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,
Black and blue from the wind and the rain
Said I'm sorry for the lies and the pain
I never ever meant to make you cry
If I could take you back, you know, I would,
I wanna burn up and die
So take a look at me now
Since I told you it's over
You got a hole in your heart
I'll find a four leaf clover
You can't tell me this now
This far down the line
That you're never, ever gonna get over me
You've seen a cross, it's a cross I bear
You're drinking, hard up, living without a hope or a care
You're making do to please, see what makes you smile
You're not around for long, you gotta see what's gonna move your life right along
So take a look at me now
Since I told you it's over
You got a hole in your heart
I'll find a four leaf clover
You can't tell me this now
This far down the line
That you're never, ever gonna get over me
I'm lost
I'm cold
I'm getting old
My head is filled with lies I told
I've been down
I've been around
But I've fallen on my own two feet
And I've left you out to drown
I never meant for that
I look around, sometimes I stare
I think back now and then, I hope you know I care
I walked away that day, trying to treat you right
But you were on your track, it was me turning back, I left you freezing outside
So take a look at me now
Since I told you it's over
You got a hole in your heart
I'll find a four leaf clover
You can't tell me this now
This far down the line
That you're never, ever gonna get over me
Never get over me
Never get over me
But you were on your track, it was me turning back, I left you freezing outside
So take a look at me now
Since I told you it's over
You got a hole in your heart
I'll find a four leaf clover
You can't tell me this now
This far down the line [to fade]
Said I'm sorry for the lies and the pain
I never ever meant to make you cry
If I could take you back, you know, I would,
I wanna burn up and die
So take a look at me now
Since I told you it's over
You got a hole in your heart
I'll find a four leaf clover
You can't tell me this now
This far down the line
That you're never, ever gonna get over me
You've seen a cross, it's a cross I bear
You're drinking, hard up, living without a hope or a care
You're making do to please, see what makes you smile
You're not around for long, you gotta see what's gonna move your life right along
So take a look at me now
Since I told you it's over
You got a hole in your heart
I'll find a four leaf clover
You can't tell me this now
This far down the line
That you're never, ever gonna get over me
I'm lost
I'm cold
I'm getting old
My head is filled with lies I told
I've been down
I've been around
But I've fallen on my own two feet
And I've left you out to drown
I never meant for that
I look around, sometimes I stare
I think back now and then, I hope you know I care
I walked away that day, trying to treat you right
But you were on your track, it was me turning back, I left you freezing outside
So take a look at me now
Since I told you it's over
You got a hole in your heart
I'll find a four leaf clover
You can't tell me this now
This far down the line
That you're never, ever gonna get over me
Never get over me
Never get over me
But you were on your track, it was me turning back, I left you freezing outside
So take a look at me now
Since I told you it's over
You got a hole in your heart
I'll find a four leaf clover
You can't tell me this now
This far down the line [to fade]
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finding a four leaf clover signifies good luck - its a proverb going back to garden of eden i think - so in the context of the song its the contrast and thus guilt that while one person has a hole in their heart the other seems to have had good luck