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.
There's an island hidden in the sound
Lapping currents lay your boat to ground
Affix your barb and bayonet, the curlews carve their Arabesques
And sorrow fills the silence all around
You come and see
There's a harbor lost within the reeds
A jetty caught in over-hanging trees
Among the bones of cormorants, no boot mark here nor finger prints
The rivers roll down to a soundless sea
That you come and see
Come and see
The tides will come and go witnessed by no waking eye
The willows mark the wind
And though we know for sure amidst this fading light
We'll not go home again
Come and see
Come and see
In the lowlands, nestled in the heat
A brier cradle rocks its babe to sleep
Its contents watched by Sycorax and Patagon in parallax
A foretold rumbling sounds below the deep
You come and see
Come and see
The tides will come and go witnessed by no waking eye
The willows mark the wind
And all we know for sure amidst this fading light
We'll not go home again
Come and see
Come and see
As I was a-ramble down by the water
I spied in sable the landlord's daughter
Produced my pistol then my saber
Said, "Make no whistle
Or thou will be murdered"
Lord
Lord
She cursed, she shivered
She cried for mercy
"My gold and silver
If thou will release me"
Lord
Lord
Lord
I'll take no gold, miss
I'll take no silver
I'll take those sweet lips
And thou will deliver, oh
Lord
Lord
I will dress your eyelids
With dimes upon your eyes
Lay you close to water
Green, your grave will rise
Go to sleep now, little ugly
Go to sleep now, you little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
You'll not feel the drowning
Forget you once had sweethearts
They've forgotten you
Think you not on parents
They've forgotten too
Go to sleep now, little ugly
Go to sleep now, you little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
You'll not feel the drowning
Go to sleep now, little ugly
Go to sleep now, you little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
You'll not feel the drowning
Hear you now the captain
Heave his sorrowed cry
The weight upon your eyelids
Is dimes laid on your eyes
Lapping currents lay your boat to ground
Affix your barb and bayonet, the curlews carve their Arabesques
And sorrow fills the silence all around
You come and see
There's a harbor lost within the reeds
A jetty caught in over-hanging trees
Among the bones of cormorants, no boot mark here nor finger prints
The rivers roll down to a soundless sea
That you come and see
Come and see
The tides will come and go witnessed by no waking eye
The willows mark the wind
And though we know for sure amidst this fading light
We'll not go home again
Come and see
Come and see
In the lowlands, nestled in the heat
A brier cradle rocks its babe to sleep
Its contents watched by Sycorax and Patagon in parallax
A foretold rumbling sounds below the deep
You come and see
Come and see
The tides will come and go witnessed by no waking eye
The willows mark the wind
And all we know for sure amidst this fading light
We'll not go home again
Come and see
Come and see
As I was a-ramble down by the water
I spied in sable the landlord's daughter
Produced my pistol then my saber
Said, "Make no whistle
Or thou will be murdered"
Lord
Lord
She cursed, she shivered
She cried for mercy
"My gold and silver
If thou will release me"
Lord
Lord
Lord
I'll take no gold, miss
I'll take no silver
I'll take those sweet lips
And thou will deliver, oh
Lord
Lord
I will dress your eyelids
With dimes upon your eyes
Lay you close to water
Green, your grave will rise
Go to sleep now, little ugly
Go to sleep now, you little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
You'll not feel the drowning
Forget you once had sweethearts
They've forgotten you
Think you not on parents
They've forgotten too
Go to sleep now, little ugly
Go to sleep now, you little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
You'll not feel the drowning
Go to sleep now, little ugly
Go to sleep now, you little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
You'll not feel the drowning
Hear you now the captain
Heave his sorrowed cry
The weight upon your eyelids
Is dimes laid on your eyes
The Island: Come and See; The Landlord's Daughter; You'll Not Feel the Drowning song meanings
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Jenny sure does rip on the hammond organ..
@HoboInABox You can really see her get into it in the Austin City Limits show. :)
@HoboInABox You can really see her get into it in the Austin City Limits show. :)
Pretty sure this series is about William Shakespeare's The Tempest. The Island describes the discovery of Caliban, the son of Sycorax, a witch. The Landlord's Daughter seems like a reference to his attempted rape of Miranda, the daughter of Prospero. You'll Not Feel the Drowning I'm not sure about either, but the description of the subject of the song as a pitiful, ugly fool would also seem to fit as a description of Caliban.
According to wikipedia, Caliban has some of the most eloquent lines of the play, making him a tragic but redeemable character, and this would seem to fit with The Decemberists' tendencies.
I've read Tempest way more times thatn i care to remember (with special attention paid to Caliban) and I think I've got it all figured out. You're right about "Landlord's Daughter"--it's the attempted rape of Miranda. "Come and See" is actually (I'm pretty sure) about Sycorax and Caliban coming to the island AS WELL AS Prospero and Miranda arriving there, too. Don't forget that there are a lot of similarities between those two single-parent families. "You'll Not Feel the Drowning" gave me trouble, but at last I think I figured it out--before prospero and Miranda get there, Sycorax dies. I think this is Caliban singing to his mother, and I think "go to sleep now, little ugly" is Caliban parroting something she used to say to him as a child (after all, neither were good-looking).<br /> <br /> Furthermore, I'm pretty sure "Sons and Daughters" is the end of the play, when amends have been made and everyone's going home to start anew and live happily ever after. The "Son" is Ferdinand, and the "Daughter" is Miranda.<br /> <br />
Sorry, specifically Caliban is singing to his DEAD mother in "You'll not feel the Drowning."<br />
I hadn't read 'Tempest' but this Miranda character...<br /> <br /> "meet me on my vast veranda; my sweet untouched Miranda" - We both go down together<br /> <br /> In that song the man does attempt/succeed in raping their 'Miranda'<br /> Is it just me or does it seem like the landlord's daughter may have a small connection with 'We both go down together'? And in that case, 'Leslie Ann Levine'?<br /> <br /> Just a thought<br />
"And all we know for sure", not "though we know for sure"
A couple corrections, as of 21 August:
Fix -> Affix Arab best -> arabesques the reefs -> the reeds commerants -> cormorants It's -> Its ziggurats -> Sycorax photo -> foretold beneath -> below With this bare waking eye -> Witnessed by no waking eye
Lastly, I don't think the last two lines are a quotation, though I suppose that's debatable.
Also, "paragon in paralax" should be "Patagon in parallax"
Oh, and can I just say that I love this song? I think it's my favorite off the album.
I think The Decemberists are the only band in the world that can make you feel good when you're singing along to lyrics about rape. Real sorry if I offended anyone, but it's so true.
Seriously. One of my favorites is about two male prostitutes.
^^no, thats one of the truest statements ever said.
I think "nestled in the heat" should be "nestled in the heath."
"I will dress your eyelids With dimes upon your eyes" this reminds me of how Greeks (?) put coins on their eyelids when they died so they could pay Charon and get to Hades.
jesus christ, these lyrics are very wrong.
"I'll take those sweet lips, and I'll deliver" it should be "I'll take those sweet lips, and thou will deliver"