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Young Pilgrims Lyrics
A cold and wet November dawn
And there are no barking sparrows
Just emptiness to dwell upon
I fell into a winter slide
And ended up the kind of kid
Who goes down chutes too narrow
Just eking out my measly pipes
But I learned fast how to keep my head up
'Cause I know there is this side of me
That wants to grab the yoke from the pilot
And just fly the whole mess into the sea
Another slow train to the coast
Some brand new gory art from way on high
I sink and then I swim all night
I watch the ice melt on the glass
While the eloquent young pilgrims pass
And leave behind their trail
Imploring us all not to fail
Of course I was raised to gather courage
From those lofty tales so tried and true
But if you're able, I'd suggest it
'Cause this modern thought can get the best of you
This rather simple epitaph
Can save your hide, your falling mind
Fate isn't what we're up against
There's no design, no flaws to find
There's no design, no flaws to find
But I learned fast how to keep my head up
'Cause I know I've got this side of me
That wants to grab the yoke from the pilot
And just fly the whole mess into the sea
And there are no barking sparrows
Just emptiness to dwell upon
I fell into a winter slide
And ended up the kind of kid
Who goes down chutes too narrow
Just eking out my measly pipes
But I learned fast how to keep my head up
'Cause I know there is this side of me
That wants to grab the yoke from the pilot
And just fly the whole mess into the sea
Another slow train to the coast
Some brand new gory art from way on high
I sink and then I swim all night
I watch the ice melt on the glass
While the eloquent young pilgrims pass
And leave behind their trail
Imploring us all not to fail
Of course I was raised to gather courage
From those lofty tales so tried and true
But if you're able, I'd suggest it
'Cause this modern thought can get the best of you
This rather simple epitaph
Can save your hide, your falling mind
Fate isn't what we're up against
There's no design, no flaws to find
There's no design, no flaws to find
But I learned fast how to keep my head up
'Cause I know I've got this side of me
That wants to grab the yoke from the pilot
And just fly the whole mess into the sea
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According to James Mercer this song is about being optimistic and not overanalyzing. Look at this interview: http://www.gigwise.com/contents.asp?contentid=2377
"The album title is taken from the fourth track, ‘Young Pilgrims’, James explains that the underlying theme of this record is about, “how your own thought processes can needlessly get you down when you should just learn techniques to fucking get over it"
I really love this song because I completely understand the concept of a "winter slide," it happens to me every year, most poignantly last year. I can really relate to "this side of me that wants to grab the yoke from the pilot and just fly the whole mess into the sea." Sometimes I am scared by a dangerous, harmful part of myself, too.
but i learned fast how to keep my head up cause i know there is this side of me that wants to grab the yoke from the pilot and just fly the whole mess into the sea
brilliance.
So I was reading through these comments, and my interpretation is sort of a medium between Jimmifrisbee and dantealighieri1234.
I think the beginning might be a reference to the way in which one becomes seduced by these thoughts; a cold and wet November dawn, etc. Being alone or just pondering and actually wondering in general can often lead you down these paths, or down this "Winterslide" that sort of makes you realize how meaningless everything really is. "Chutes Too Narrow" I feel is stating that when you think these sort of existentialist thoughts, you end up sometimes either A) being depressed/down or discouraged by these thoughts (falling short of potential) or B) you often do things knowing the bad or undesirable consequences, but do them anyways because you realize the lack of meaning in life.
He learned fast how to keep his head up... Just saying the same thing as before. Sometimes he just wants to destroy everything, but he has learned to control these thoughts.
The middle part is probably the best part; young pilgrims is a reference to the way they have been teaching children forever to gain their "courage" and positive outlooks from fake stories like Thanksgiving and God. If there is any diversion on my part, it is the stress on religion; I feel that this song wasn't really intended to be a complete reference to religion. I think it's just about society in general INCLUDING religion.
