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I love this song. I was walking along the beach (in South Australia) a few days ago, and I saw a shorebird, and the lyric "shorebirds deal death all day long" came to me. I knew it was from a Mountain Goats song, but I couldn\'t remember which one. I got home, identified the song, and then I listened to it a few times... To me, the song is about two people in a relationship who are affected by a certain "darkness" (e.g. addiction or disadvantage or mental illness) but still experience the joy of bringing life into the world. This song, to me, is about how people from all walks of life are entitled to bringing new life into the world.\n\nLooking at the chorus, I think Pez Dorado, the goldfish, represents their relationship. Like a goldfish, the relationship is trapped, not in glass but in the "darkness" of the couple\'s afflictions. The couple having a child brings light and an escape from the darkness. Let me explain what parts of the song support my interpretation:\n\nVerse 1:\nI think the "echoes from a nursery rhyme" are memories of childhood, its sweetness and the joys of having children. These memories are only "echoes" for the couple, but they\'re still alive. In my interpretation of the song, the character "splashing" in summer clothes is a young child (young kids, at least white kids, have "pale pink toes"). The second part of verse 1 is, to me, about the "darkness" that consumes the couple at some point in their relationship.\n\nVerse 2:\nI think this verse is about survival and the right of all humans, no matter their circumstances, to love and new life. The story told by this song is not new: its characters, oppressed people, have existed "before the flood", though the forces of oppression have changed overt time. The beautiful line in which the couple describe themselves as "sparks in a silver mine" captures their brilliant potential. The second part of verse 2 talks about the hardship and loss of their life... Shorebirds (at least those I encountered the other day) are delicate creatures and very vulnerable to predators on the shore. Death for them is just part of life - this is what makes them "strong". But humans aren\'t like that - every loss of life cuts deep. This verse hints at the pain of living on the edge (e.g. losing people to drug-related harms).\n\nVerse 3:\nThis final verse is about the couple experiencing the joy of their creation and their love for it. It\'s also about their defiance. The "spawning tide" never ending is a statement of the right of all humans to new life. There are a few lines in this verse that make me think the couple don\'t have custody of the child due to ongoing issues (e.g. addiction). They ask the child to be honest about finding them, "ghosts". But overall, this verse expresses couple\'s bliss in defiance of their darkness.\n\nThose are my thoughts on the song. This song is pure poetry, and I think it is open to many interpretations. I\'m keen to hear thoughts on my interpretation! |
