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Fleet Foxes – The Shrine/An Argument Lyrics 11 years ago
There's an interesting connection between this song and tracks from previous Fleet Foxes albums relating to the theme of the Sun.

From the Sun Giant EP (first release):

"What a life I lead when the sun breaks free
As a giant torn from the clouds"

In this track, the narrator hasn't yet seen the Sun. It's trapped behind clouds, but he is anticipating it being released. Here he sees the Sun as a symbol of the promise of a better life, a symbol of hope.

From "Sun it Rises" (second release) off the album "Fleet Foxes":

"Sun rising over my head
In the morning when I rise

Hold me dear into the night
Sun it will rise soon enough

Sun rising, dangling there
Golden and fair in the sky"

The sun has broken out of its prison and is beginning to rise into sky. The narrator has found a partner and they want to bask in its warmth. The narrator almost seems to be reassuring his partner that the sun is coming soon. It might be interpreted that the two have been living a difficult life and that the narrator is hoping the "Sun" will emerge soon and solve their problems.

Finally from this album (third release):

"Sunlight over me no matter what I do...

In the morning waking up to terrible sunlight
All diffuse like skin abuse the sun is half its size"

The sun has finally arisen, but it's nothing like the narrator had hoped. The promise and hope that it symbolized in the previous records have been perverted, and now the Sun has become a symbol of despair. Everywhere he goes, the narrator can't escape the Sun and its terrible light. By the next stanza, the narrators partner has left him, probably out of disillusionment by his empty promises.

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Vampire Weekend – A-Punk Lyrics 12 years ago
This is a song about a nurse (probably) working at Sloan-Kettering, a cancer treatment center, who stole a ring from a dead or dying prince/other royalty. The prince is implied to have went southwards without telling anyone, as one "seeking exotica" is likely to be some kind of rebel or adventure seeker. The ring is probably a family heirloom, since it has 1000 years of history.

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Vampire Weekend – Diane Young Lyrics 12 years ago
The deepest part about this song is the part about "the 18th hole"

The question "Do you think you can go til the 18th hole" asks whether you can endure penetrating 18 virgins, the ones promised by the Islam religion. Full Islams are promised 72, virgins though...

We can conclude that the person being sung about was only partially converted to Islam by Diane Young. 18 divided by 72 is 1/4, so it shows that the subject of the song only took on 1/4th of Islamic faith, and so only had 18 virgins to penetrate.

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Fleet Foxes – Montezuma Lyrics 12 years ago
"Oh man, oh my, oh me" I generally interpreted as lyrical repitition. They speak of the woe the singer feels. I thought of an alternative interpretation if you want to dig deep though: Recalling a saying "I look out for me and my own", you might interpret "Oh man, oh my, oh me" as the conflict the singer feels when having his decide between "his" (his family) and himself.

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Fleet Foxes – Montezuma Lyrics 12 years ago
Good, logical interpretation. I totally agree!

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Fleet Foxes – Tiger Mountain Peasant Song Lyrics 12 years ago
I don't think the wanderers passage refer to literal people. Their graceful movement in the morning light suggests something more whimsical, either small animals, or even spirits.

"They do not
know you anymore"

Means that since the subject of the song is no longer living, other beings have no knowledge of him/her.

"Dear shadow alive and well
How can the body die
You tell me everything
Anything true"

The shadow represents the memory of a person passed away. The singer is wondering how the memory and spirit of a person to exist so strongly while their body has died.

"In the town one morning I went
Staggering through premonitions of my death
I don't see anybody that dear to me"

In contrast with the person who passed away earlier, whose spirit lives on in people's memories, the singer does not have anyone close to him. He fears death since that would mean both his body and his memory would cease to exist.

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