The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
I woke up one morning
All my fingers rotten
I woke up a dying man without a chance
I came to your window
Threw a stone and waited
At the door a stranger stood
The stranger's voice said nothing good
I turned to walk the frozen ground alone
All the way home
Wide-eyed walker
Do not wander
Do not wander
Through the dawn
Both my eyes are fading
No light in the evening
Planted like a seed in sand and drowned in rain
Watch you for an hour
He kept you beneath him
He kept you on lock and key
He paid the wage you sent to me
And waste the day so idly alone
All the way home
Wide-eyed walker
Do not wander
Do not wander
Through the dawn
Wide-eyed walker
Do not wander
Do not wander
Through the dawn
All my fingers rotten
I woke up a dying man without a chance
I came to your window
Threw a stone and waited
At the door a stranger stood
The stranger's voice said nothing good
I turned to walk the frozen ground alone
All the way home
Wide-eyed walker
Do not wander
Do not wander
Through the dawn
Both my eyes are fading
No light in the evening
Planted like a seed in sand and drowned in rain
Watch you for an hour
He kept you beneath him
He kept you on lock and key
He paid the wage you sent to me
And waste the day so idly alone
All the way home
Wide-eyed walker
Do not wander
Do not wander
Through the dawn
Wide-eyed walker
Do not wander
Do not wander
Through the dawn
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I thought this song was about a man who lived or was supported by a woman he loved, but who was a prostitute. I thought that it maybe even could have been his sister, but the lyrics sound much more like a romantic love song, so it's probably a lover or something like that. That's what the "he paid the wage you sent to me", and "he kept you on lock and key" could possibly mean.
Also maybe in my top 3 Fleet Foxes songs :) Don't think I can wait another month for that album.
i think the "lock and key" bit in an extension of the preceding line<br /> <br /> "watched you for an hour<br /> he kept you beneath him<br /> he kept you on lock and key"<br /> <br /> I think the clues in the middle line... in my head he's turned up to his ex's house - found another man there, so he stands on the street and watches the house - in my head (and perhaps it says something about me) - i get the horrible image of him watching the guy sleeping (having sex) with his ex... "he kept you beneath him"... Just a thought?
jumaman, I think that line refers to a form of oppresion, rather than sex. You perv! <br /> :P
Battery Kinzie is a concrete Battery located on Fort Worden, Washington (fortwiki.com/Battery_Kinzie). A battery is a group of artillery.
Ok, so this is all out of order, but I get the impression that the singer really liked this girl who was very innocent ("wide--eyed"). He warns her about wandering in the dawn for fear that she'd be caught by someone. She does get caught. He tries to help her escape, but is caught. He can then only watch from a distance.
This probably isn't supposed to be literal though. It's like he loves this girl, but can see that she is vulnerable. She ends up in a terrible relationship and is trapped there. The verses about dying and death indicate how helpless he is to stop this and how it affects him.
Perhaps Battery Kinzie is, to the singer, an indomitable force.
This might be a continuation of the narrative from the song Sim Sala Bim which plays just prior to this one on their album Helpless Blues.
But, even if it doesn't I feel the message here is that a man realizes he's forsaken the love a girl gave him. He now realizes how much he wants that love but has to live with the fact that she is moving on. He feels as if the new man, is bad for her and that she is embarking on a terrible journey because she is naive having never known what love is.
I think this about a man who has somehow lost the woman he loves. He wakes up and realizes what a screw-up he is and tries to get her back, only to find her with someone else. He then spends his days very sad, knowing that she is not happy either, but she still walks, hurt and complacent
This is my favorite FF song. I have loved it since Robin performed an early version at one of his concerts. I only have two questions. First, what does the title mean (originally the title was Lorelai)? Also, what does "He paid the wage you sent to me" mean?
This song isn't Lorelai, Lorelai goes "So, guess I got old, I was like trash on the sidewalk...I was old news to you then."
This song was earlier called 'Lorelai', though
I think the line means the girl was asking of a certain something in the relationship (wage) that the new guy could offer (pay)...I think it says "sent to me" because it originally was a wage demanded of robin first..or whomever
This could be completely wrong, but it could be worth noting this line could potentially be a pun...
"The stranger's voice said nothing good"
As in...
"The Stranger's voice said nothing good"
The Stranger is one of Seattle's alternative newspapers. Robin Pecknold doesn't seem to be too big of a fan, judging by some recent going ons.
I believe this is a fictional story and there could be a child involved. That could explain the line "He paid the wage you sent to me." He could be living with the child and go to look for the mother of the child who is now with another man who keeps a very tight leash on her. This man also pays the child support. He tries to win the child's mother back but it is no use. Any thoughts?
For some reason, I took the intro verse literally. I thought this was kind of like a folk tale of a guy who woke up a dying man; maybe already dead for years. He goes to his old flame's house, to see her, not realizing any time has passed, and she's with another man. It doesn't fit at all with the later verses, but for some reason, that interpretation has stuck with me; I thought it made for an interesting story, at least.
That would suck.
I think yours is the correct interpretation. There are many such tales in which this happens. Wouldn't suprise me if this was the inspiration here.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This is exactly what robin wants you to do. He means the what poetogethron was explaining but wants to paint the picture of what you said you so you can feel the way he feels. It is the essence of songwriting.
This has to be just random wordology. Maybe it's strictly lyrical without definite meaning. The words work. Context is really random. LOVE the song and the group, tho.
I strongly believe that the songs in this album MUST be analized in the context of the album. The whole album is telling a story, everything is related. Therefore, I find it necessary to take a look at the previous song in the album, "Sim Sala Bim" (songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858864342/). There, we find that this "fictional" character is suddenly the same one as in Montezuma, Bedouin Dress and the rest of the album. In Sim Sala Bim, he left his wife, the woman who is singing the song.
"He was so kind, such a gentleman tied to the oceanside Lighting a match on the suitcase's latch in the fading of night Ruffle the fur of the collie 'neath the table Ran out the door through the dark Carved out his initials in the bark Then the Earth shook, that was all that it took for the dream to break All the loose ends would surround me again, in the shape of your face" (Sim Sala Bim)
He left her, he went around reciting incantations, etc etc etc... He might or might not have found another woman. But now, he woke up one morning, realizing that his fingers are rotting, he's lost the life he used to have. He came to look for this woman(the narrator in Sim Sala Bim), but she was with someone else. The "Wide-eyed walker" line may have something to do with being surprised, amazed... the thing is that the line will be used again in "Grown Ocean", the strongest song in the album, if you ask me. The meaning of that phrase is still to be worked out throughout the album. This song is a key song, cause he might refer to this person in other songs ("Someone YOU'd Admire", for example).