Cat Faces

i think the song is a bit deeper than what some have you have suggested. i get a sense of emptiness, longing, death, nostalgia for the vastness of everything. he is alive, but is not passionate about anything; nothing to get his heart pumping- he uses nature as a metaphor, implying essentially the cyclic nature to existence, the trees are lain by our hands, turning to dust--suggesting the finality of life--and he lays as well, perhaps reminiscing a life lived, and recognizing the beauty and/or futility of it--visions of the point of departure, where life begins, or life ends. this song deserves much more attention. i wish isaac would comment.

At the end of the song, when Isaac sings "and I lay down with the southern range" he alters this with "and I lay down with a sudden rage". This is important for the meaning of the song; it's a song about realizing (suddenly realizing) what life is. "My heart stopped pumping but my blood is still alive, the rain hits the ground and the trees they dry it up, my eyes wake up but my brain is sleeping fine": All lines about everyday-life. We are zombies at work, but the world keeps spinning. Life goes on, whatever we think and believe. "One more thing for you and I to do before we shut our eyes": There are always things we "have to do". Got to take out the trash, got to clean the kitchen, got to watch america's fucking talent shows. And then, finally, we can go to sleep. (Finally we can die, just have to do this first...) "Let's blame me and I blame you, and we're both right": There is no objective truth in life, only our subjective views. People always blame each other, and most of the time no one's right (or wrong). "Cutting cat faces in the pines": I see this as leaving your mark. Feeling all to mortal, yet trying to do something that'll last "forever". "They say his teeth are wood and they want picture of him": I see this as "regular people" always trying to expose those who're "different". "(mark the path back to the point of departure)" "(tracing lines of cursive on the horizon)": Meditative loneliness. "And I lay down with the southern range (I lay down with a sudden rage)": Like I said; realizing that this is all there is to life. It could also be about how much we destroy the world every day ("my chain hits the wood and the wood it turns to dust"). "We're wood screws, all of our lives". All wood screws have an aggressive thread for grabbing and holding the wood. So once again, we're destroyers of nature.

Well first of all you have to know that that Brock is from a logging town and has lived in one all of his life. I think he's trying to say that the rain is like his blood. When it rains the trees dry it up(use it), his heart stops but his blood's still alive...it's a metaphor. They carve cat faces into the logs, the teeth are made out of wood and they want pictures of it. That's just a weird line i think. "my chain hits the wood and the wood it turns to dust. i picture you as if you were a pine"-He's picturing you as dust. "we're wood screws all of our lives"- Saying that we all hold things together, all our lives are wound together. "tracing lines of cursive on the horizon "- while he's laying down he's looking at the clouds and following the designs(cursive) they make. "2X2 and 4X4 the pines they lay down, and i lay down with the southern range"-He's laying down...possibly dead like a tree that's been cut down. It's a stange song but it makes weird sense if you break it down.

Someone else mentioned that Isaac is from a logging town; I take this song to be about the fruitlessness of life there; the town lives to kill trees and kills trees to live; this pointlessness is the reason why their hearts aren't beating; they're living a sort of empty, half-life, or they're barely alive at all. They pour their blood into the ground (which I take to mean that they're putting their whole lives into sustaining the city), the trees soak it up, and then they cut down the trees; and I think the pointless of that act is also reflected in the carving, because the cat faces will be gone as soon as the tree is cut down.

yeh this song is really really mellow. i really love how they use alot of "pink floyd/juliana theory"ish space sounds and ambient soundscapes and other-worldly sound effects which bring out the musical shine in all of their songs

"they say his teeth are wood and they want my pictures of him." George Washington was known to have wooden false teeth, and the "pictures of him" that "they" want is a metaphor for money

Not to burst your bubble, but I'm pretty sure you are wrong. "Wood screws" is a metaphor, not something to be taken literal. The line makes no sense if you take it literal, but as a metaphor it has meaning.

This song isn't personal.... This song is about the brutal crime of arena dog fighting and what it must be like to be a dog in that state.of mind. Brock is a true animal lover and is gifted at subtly engaging one's senses.

This song creates such a beautiful mood, I cant quite put my finger on the message I think it is trying to send, the writer himself (I think Isaac) is probably the only one who truly understands the strange lyrics. It sounds kind of sad, or depressive, but at the same time, its an amazing song, the mood draws me to it so much. It kind of gives me the sense of missing someone who was very close to me. Beautiful, beautiful song.

nicely put dancin, don't thnik i could have said it mroe eloquently. kudos to you.