Narrow Your Eyes

basically, he's saying he's not as into the relationship as the girl is. so he's ending it because he's tired of games and lies. trust me. been there.

Wow, this song says a lot.

I don't want to change your mind I don't want to think about your mind They say love is blind I don't think you're blind You don't want to understand And I don't want to shake your father's hand And walk in the sand And act like a man

The guy doesn't really want anything to do with this girl anymore, she wants him to be someone he's not and he's not really into her. He says she knows he's not who she wants him to be, but she is afraid to face the facts about their relationship.

Wow, this song says a lot.

I don't want to change your mind I don't want to think about your mind They say love is blind I don't think you're blind You don't want to understand And I don't want to shake your father's hand And walk in the sand And act like a man

The guy doesn't really want anything to do with this girl anymore, she wants him to be someone he's not and he's not really into her. He says she knows he's not who she wants him to be, but she is afraid to face the facts about their relationship.

This song is brilliant. It's this sad song about a mutual breakup. So many good lines in it.

"They say love is blind / I don't think you're blind" Implying that he doesn't think she loves him anymore

"And I don't want to shake your father's hand" Something you'd associate with becoming part of her family

I also find the whole "race to the bottom of a glass" part incredibly sad, mostly because it's mixed with that really upbeat, almost happy-sounding tempo...

I like how they use "narrow your eyes", too. Not 100% on what it means, but when I think of narrowing your eyes I think of suspicion, or dislike, or resentment. So he's telling her to narrow her eyes at his lies, and he narrows his eyes when he thinks of things she's told him...

Ahh, too much awesome as usual, TMBG.

LIke everyone's comments. To tailgunner I'd say that the key mapping of "narrow[one]" one's "eyes" is to... a healthy skepticism. I think that cuts the knot. The idea is that he's not resentful (or, at least, resentment doesn't hold a central position in his mindset), suspicious (or, at least, not essentially so), or... etc.

He's allowing a healthy skepticism take root. And his new mindset looks at her and realizes that she doesn't really have an organically healthy view of HIM, as a complete Human Being.

They sort of covered this idea in the song in Flood, "Twisting", which focused on something a bit more overtly venal; that "period" could be a bulwark for relationship. It's not.

Anyway, "Narrow Your Eyes" draws a more nuanced, less iconic picture of relationship venality.

Again, thanks to all who contributed to the commentary on this underappreciated gem in the early TMBG oeuvre.