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.
Just as the sand made everything round
Just as the tar seeps up from the ground
Bitter dancer, ever turning
So was the day that you came to town
You took a room and you settled in
Washed off the chalk from your weathered skin
Daylight sleeper
Bloody reaper
You took a room and you settled in
I should have known one day you would come
All of us walk so blind in the sun
Midnight feeder, beggar pleader
I should have known one day you would come
Tell me again my only son
Tell me again what have you done?
At arm's length
I will hold you there
There
At arm's length
I will hold you there
There
Just as the tar seeps up from the ground
Bitter dancer, ever turning
So was the day that you came to town
You took a room and you settled in
Washed off the chalk from your weathered skin
Daylight sleeper
Bloody reaper
You took a room and you settled in
I should have known one day you would come
All of us walk so blind in the sun
Midnight feeder, beggar pleader
I should have known one day you would come
Tell me again my only son
Tell me again what have you done?
At arm's length
I will hold you there
There
At arm's length
I will hold you there
There
Lyrics submitted by rockisgroovy
The Plains/Bitter Dancer Lyrics as written by Robin Noel Pecknold
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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this is quickly becoming one of my favorite songs on this album. it almost seems like he's singing about death, particularly in the first few lines. He sings "Just as the sand made everything round, Just as the tar seeps up from the ground," which sounds like an allusion to the natural process of erosion and decay that changes the earth. The next line, "bitter dancer, ever turning" also speaks to that idea of a natural process that we don't have any control over (i.e. the cycle of life and death). Even the song's name is a reflection of the focus on the ecosystem around us - the plains.