Obviously, he suggests this latter view because it's easier and won't make you fall into a "winter-slide." A simple epitaph.
In reality, there are no flaws, no design. We have been taught this "design" forever, but in reality it's not really there.
Truly a song that can help ANYONE through times of identity struggles, questioning struggles, or simply the dreariness of the "winters" of your life. :D
"And ended up the kind of kid Who goes down Chutes Too Narrow Just eking out my measly pipes"
"And ended up the kind of kid Who goes down Chutes Too Narrow Just eking out my measly pipes"
He's painting a picture of himself as a kid in a well here. A kid would scream for help trapped in a dark hole, he sings to address the emptiness of life. The phrase "winter slide" is a bit of a pun illustrating that he is sliding into depression during the winter time when the scenery is bleak and there's nothing to do but think about the emptiness of life. Hence there are no sparrows in the dismal landscape...
He's painting a picture of himself as a kid in a well here. A kid would scream for help trapped in a dark hole, he sings to address the emptiness of life. The phrase "winter slide" is a bit of a pun illustrating that he is sliding into depression during the winter time when the scenery is bleak and there's nothing to do but think about the emptiness of life. Hence there are no sparrows in the dismal landscape he's trapped in.
The song is about overcoming negative thinking and learning to live in present rather than worry about what is at the end(Fate), but more importantly it is about religion. It explains the difference between one who has believed and applied religion(Lofty Tales)in their life and one who has chosen a different path or way of thinking(Chutes too Narrow). It implies that choosing the latter of two(Modern Thought)makes life more difficult yet is inevitable for some.
this song to me has to do with the paths which you one can go on. optimistic thought will bring you a sense of fullfillment and happiness, while modern pescimism will lead to your own downfall. Everyone battle's between life decisions and sometimes wonder why. "chutes too narrow" he sells himself short of his potential on occasion. In our society that is meaningless to the grand scheme we all must find our justification for living. and learn fast how to keep our heads up. It is an american tradition to teach of historically inaccurate tales like thanksgiving with the pilgrims. this encourages everyone to support our great cause as americans and eventually we find out the false nature of these tales that we've been raised to gather courage from. modern thought is a slippery slope with the thought of how meaningless we really are to the world and how if we all died the world would be a better place. to cope in our society, we must be blind to our own positive hipocracy within our s ocialization. Bob Dylan says "it's life and life only" this quote represents the pescimistic approach to this idea . Bob Dylan doesnt keep his head up, he crashes. There is no design One of my favorite songs of all time. It kept me from hard times
The title reminds me of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown."
I agree. He goes down seeing all of these people who he believed to be good, listening to the message of fairy tales, and then finds out that everyone can be evil, or in his case, everyone IS evil. This is the modern thought part of the song. It got the best of Goodman Brown, and Mercer warns that it could get the best of you.
I agree. He goes down seeing all of these people who he believed to be good, listening to the message of fairy tales, and then finds out that everyone can be evil, or in his case, everyone IS evil. This is the modern thought part of the song. It got the best of Goodman Brown, and Mercer warns that it could get the best of you.
If you're able I'd suggest it cuz this Modern thought can get the best of you This rather simple epitaph Can save your hide from your falling mind Fate isn't what you're up against There's no design No flaws to find But I learned fast how to Keep my head up cause I Know I've got this side of me that Wants to grab the Yoke from the pilot And fly the whole mess into the sea
by far the best part of the song. and this song is oh so awesome.
I do so love this song! Probably my favorite on the album. It's so catchy and fun and lovely. I can't tell you what it's about though...maybe just thinking about how everything seems so nice all the time but you sometimes want to crash the plane you're on and just end it all.
To me, it's about being different. James Mercer isn't someone who applies himself to the textbook "lofty tales", he doesn't want to live the normal life. The song is about taking life in your own hands, and not taking the other ways. Sometimes it might take you down Chutes too Narrow, but that's the inherent risk in life, is it not? Beautiful, Catchy song.