Benediction

The song is about the pain of separation; the lyrics "you better hold your lover down/tie him to the ground" do not refer to tying down in the literal sense, but rather intend to express the desperation one feels when their lover decides to leave. That is: one is helpless to do anything about it when a person they feel incredibly attached to decides to leave; there is a strong feeling of wanting to 'hold them down' as to prevent them from leaving, but you can't.

The music itself is very delicate and tender, as a reflection of deep fondness and love-- almost like the singer is treating their former lover in an inhumanly gentle way. In that sense, lines like 'hold your lover down/tie him/her to the ground' come off with their true intent of tenderness, and not actual forcing in the literal sense.

What's more, it sounds almost like the singer is telling the lover who had left him to be sure that her next relationship does not fall apart like her relationship with him (the singer) did; (that is: again, this is the desperate feeling of presumably trying to hold on to them so that they won't leave you, even though of course there's nothing you can do to actually keep a person from leaving). It is revealed in the third stanza that he is telling her this because of how much it had hurt him when she had left him-- that is, something along the lines of "I hope you never have to feel what I had felt.") She is so dear to him that even after the fact he cannot wish ill upon her, even after he had been hurt by virtue of her departure.

The line "simple pleasures strike like lightning" refer to how when a relationship is at its end, you think back to your everyday life with that person, and these seemingly mundane memories now fill you with the most profound sense of heartache and longing-- it was your simple day-to-day life that had made for the fondest memories of your relationship. They 'strike like lightning' because the longing and heartache that they produce are so powerful.

Around the time Thurston was writing this song, he and Kim Gordon were going through a separation-- it had later been revealed that Thurston had been cheating on Kim, which was what initiated the separation. Perhaps the imagery in the lyrics about a purely 'good' person as the former lover is a reflection of his guilt about his affair, which had brought an end to a 27-year marriage; in the end, he keeps repeating "I know better..." which perhaps can be seen as "I brought this on, even though I know better." The words are uttered in a very delicate, tender, and somber way, as though in the emptiness that remained after what he had done there is now only melancholy and the resigned awareness that what he had lost was his own doing.

I think it's more about a strained relationship. I agree, the lyrics about tying your lover down are resemblant of violent acts, but it might simply outline how desperate he is or what he's willing to do to keep his relationship intact. Regardless, it's a lovely song and relatable sentiment behind it.

When Thurston and Kim announced their divorce, did anyone else grow sad after they remembered this song? It's almost like he knew it was coming. :(

This song is about trash and it is a very lackluster. Thurston should throw in the towel in every way and go into a dark little cave, never to come out again.

This is about rape, isn't it?