Season of the Shark

I could be completely off base with this one, but it's my favorite Yo La Tengo song so I thought I'd at least attempt to relay my interpretation. I've always thought that the lyrics described two people who are at the end of a relationship and are desperately clinging on to eachother because they don't want to be alone. They're afraid to face the world without the constant companionship that the other person provided. The narrator is reassuring his partner that everything will be okay, that she needs someone to help her through her crisis but he simply cannot fit the bill. I'm assuming that the title is a reference to fear. She's afraid to go out into the "open water" because there may be "sharks" which could be a metaphor for other men who will hurt her or lead her to another unsuccessful relationship.

One of my very favorite YLT songs. I took it on a much-more-surface level. I just see the song as an old friend speaking to another old friend about how life can seem scary and dangerous and sad ("the shadows on the wall / are not as bad as they appear"). But in the end, life might just be the season of the shark. Whatever might be waiting for our souls when we die might be something a good deal better than life here on earth.

i personally take the 'shadows on the wall' as a sexual reference and that the relationship for the women has become too much of a 'sex' thing rather than love. 'you blame is at the cause/of the shadows on the wall'. in my opinion it seems like the man realises hes taken advantage/not loved her 'I sink so low that I even blame the clouds/for blocking out the sun' (sun being the image of love) and is trying to reassure the woman that she will find someone its just that he doesn't love her 'and i don't belong at all' and that the season of the shark in life is when people make mistakes, and regret, and then learn from their experiences so they can move on to another season. yahh deep. haha.

When I hear this song, I think that the narrator is God, especially at the last verse.

"the shadows on the wall" might be an allusion to Plato's allegory of the cave

I have always approached this song from the perspective of a father speaking to a child..a daughter who is ready to go off to college, etc...he knows he needs to let go a little, but still wants to protect her.

This is about a person suffering from depression, and the narrator (Ira) is trying to comfort them, help them through it, by telling them that everybody feels down sometimes too, that they're not alone and they have friends/family who are there for them. That it's only a "season" and things can get better. Seems pretty obvious to me, but I guess it's not that obvious, since nobody else interprets it this way (although thujone is pretty close to me).

"And I don’t belong at all" is definitely "You're not alone at all"

it's actually about a summer when there was a shark scare and everyone was afraid to go in the water

For me it is like a father talking to a shy child going to school for the first time. I wouldn't say the singer is afraid of letting go, but it's more like the person he's talking to is afraid to go somewhere full of shadows and sharks. It seems like the singer is trying to help the other person learn to be independent. The "shadows," or other people, might seem scary but they're "not as bad as they appear." Maybe the "questions" are actually test questions in class?

I tried looking up if these guys have kids but couldn't find anything.