In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
True Thomas sat on Huntley bank
And he beheld a lady gay
A lady that was brisk and bold
Come riding o'er the ferny brae
True Thomas, he pulled off his cap
And bowed him low down to his knee
"All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven
Your like on earth I ne'er did see"
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
She turned about her milk white steed
And they rode faster than the wind
Until they came to a desert wide
And living land was left behind
For forty days and forty nights
They rode through red blood to the knee
And they saw neither sun nor moon
But heard the roaring of the sea
Don't you see yon bonnie, bonnie road
That lies across the ferny brae?
That is the road to fair Elfland
Where you and I this night must go"
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
And he beheld a lady gay
A lady that was brisk and bold
Come riding o'er the ferny brae
True Thomas, he pulled off his cap
And bowed him low down to his knee
"All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven
Your like on earth I ne'er did see"
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
She turned about her milk white steed
And they rode faster than the wind
Until they came to a desert wide
And living land was left behind
For forty days and forty nights
They rode through red blood to the knee
And they saw neither sun nor moon
But heard the roaring of the sea
Don't you see yon bonnie, bonnie road
That lies across the ferny brae?
That is the road to fair Elfland
Where you and I this night must go"
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
Harp and carp, come along with me
Thomas the Rhymer
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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,
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Plastic Bag
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“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Thomas the Rhymer is a variant on the legend of Tam Lin.