| Iron & Wine – Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Hmm. This is a really beautiful song, it flows together really well and even if the lyrics are not understood it still resonates with you. So here's my interpretation. "Wolves by the road" To me my mean there's something dangerous, but right now it's far away. Throughout the song though, the wolves get closer and closer. It could also mean something's blocking off all the exits and stopping people from leaving the town (something tangible or non tangible). "and a bike wheel spinning on a pawn shop wall She�ll wring out her colored hair like a butterfly beaten in a summer rainfall And then roll on the kitchen floor of some fucker with a pocketful of foreign change" Okay. The last two lines are quite obviously about prostitution. But the line "like a butterfly..." implies that she's beautiful in body and in spirit but life has beaten her down and forced her to where she is. "The song of the shepherd�s dog, a ditch in the dark in the ear of the lamb Who's going to try to run away Whoever got that brave" I'm not to sure about this line but I will try. The song of the shepherd's dog may refer to the call of something safe, or something that protects, but it is being lost on it's charges, who are trying to leave safety. "Wolves in the middle of town" The danger is closer now, in "and a chapel bell ringing through the wind-blown trees She�ll wave to the butcher�s boy with the parking lot music everybody believes" Another part I'm not sure about. Could be adding a sense of normalcy into her routine, showing her boring, everyday tasks. "And then dive like a dying bird at any dude with a dollar at the penny arcade" Another line about prostitution. Something in the phrase "with a dollar at the penny arcade" makes me think she's either going for rich men (because a dollar's worth a lot at a penny arcade) but it could also mean she's desperate enough to go for any guy who even has the illusion of money. "Dive like a dying bird" again gives us the sense that the world has killed something beautiful, namely the woman. "The song of the shepherd�s dog, the waiter and the check or the rooster on a rooftop waiting for day And you know what he�s going to say" "Waiter waiting for a check" cold mean after the person has 'eaten' they must now pay forwhat they're done. "Wolves at the end of the bed" Now this puts a new spin on things. Whenever I hear this song I picture the wolves as soldiers, and maybe 'wolves' here is an allegory for war and how it starts as being distant but eventually the war (or it's consequences) will end up at your front door. "and a postcard hidden in her winter clothes She�ll weep in the back of a truck to the traitors only trying to find her bullet hole" I think here the 'wolves' or war, is trying to find her weakness. "And then run down a canopy road to some mother and a baby with a cross to bear" THe mother seems to be a reference to Mary and Jesus 'a baby with a cross to bear' seems especially to point to Jesus, showing how in times of stress people run to their faith. "The song of the shepherd�s dog, a little brown flea in the bottle of oil for your wool, wild hair You'll never get him out of there" The 'little brown flea' could be one bad thing ruining something that's supposed to help you. |
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