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”
feel like old boat on a dead man's sea,
with no rest before me
if the sun don't stop its burning rays,
it will surely leave its mark
it's always here,
the fortunes are still at our ease
so don't be long,
just 'cause your heartaches are gone
so you lost all the things that were close to your heart
like the name that was sewn on your sleeve
it's all gone away, but it's my cut feet on the ground
and i've seen it all, the one step sound
it's a battered soul crown
and now it's your cut feet on the ground
you try to look up but still fall down
and i sail on with the fish is under my skin
and the words are thrown to the wind
it's all too real, so i sail on
on to the race again,
as we learn to replace the men that we know
it wasn't supposed to be so defeating and demeaning
as our hearts are held over our heads
pushed along the rail
now my heart belongs to the sea, but my hands are tied to the wheel
and all i know is my bondservant soul must soon be freed
and as the flood tore into this haul,
i looked in and saw my shell fall away
'cause this world is make believe
an open eye is a window seat on a long ride back home
on to the race again,
as we learn to replace the men that we know
it wasn't supposed to be so defeating and demeaning
as our hearts are held over our heads
pushed along the rail
with no rest before me
if the sun don't stop its burning rays,
it will surely leave its mark
it's always here,
the fortunes are still at our ease
so don't be long,
just 'cause your heartaches are gone
so you lost all the things that were close to your heart
like the name that was sewn on your sleeve
it's all gone away, but it's my cut feet on the ground
and i've seen it all, the one step sound
it's a battered soul crown
and now it's your cut feet on the ground
you try to look up but still fall down
and i sail on with the fish is under my skin
and the words are thrown to the wind
it's all too real, so i sail on
on to the race again,
as we learn to replace the men that we know
it wasn't supposed to be so defeating and demeaning
as our hearts are held over our heads
pushed along the rail
now my heart belongs to the sea, but my hands are tied to the wheel
and all i know is my bondservant soul must soon be freed
and as the flood tore into this haul,
i looked in and saw my shell fall away
'cause this world is make believe
an open eye is a window seat on a long ride back home
on to the race again,
as we learn to replace the men that we know
it wasn't supposed to be so defeating and demeaning
as our hearts are held over our heads
pushed along the rail
Lyrics submitted by blinxbcr
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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