| Dry The River – No Rest Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
I used to be a king alone Like Solomon or Rehoboam And in the eaves, the Corvidae Did jealous keep my picture frames And everything did oxidate in place. Solomon and Rehoboam are rich kings famous for having numerous concubines. Rehoboam is the son of Solomon, and was ruthless and warlike while Solomon was wise. The only other thing they have in common, other than their concubines, is their wealth. These kings are presented in this poem as alone, yet they are among many lovers. If they are alone among many lovers, that means that they didn't entrust their love to any of their numerous concubines/lovers. The Corvidae, the crows, ravens, and other black birds, guard the pictures of his former lovers jealously in the eaves of his mind. That is, his memories of his former lovers are guarded by grim black birds. Probably these are sexual memories. Eventually, his memories oxidate (rust) in place. Meaning that these jealously guarded memories become worthless as they fade, and particularly they're worthless in his loneliness. But then you came, a single cell With astrolabe and carousel And algebra and symmetry And none of this was lost on me And I could see how still I'd been before Then she comes, a single person, a single cell, not a number of lovers. Breaking his polyamorous tendencies. She uses the astrolabe and determines their position according to the stars, and the carousel is for having fun. Though carousels are also for kids, and mechanical in nature. She's a dreamer (using the stars for navigation), but also intelligent and rational, keeping life in balance (algebra is the art of balancing equations) and with symmetry. If I don't eat, I don't sleep at all Like limbs in procession, Like so many birds Stampeding like oxen, Our hearts are a herd If he doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep. Interesting. He's an insomniac perhaps. Maybe eating is a metaphor for sex. Maybe he can't sleep without sex. Either way, fasting from something keeps his eyes open and gives him insomnia. Maybe he's saying that he's not eating because he misses her so much. "Limbs in procession" surely is sex, a twining together of limbs. Their hearts are like birds taking wing, together, in a herd, their hearts thundering like oxen. Definitely sexual imagery here. Notice that his "birds," aka, the Corvidae, his memories of his past sexual partners, are taking wing. Here, birds are represented as their emotions or their hearts moving together. I loved you in the bed I loved you in the best way possible I loved you in the bed Here, he's making clear that his sexuality, the way he loved her, is the best way to love a person. He understands sex to be the currency of love. Did you see the light in my heart? Did you see the sweat on my brow? Did you see the fear in my heart? Did you see me bleeding out? Here, he presents his sexual response to her, his sexual labor, as proof of his love for her. The light in his eye, the sweat on his brow, and then, the fear in his heart as he "bleeds out," a metaphor for a heart that's bleeding in love, but also a metaphor for ejaculation. He is afraid of loving her. Perhaps his fears were the reason why she now doubts his love, and he is forced to write this song as proof of his love. I loved you in the bed I loved you in the best way possible I loved you in the best way possible I loved you in the best way possible I loved you in the best, Again, he repeats that his love in the bed is the proof of his love. All his other birds took wing and flew away while he loved her. This song is offered to her as proof of his love. One con only presume it's written because she doubts his love. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.