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My name is Leslie Anne Levine
My mother birthed me down a dry revine
My mother birthed me far too soon
Born at nine and dead at noon
Fifteen years gone now
I still wander this parapet
And shake my rattle bone
Fifteen years gone now
I still cling to the petticoats
Of the girl who died with me
On the roofs above the streets
The only love I've known's a chimney sweep
Lost and lodged inside a flue
Back in 1842
Fifteen years gone now
I still wail from these catacombs
And curse my mother's name
Fifteen years gone now
Still a wastrel mesallied
Has brought this fate on me
My name is Leslie Anne Levine
And I've got no one left to mourn for me
My body lies inside its grave
In a ditch not far away
Fifteen years gone now
I still wander this parapet
And shake my rattle bone
Fifteen years gone now
I still cling to the petticoats
Of the girl who died with me
Who died with me
Who died with me
Who died with me, oh no, no, no, no
My mother birthed me down a dry revine
My mother birthed me far too soon
Born at nine and dead at noon
Fifteen years gone now
I still wander this parapet
And shake my rattle bone
Fifteen years gone now
I still cling to the petticoats
Of the girl who died with me
On the roofs above the streets
The only love I've known's a chimney sweep
Lost and lodged inside a flue
Back in 1842
Fifteen years gone now
I still wail from these catacombs
And curse my mother's name
Fifteen years gone now
Still a wastrel mesallied
Has brought this fate on me
My name is Leslie Anne Levine
And I've got no one left to mourn for me
My body lies inside its grave
In a ditch not far away
Fifteen years gone now
I still wander this parapet
And shake my rattle bone
Fifteen years gone now
I still cling to the petticoats
Of the girl who died with me
Who died with me
Who died with me
Who died with me, oh no, no, no, no
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I enjoy all the interpretations here, especially lamp shade's, however; I saw Colin Meloy live at the Beachcomber in Cape Cod, MA and I recorded most of it, so for you, I will transpose his explanation:
"So let me explain something: so the earlier song, "we both go down together," is really intended to be the prequel to this song. Yeah, but, but, I,but theres a little bit of explaining that needs to be done. So in that song, the two are perched on the cliff ready to dive off, when in fact, the woman steps away, the man, the cad, falls off to his death. But the women, impregnated, has, has the baby, in a ditch, and dies. So its all really tragic but thats sort of how it goes. So anyway, we'll continue."
cad (as defined by the american heritage dictionary): A man whose behavior is unprincipled or dishonorable.
I kind of hate to put an end to the whole abortion idea and whatnot but I thought some of you would really like to know what Colin said.