This place is damp and ghostly
I am already gone
And the halls were lined with the disembodied
And the dustly wings, which fell from flesh
Gasplessly

And I go where the trees go
And I walk from a higher education
For now and for hire

It beats me, but I do not know
And it beats me but I do not know
It beats me, but I do not know
I do not know

Palaces and storm clouds
The rough, straggly sage
And the smoke
And the way it will all come together
In quietness and in time

And you laws of property
Oh, you free economy
And you unending afterthoughts
You could've told me before

Never get so attached to a poem
You forget truth that lacks lyricism
Never draw so close to the heat
That you forget that you must eat, oh


Lyrics submitted by Mopnugget

"En Gallop" Lyrics as written by Joanna Newsom

Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING

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En Gallop song meanings
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    General Comment

    My take on this is that it is autobiographical. Joanna quit school to write songs. And can she ever write. Her rhyme schemes are really unique and complex. When I listen to her songs, I have to parse it at the level of syllables at most. The visual image in the first few lines of En Gallop is incredible. Place yourself in a damp and ghostly hall watching the wings fall from, perhaps, angels. Would you gasp at that sight? [I would] But in this place, they fall, gasplessly. However, it is optimistic too as there is the hope that it will all come together, in quietness and in time. I sigh in admiration of her lyrical prowess.

    eigenv1on February 01, 2005   Link

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