Ultimatum

I can not say how much I prefer the version on the 'Ultimatum' Ep to the version on the album. Gorgeous song.

Burning leaves only prepares the soil to accept a new seed, but being a ploughman actually plants the seed. I think he's saying he's not willing to put in the hard work to create a lasting relationship. He's only looking for the intense fire that will surely die quickly, but he said that's all he ever claimed to want.

The "burn leaves"/"ploughman" line may mean "I can't make you an honest woman." A guy who comes to burn leaves is a manual laborer, basically, who comes and then leaves. A ploughman makes a commitment to the land, plants there and lives off of it and can't move for a while without the investment being wasted.

"Oh, I don't want my words twisted I don't want you to listen to close Or wait for me impatiently And I hope I can keep seeing you As long as you don't say you're falling in love"

Suggests strongly that there's some kind of affair going on but he doesn't want her to get too emotionally involved--that the relationship is more a vacation than moving permanently to a new place.

I think this song is great because of how it's at once a love song and a song about avoiding or wanting to avoid love. Beautiful instrumentation helps it, as well.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the very first word of the song... 'student'. I think much of what has been written here is accurate, but I think it has to be weighed against that first word that sets the context for the rest of the song. I imagine he is a teacher. There's no indication of age, by the way, so there's no need to assume she's underage... he could just as easily be a professor. Either way, the age difference and his position makes it inappropriate.

Student why do you dream of me When you dream of your acre of trees

She has become infatuated with him, so much that she imagines their life together. Her 'acre of trees' refers to the life she wants, how people have a dream home, etc. She's fantasizing about spending the rest of her life with him.

It was agreed I came to burn leaves It's all I ever claimed to do

Teachers break down (or burn?) old ideas and opinions, preparing the students to receive new information. More simply, a teacher is just a laborer, essentially hired to do a temporary job, and that's all.

A plow man I'll never grow into

He was hired for a short time period. It was never supposed to be a life-long commitment.

My arms miss you My hands miss you The stars sing I've got this song in my head

Maybe there was some impropriety here. Perhaps he was tempted by her advances and fell into a physical relationship before he had really thought it through. Regardless, he is heavily infatuated (stars singing, song in his head) and he misses the physical contact they had. He wants it, even if he knows it's wrong.

But then he seems to snap back to reality...

Blue in the broad light of day Your claws are snagged on my face

He's sad because of the feelings he has, most likely conflict, so he's 'blue' even though it's the middle of the day and he should be happy. Her claws are snagged on his face, meaning he can't keep his eyes off of her... he looks at her constantly, even though he may be trying to stop.

Oh I don't want my words twisted I don't want you to listen too closely

In spite of the physical attraction, he realizes it's wrong and he shouldn't pursue her. But like any infatuation, he realizes that just a sentence might be heard and twisted to mean something else. Perhaps he's watching his words, even in the middle of class, so that she won't take something he says to have a double meaning.

Or wait for me impatiently

An indication that he's the only one she cares about. She just wants to see him NOW. If he sees this behavior, it just means she's falling harder, and that idea scares him.

And I hope that I can keep seeing you As long you as you don't say you're falling in love

He knows they shouldn't be together, but he wants it to continue. This conflict is horrible, but he doesn't want it to stop. He tells himself that as long as she isn't falling in love, they can continue their relationship. The end of the song implies that they even talked about it and he said, "don't fall in love with me." She promises she won't, and their emotional affair continues.

Crave translates into slave No one can harness the rain

His craving has made him into a slave for her. Despite resisting, he is seeing it happen before his eyes. No one can harness the rain... In the same way rain makes things grow, their constant attention to each other is causing their feelings to grow.

And I can make myself into rain You'll feel me on your cheek And on your sleeve

He's telling her that if they decided to have a full relationship, he could 'water her', causing her feelings to grow even more. In other words, he would treat her like a princess.

The fact that this is directly followed by the chorus, where he repeats that he misses her physically, it indicates that he is starting to think seriously about committing to her.

As long as you don't say you're falling in love But I can feel you about to forget Yes I can feel you about to forget

She pacified him before and say she wouldn't fall in love, but her feelings couldn't be stopped. Of course, his can't either. He can feel her growing more and more in love with him, and he feels it too.

Since I like to look on the bright side, I imagine a 'they lived happily ever after' scenario. One can dream, right? :)

I would love to know if anyone sees it the same way as me!

I'd say this is relatively self-explanatory. And also one of the most beautiful songs I have ever experienced.

Great sound to this song. In my opinion its basicly a noncommited love song, about someone who is in love, but is truely scared of commitments to their other, who seems to be in an on again/off again relationship with the commitment impaired.

Ya'kno, I can't help but wonder what the "burn leaves" agreement is in reference to. Part of me wants to assume (rather blatantly) that it's about smoking marijuana. However, I believe that with the ploughman part that maybe it has to do with tilling soil? I was never a 4H member, so I really don't know much about such things.

Any ideas, anyone?

My thought was that this took place in a previous time, like... non-modern. He's a worker on some sort of farm where he was hired to burn leaves. I also think the plowman line is a double entendre (a sex joke?). Mostly, I agree with Mehrten, except maybe instead of the fear of commitment, he believes that if they commit that something bad will happen?

I think the singer adores this person, but refuses to commit. The "ultimatum" of the title is presumably "marry me or we're through".

"It was agreed I came to burn leaves It's all I ever claimed to do A ploughman i'll never grow into"

He's saying that he has never been the marrying type and has made no pretenses that he was. So why is she expecting to do something he never meant to, to be something he isn't.

That's my take on it.

every time i listen to what you wrote as Say it, I wish we would make it And I wish that I could take it

it sounds like Say it, I wish that we were naked