Sacred Vision

I think this song is talking about how the narrator hurt the woman he loved and who loved him deeply, and didn't realize that he needed her until it was too late. I don't know. I just get the feeling that perhaps she loved him so much and he took it all for granted and ended up breaking her in the end.

I took the mentioning of a 'station' to mean that the woman was leaving the narrator, perhaps from a bus station or a train station, and the narrator is begging for her to forgive him and to take him back, all via telephone. From the line "There's no way to grow that don't hurt", I gathered that the woman was telling the narrator that she knew she would be hurting without him, but she knew she would also be hurting with him because of what he had done to her, so she was better off.

The middle cluster of lines is obviously what the narrator feels towards the woman. Perhaps he never had the courage to tell her, or perhaps he never realized how much she meant to him until he hurt her. Maybe he left her for what he thought would be a better life, or maybe he cheated. But the narrator did something that made him realize that this woman meant more than anything to him, and now he is trying to tell her he needs her after he seems to have discarded her. Whatever he did to hurt her caused him to epiphany and realize that, yes, she is the woman he is supposed to be with.

The last set of lines is the woman responding to the narrator's pleading for forgiveness and maybe even his declaration that he really does love her, telling him that she would rather be alone than be with him again. She's saying that she can't forgive him because she can't even trust him, and that not every sin is given forgiveness, especially such a terrible one like his. It sounds like the woman is full of bitterness and hurt, like the narrator really broke her. I do think she was completely in love with him; the pain in just the few lines of her 'speaking' is evidence.

I think this song is something a lot of people can relate to on many different levels. I may be way off on my interpretation, but it's just what I gathered.

Even in his simpler songs, Sam Beam is still a genius.

this song kills me. it's so sad, but in that sam beam way that makes it really beautiful to listen to while it pains you to hear it. i appreciate the simplicity of the guitar because it really emphasizes the lyrics, which i think are great -- particularly the line: "there's no way to grow that don't hurt." i don't think this is his finest moment, but it's a great little song that i really enjoy.

Sam Beam is brilliant. He talks about how there's no way to feel something unless your acually feeling it. Theres no way to fake such an epic feeling, like love.

As everyone has said, this is about a woman leaving the narrator, and the pain and regret that he feels as he tries to bring her back. I just want to home in on some of the specific things that make this song so beautiful and painful and intricate.

[VERSE 1]

"There's no way to temper your thirst

With lasting impressions or pictures of home

"Temper" is a word usually used for anger or desire, not thirst, so we immediately get the idea of restraint, being held back or limited. Since these lines are the woman speaking to the narrator, we have to ask what this "thirst" of his is. "pictures of home" reveals that the woman tried to make a picture-perfect home for the narrator, but ultimately was unable (or unwilling) to satisfy his desires. Their wants and needs were irreconcilable. The narrator refuses to see this, but the woman has had enough. Although she loved him, he was trying to make her into someone she wasn't. I admit I don't know what to make of "lasting impressions"!

There's no way to grow that don't hurt"

She growled from the station then hung up the phone

The first of these two lines is addressed from the woman simultaneously to the narrator and to herself: she's saying it to him to get him to stop calling ('I know it hurts right now but it's for the best, you'll be okay'), and to herself to give herself courage and consolation to go through with the act even though it hurts. The choice of "growled" shows that in addition to the wisdom, maturity, and benevolence of the woman, there is also significant resentment, fear, and danger because of how he hurt her. She's trying to do this cleanly, but if he keeps poking, he's going to get bit.

[CHORUS]

There's no sacred vision like her

No eye-crushing mountain or jewelry to wear

In a sacred vision, a person sees God or an angel or something. So the narrator is saying that seeing her is better than seeing God or an angel. She is also more magnificent than any mountain and more beautiful than any jewelry.

There's no granted wish I prefer

Than she to be with me, OR us to be there

There's no wish he'd rather have granted than for her to be with him. Since he's already drawn the link between her and God, and God is the one who would have to power to grant a wish, the implication is that she would be the one granting this wish. He is begging her, 'Please come back.' But wait—"or us to be there". (I think this word is "or", not "for".) He's adding a second wish he'd like to have granted: either she can be here, or we can be there. Just a second ago, he was so sure of what he wanted from her, but he immediately goes back on it and hedges. These five simple words reveal the frailty and immaturity of his attraction to her: 'I am sure I want ths...wait, or this'. Plus, he doesn't even name where "there" is, because he doesn't know. It's anywhere, anything, anytime. He's desperate, he's flailing. This is why he needs to grow.

[VERSE 2]

"I'd rather to be all alone

Forgiveness is fickle when trust is a chore

As others have said, she'd rather be alone than continue to be hurt by him. She can't possibly forgive him because she struggles to even trust him.

It's not every sin that's atoned"

I heard her speak softly then HURT her no more

I take the first line to mean that he has so many sins (he's hurt her so many ways) that he can't possibly atone for them all, even if he's already atoned for many. In the second line, we see she's move from "growled" in verse 1 to "speak softly". This is more evidence of how painful it is for her to go through with this. Furthermore, she hung up on him in verse 1, yet here they are on the phone again. He won't stop desperately calling her, and she can't bear to just ignore his calls, although she is still leaving. Lastly, my second edit to the lyrics. This word (hurt/heard) has a double meaning: Obviously, as the transcriber interpreted, there's the parallel between "heard her speak..." and "heard her no more", indicating that she's hung up again, and if he never hears her again, then that really was the last time; she's gone. But this word can also be written as "hurt" because now that she's really gone, he can't hurt her anymore. Even though the break was painful, he finally accepts that he did in fact hurt her and gets some peace from knowing that he won't again. I think the ambiguity of this single word, which is definitely intentional on Beam's part, perfectly demonstrates his mastery of language and emotion and encapsulates the beauty of his writing.

Finally, the fact that he sings the chorus again shows how he will remember her and their relationship: beauty and desperation, but no pain. He has only good memories.

Amazing little song!

i completely agree. this song is so heart breaking, but so true. anyone who's lost the chance to be with someone when it seemed to right will want to cry when they hear this. i especially love the last line.

Each of his songs are so amazing.