Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
All the other girls here are stars?you are the Northern Lights
They try to shine in through your curtains?you're too close and too bright
They try and they try but everything that they do
Is the ghost of a trace of a pale imitation of you
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
This party is made with the night air and the chance that a smile
Will wind its way from your face to one of the boys in your line
You act like you're hip to their tricks and you're strong
But a virgin Wurlitzer heart never once had a song
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
And I'll have you back by break of day
I'm going your way anyway
And if you'd like to come along
I'll be yours for a song
I know you are waiting and I know that it is not for me
But I'm here and I'm ready and I've saved you the passenger seat
I won't be your last dance just your last goodnight
Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
So crawl up your trellis and quietly back into your room
And I'll coast down the length of your drive by the light of the moon
And the next time I see you?a new kind of hello
Both our hearts have a secret only both of us know
?bout the night that I drove you back home Kathleen
They try to shine in through your curtains?you're too close and too bright
They try and they try but everything that they do
Is the ghost of a trace of a pale imitation of you
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
This party is made with the night air and the chance that a smile
Will wind its way from your face to one of the boys in your line
You act like you're hip to their tricks and you're strong
But a virgin Wurlitzer heart never once had a song
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
And I'll have you back by break of day
I'm going your way anyway
And if you'd like to come along
I'll be yours for a song
I know you are waiting and I know that it is not for me
But I'm here and I'm ready and I've saved you the passenger seat
I won't be your last dance just your last goodnight
Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
So crawl up your trellis and quietly back into your room
And I'll coast down the length of your drive by the light of the moon
And the next time I see you?a new kind of hello
Both our hearts have a secret only both of us know
?bout the night that I drove you back home Kathleen
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I know this is an old thread. Saw Josh R. two nights ago in Philadelphia, 2/13/2024, Hello Starling 20 anniversary tour. He gave a little backstory on the song "Kathleen". In northern Idaho, Kathleen was girl he was attracted to. He was shy and she was a bit older. He came up with multiple scenarios to get her attention. He borrowed fishing hip-waders from her family (who lived by a river) even though he wasn't a fisherman. I took him six months to return them. He came up with a plan to driver her to her activities.He had a 1983 Toyota tercel that didn't have much more than a "lawn mower engine" according to Josh. He did end up driving her home one night. It was snowing and they slid off the road into a ditch. She helped him get the car back on the road and he did end up finishing driving her home. He didn't elaborate on any romantic encounters. Maybe this tune story is as simple as it sounds - a boy coming of age story. His "climbing up the trellis" may be just a masterful lyricist "flowering" up the story.