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.
Let fall your soft and swaying skirt
Let fall your shoes, let fall your shirt
I'm not the lady-killing sort
Enough to hurt a girl in port
Marie's gone blonde and lost a stone
She lay on her lawn, spun and alone
And when the morning sun it rose
Upon Marie and her lacy clothes
Well, it lit her up, and she walked around
The winding streets of Camden Town
Well, she don't know who she wants to be
And if I knew I'd tell Marie
Let fall your soft and swaying skirt
Let fall your shoes, let fall your shirt
I'm not the lady-killing sort
Enough to hurt a girl in port
And Cindy tells me she's had fun
Sitting backstage, someone's plus one
Up in her room the records spin
Needle in the grooves that she's worn thin
Well, she lifts her sleeve and she sees a name
And she's got a smile on her face
And she's got a story you can't see
Well, that's just between that name and Cindy
And before Holly made her way
Over the sea and far away
She's telling me inside her car
Driving us back from the Crystal Corner bar
I lost her there, I fell from hell
Cut some fresh pieces from myself
And then for a second something in me
Said leave today, it's time, Holly, it's time
Oh, I'm a weak and lonely sort
Though I'm not sailing just for sport
I've come to feel out on the sea
These urgent lives press against me
I'm just aghast, I'm not apart
My tender head with my easy heart
These several years out on the sea
Made me empty, cold and clear
Pour yourself into me
Let fall your soft and swaying skirt
Let fall your shoes, let fall your shirt
I'm not the lady-killing sort
Enough to hurt the girl in port
Let fall your shoes, let fall your shirt
I'm not the lady-killing sort
Enough to hurt a girl in port
Marie's gone blonde and lost a stone
She lay on her lawn, spun and alone
And when the morning sun it rose
Upon Marie and her lacy clothes
Well, it lit her up, and she walked around
The winding streets of Camden Town
Well, she don't know who she wants to be
And if I knew I'd tell Marie
Let fall your soft and swaying skirt
Let fall your shoes, let fall your shirt
I'm not the lady-killing sort
Enough to hurt a girl in port
And Cindy tells me she's had fun
Sitting backstage, someone's plus one
Up in her room the records spin
Needle in the grooves that she's worn thin
Well, she lifts her sleeve and she sees a name
And she's got a smile on her face
And she's got a story you can't see
Well, that's just between that name and Cindy
And before Holly made her way
Over the sea and far away
She's telling me inside her car
Driving us back from the Crystal Corner bar
I lost her there, I fell from hell
Cut some fresh pieces from myself
And then for a second something in me
Said leave today, it's time, Holly, it's time
Oh, I'm a weak and lonely sort
Though I'm not sailing just for sport
I've come to feel out on the sea
These urgent lives press against me
I'm just aghast, I'm not apart
My tender head with my easy heart
These several years out on the sea
Made me empty, cold and clear
Pour yourself into me
Let fall your soft and swaying skirt
Let fall your shoes, let fall your shirt
I'm not the lady-killing sort
Enough to hurt the girl in port
Lyrics submitted by smileforthecamera
A Girl in Port Lyrics as written by Will Robinson Sheff
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think this song might be about something altogether different. I think maybe he's referring to himself as the person who's being used, like he's trying to find the right girl but can't for some reason or another. Take Marie: "She lay on her lawn Spun and alone" "and she don't know who she wants to be and if I knew I'd tell Marie" this seems to imply that he can't have a relationship with Marie because she's too busy trying to find herself.
Then you have Cindy who's "someone's plus one" and "And she's got a story you can't see Well, that's just between that name and Cindy" seems to mean that he can't have a relationship with Cindy because she's already in love with someone else.
And then you have Holly. It seems that Holly is leaving him, and she's telling him in the car and he says "i lost her then, i fell from (high?)".
Last you have him singing how he's "just a (guest*?) I'm not a part" and that "these several years out on the sea made me empty cold and clear pour yourself into me" seems to mean that he has lost all individuality and is only meant to be used by other people. He's alone.
i like percepirme's take on this song. I relate to this song, even to the name holly being used in that 2nd last verse.<br />