As I Rise

the singer has come a long way (fought many "battles" gone through obstacles etc.) and he has scars (bilsters) from it. california, meaning a dry, hot place...maybe out in the open..was ok but now he is in the shade...he's in a cooler environment...he's happier here...and through all of his pain he finds what he is looking for-ladybug,ladybird meaning his love-and shes the prettiest song he has heard-shes lovely..you know..

so hes in love and goes through hell to reach her-and he does. and thats my interpretation...

Colin is speaking off a branch to his songs "I was meant for the stage" and "los angeles, I'm yours." This briefly describes his travels and his weariness after having made it on stage, and it seems california is his biggest inspiration. Probably one of the best places to get attention. "california's ok" is an understatement to what he says in "la, I'm yours" But its basically a calming ballot. not to wordy. reminds me of country days and country music with that upright piano and saloon quality.

Maybe he's taking a break from his hectic life. He tried hard to get there and now he can take it all in and "stay in the shade for a while, for a while"

It's just a folky little number. No real need for interpretation at all.

Agree with the last two, although I am going to do a bit of interpretation. It is just a refelction of his travels, maybe he's tired. The song portrays more of an emotion than a story, which is odd for them.

Yeah, I don't really think that it requires any interpretation. I listen to this song in the morning on the way to school sometimes and it kind of makes me pretty happy. Great song.

Yea I think interpreting this song too much is a little absurd - it's most likely just a nice, happy way to end the album (they do this sort of thing frequently, especially in the crane wife where the majority of the subject matter is extremely lofty) and there isn't quite enough content to really guess at the symbolism. Sure, ladybird could refer to his love but havn't you ever sat outside on a warm, sunny day and listened to the birds? It's beautiful. All that matters I think here is the tone of the song.

Most of Her Majesty was pretty obscure - I like to think of Colin's voice more as an instrument on this album.

its not exactly happy or anything, but its nice. i mean its happy, but not "woop dee doo". anyway i like the sound. its all olde and unenhanced and shit.

This song is underrated. True, I think it should be longer lyricaly, but it gets it's message across quite well. The traveler has been all over the west in the hot sun, and now wants to sit back and think of the lovely girl.

You guys can't be serious about the song requiring no interpretation. With Colin Meloy's history of intense literary songwriting and meaningful lyrics, I highly doubt that this song wouldn't carry those traits. I'm not quite positive on what it means, but I do see the connection to "Los Angeles, I'm Yours" and "I Was Meant For The Stage". There's definitely the weary traveler theme going on, likely due to some hardship, be it an actual journey or a mental one. He's also encountering something very relieving after this journey "Ladybird, ladybird/You're the prettiest song I heard/In a while, in a while" Possibly his girlfriend or the girl he was writing about in "Red Right Ankle"

You guys can't be serious about the song requiring no interpretation. With Colin Meloy's history of intense literary songwriting and meaningful lyrics, I highly doubt that this song wouldn't carry those traits. I'm not quite positive on what it means, but I do see the connection to "Los Angeles, I'm Yours" and "I Was Meant For The Stage". There's definitely the weary traveler theme going on, likely due to some hardship, be it an actual journey or a mental one. He's also encountering something very relieving after this journey "Ladybird, ladybird/You're the prettiest song I heard/In a while, in a while" Possibly his girlfriend or the girl he was writing about in "Red Right Ankle"