Lyric discussion by krackerdog 

"The cat was choking on a rattlesnake bone"

The cat has killed the dangerous rattlesnake and eaten its corpse, but the snake wins in the end due to the cat's greed. Could be a critique of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, considering the soldier imagery throughout.

I'm baffled by this line, though: "The late judge teetered in a jon boat"

A jon boat is a flat-bottomed boat that's great for fishing due to it's stability. However, it is limited to calmer waters because it rides over the waves rather than cutting through them. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_boat)

I mean, is the judge dead in the boat? Did he die because the boat tipped?

What I love about Iron & Wine's lyrics is that you somehow intuitively feel the meaning even if you can't pin it down logically.

@krackerdog

the judge could be late (as in not on time) not dead.

An error occured.