| The Joy Formidable – This Ladder Is Ours Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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An apparently famous quote goes “We, verily, have made music as a ladder for your souls…” —Abdu’l-Baha Given that, it seems this song is about the band making music. Which makes the line "Can you play that part" especially noteworthy. The official lyrics book has the line "back to wire" (instead of ire as listed), probably meaning something about the recording process. |
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| The Joy Formidable – Whirring Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I'm thinking it's about the thrill of performing live. Columns to new heights could be referring to the way music is visualized - columns of dancing lights on soundboards measuring this and that. Despite the fact that the audience has very little actual connection with the artist (all these things about me you never can tell), performing is such a rush that it makes it hard to sleep afterwards, even though the fans are gone (you make me sleep so badly). Turn the dial on my words - literally turn up the volume on a microphone. I can feel them fall short - You're probably not listening to the song for meaning, whatever is trying to be expressed is likely not getting through Chime alarm - I always heard this as "chime along", as in "sing along". Watch these hands move apart - either referring to her guitar playing, or perhaps the crowd clapping or either entity holding their arms open. |
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| The Joy Formidable – Austere Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Meaning of Austere, according to Google: *Severe or strict in manner, attitude, or appearance: "an austere man with a puritanical outlook". *(of living conditions or a way of life) Having no comforts or luxuries; harsh or ascetic. Imagine a ship captain who fits the term - a very no-nonsense fellow. The medals being reversed could refer to him losing his clothing, which would certainly indicate some mischief to turn before his ship is sent off. The sailors are in a port city, and being "ransacked" by smart (barbed wits) women looking quite fetching (gowns). So they'll drown in velvet... which I think you can easily interpret as either clothing or... something more visceral. Use your imagination. So yeah, the song is about... wanting to have sex with a sailor? |
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| The Joy Formidable – The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I think it's a breakup song. After a breakup, you might be waiting to stop feeling awful about it, waiting for "a calm day to come". A lot of this song seems like the things you might want to say to yourself during such a time. "This dream is... in a telescope now" Meaning that perhaps whatever you had hoped for (a future with someone, in this case) isn't going to happen now. It's left, like the light from a dying star, only to perhaps be caught in a telescope some day. "Fever, in bedtime covers" For some people, reacting to a break-up will make them feel sort-of sick, the kind where you want to just stay in bed. The two eyes from out of the darkness might be someone who comforts you, or perhaps a new object of affection. This is the bridge to the coda, so this can be seen as the "climax" of the story of the song. And if the story is about being dumped and moving on, that makes sense. Greatest light/greatest shade The people who have the greatest effect on your life - family, friends, significant others - can be both the greatest source of happiness for you and the biggest source of misery. An ex may have made your life incredibly happy at one point, but obviously makes you miserable now. The end of the song can be read as either somewhat sarcastic or somewhat sad. Wanting an ex to be happy is something that's very hard to do, especially if they've created a lot of pain for you. It's definitely not easy to be so forgiving. Live and in the studio versions, Fitzy sings this with a sort of desperation, sadness and perhaps even sarcasm. It could be that you're not really wanting them to be happy at all, or just that you're really trying to convince yourself to move on by repeating something you know you should logically want - them to be happy and you to no longer be attached to them. |
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