Love and Some Verses

i feel like he is talking about being in love with someone who is insecure ("dress that you made long to hide your knees") and therefore constantly changing herself. he's saying he will love her any way she chooses to be ("i'll love you that way"), but wants her to keep him a part of her as she changes ("someday drawing you different/may i be weaved in your hair").

"it's about fuckin' " -sam beam

I think this song is about a father and his unconditional love for his young daughter. Its clear that it is about a girl growing and changing, and the man's unconditional love for her, but I think it's a father's love. It seems that it starts describing her as a child: a long dress covering knees- seems to reflect a father's protectiveness. "For your days and excitement, What will you keep for to wear"- this reflects her carefree days spent as a child, and how he doesn't know how she will grow, what she will be like. "Someday drawing you different" reflects how he wonders what she will look like when she is older, but he indicates that he wants to stay with her always, through all her changes, as he wants to be "weaved in her hair." He says that he'll love her though all her "changing contentments" and he wonders what she will share with him in the future. Maybe it's just me, but I think the love he is describing in this song is too innocent to describe a romantic love.

I get an entirely different feel from this song than any of you seem to be getting. I think its in part about a guy and a girl that grow up together and fall in love.

The first verse is about them falling in love and how it is innocent. She "made" love, not in the sexual sense but in the sense that it grew and the hiding of the knees symbolizes the innocence of it. But then she gets caught up in things, maybe the social scene of high school, maybe college and ignores him for a while. But he knows that she loves him and is just wondering whether she'll decide to keep that love "to wear."

The second verse I think comes when they are back together, maybe married. He wants to love her in that ineffable way that some verses together with her feeling of love mean. While her contentments change, he wants her to involve him in that change.

So it's about phases of life and what love looks or feels like at those times. It think this makes sense in part because of the similarity of chords and picking pattern of this song and "Naked as We Came," which is about an enduring love at a very particular time in life.

The first line isn't "Love is a dress", is "Love and the dress", at least in my version.

I would love this to be the first song at my wedding, if i get married this could be too literal of an interpretation, but i like the simplicity of it "Love is a dress that you made long to hide your knees " -symbolizes the purity (and the actual design) of a wedding dress which are traditionally worn long, in this case it makes me think it might symbolize the anticipation of truly and fully revealing oneself to each other not to mention "I'll love you only" - common given promise at a wedding "may i be weaved in your hair" could be a sign of his desire to be permanent in her life, as close as he can possibly feel

during the second verse i think of a married couple, dancing their first dance at their reception and he's whispering in her ear all the things he feels and wants for them

he mentions "changing contentments" which can relate to how a couple can struggle through good times and bad, followed by his repetition of the line "may i be weaved in your hair" relates to the first verse in which he will always love her just like he did in the beginning

this song is incredibly touching

everyone is looking wayyy too far into the dress metaphor. If you look at Iron&Wine as a whole when he addresses love he often takes an innocent young love perspective of it. "Love is a dress that you made long To hide your knees" Is just the innocence (like a young girl who’s skirt hasn’t shortened yet) of self/ or perhaps in this case falling in love, simple as that. Just think of those knobby knees you get when someone you love makes you weak. And as you grow you become hesitant to show that vulnerability. In my opinon, its basically saying she’s trying to conceal her innocence/naivety/vulnerability

I think the song as a whole is about a young girl he loves in some way who is growing into a woman. And the question "May I be weaved in your hair" is basically saying he wants to be there next to her. she grows=hair grows... weaved in her hair=weaved into her life

very pretty sentiment to say to someone you love: I know your growing, but i know who you are, and i love you, and I want to grow with you

hmm....i don't know. i get the impression from the first two lines that it's about someone who is hiding a promiscuous past by falling in love.

maybe not about a promiscuous past, but someone who is annoyed with his/her lover's changing ideas and feelings in a relationship.

Yeah. It definetly sounds as if someones talking about a girl who has a new personality or look everyday. I can mildly relate to it, I guess. There's always those guys who have girlfriends who are always changing their appearances to meet society. Most guys don't mind, but the more sensitive guys might be upset at their lovers constant changing.

I could be totally out of my league. Maybe Iron And Wine needed a bunch of good metaphors?