmer, hitman thinks son is an "asshole," kills him instead, leaves town.

    It took me a while to make out the "hired to hit the farmer" line so I never got this song for the longest time.

    kyle171on April 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Kyle171 is quite right...

    Farmer's son hires hitman to kill the farmer.

    The farmer's son was apparently an asshole to the hitman and hitman kill's farmer's son.

    NaNO3on August 31, 2007   Link

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