| The National – 90-Mile Water Wall Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I think this song might be describing the scene of a breakup. "Well I know that you know that you've become the target of this hand with never even asking Well I know that you know that you're the only thing that I can stand" The singer is acknowledging that this person (I'll presume girl) has become the person he reaches for, the person he needs most, the only person he even really likes. The singer also acknowledges that this girl never asked to be that important to him. "Yes I'm listening I'm listening I can tell that you are serious Your looking for that hurt look around my mouth the look of a steep fall" But this girl has sprung the old "We need to talk" on him. She's in the process of breaking up with him, and he's looking at her, and he's listening, and he can tell that she's serious about breaking up, she's made up her mind. He's emotionally shell-shocked, so he's looking at the scene from a bit of an internal distance. He can see her watching him for the pain she knows she's causing him. "so how could your hair have the nerve to dance around like that, blowing and how could the air have the nerve to blow your hair around like that" Again, coming back to this verse, he's looking at the scene from a bit of an internal distance, looking at her hair in the wind, thinking about how incongruous it is that her hair is blowing around on its own while she's standing there ending things. The wind doesn't care, and her hair doesn't care that she's leaving him. "so you can make another claim well go ahead and make it so you can make another claim well go ahead and make it" I have two theories about this part: 1. The singer is saying "Go ahead and claim someone else. Claim another heart now, since you don't want mine. Just go ahead." 2. She's explaining to him why she's leaving him, claiming that he's done X or Y to prompt the breakup. "I'm just waiting for a 90-mile water wall to take me out of your view I'm praying for a trap door trigger" The chorus is the prevailing mood of the song and of the scene: despair and resignation. The singer just wants to be away from this moment. They're helpless and gutted, and they're wishing for the oblivion of a wave or a sharp drop, anything; they just don't want to be standing there bearing it - being left by the only person they care to reach for. |
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