| The Hotelier – Dendron Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I agree with the previous submissions that this album is incredible and poetic and deep and has so much meaning going on. Specifically for Dendron, there are some points that seem to point toward a disintegrated father/son relationship. The singer, Christian, has a great interview published on tumblr about his issues with gender confusion. I suggest you search that and read it in full if this song touches you. Analyzing the lyrics: First verse - this is about a son watching a father work for his family. The father expects his son to be a man like himself. When his son falls short, it is a disappointment. Second verse - the writer is thinking about the moments where the relationship feels like it's falling apart. The writer is an artist (unlike his father), so he sees his environment as he feels emotions, hence the lyric "Do you recall the imagery from when I drove you away?" Furthermore "Through others' rose prescription lens..." is a way to describe that from the outside it seemed like a normal father/son relationship. Between them they knew it wasn't sound, due to the writer not feeling like he understands his gender identity. The writer expects a nurturing father regardless of the person his son is, but the father doesn't meet this expectation. The next part (bridge? post verse?) - The writer is thinking about memories from being a child and having times with his father but he didn't feel like a son. "Count my rings to see how many years I've been stuck here underground" refers to the correlation between age and how many years the writer's been confused. 6/8 time section - The writer remembers that even though their relationship isn't typical father/son, his father has tried to help him get through life. Through all the father's efforts, the writer still doesn't trust that he's a boy. Therefore the line that states "figures the one that was there to have tripped you up would be the one that was set there by me" refers to his own gender confusion being the one thing his father doesn't know how to handle. The final heart-wrenching lines - The writer feels like his misunderstood gender identity is the thing that causes the figurative death of his father. His father finally departs ("wish I was there to say goodbye when you went away") and the writer regrets his inevitable feelings of confusion. He states that he wishes he was home, but he doesn't feel that he has a sense of home. "Cut off my arm at the bone in solidarity" expresses that the pain from missing his father is similar to the theoretical pain of missing a limb. "I felt the noose tighten up on your collar bone and I felt the gun in the small of your back" describes knowing that the relationship is failing and feeling like his gender confusion is a betrayal. The final line is a depiction of denial. Asking "tell me again that it's all in my head" is a way to detach from the painful reality that something has died. The album ends with a reprise of the opening guitar riff from the first track. It is brilliant and heartfelt. Sonically it is closure but it feels like a continuation of the journey that began at the beginning of the album. Also, dendron loosely means "branch". Which neatly fits with the theme of family. |
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