At Last

I think you all got close, but not quite there.

Here is my theory (a-hem!):

The song is written from the point of view of a family dog, an aging dog who is facing death but knows he has served his people well and faithfully and is ready, if necessary to die.

clues: i am an animal and cannot explain my life

down this chain

if death should smell my breathing

relation means nothing

i wished to stay among my people.

Plus Neko is a major animal person.

I take this song, not necessarily portraying someone on their death bed. Instead, I see this song as someone who has just had an epiphany of sorts. Having a sudden realization on how they've lieved thus far and what they've become. She is truly content with the way she has lived her life, and if she were to leave the world at that particular moment, she would be happy with everything.

I also see it as a stance of independence and individuality and the idea that one is in complete control of their path in life. In the second verse, we see the independence. Much like a mirror of what transcendentalists would hold near and dear to them. Being able to depend entirely upon ones own being and not needing others to fulfil their hapiness but instead rejoicing in individuality. In the thrid verse, Neko talks of death. She portrays a fearlessness in dying at that very moment. And that even in her death, she still "owns every bell" that would toll her away.

All of this is based purely on opinion and what I take from this song. It remains one of my favorite Neko songs.

Short.

But Sweet.

and if death should smell my breathing as it passes beneath my window let it lead me trembling, trembling

I love those lines so much... God, she can sing.

I love the verse "I own every bell that tolls for me".

That line makes me think of Deep Red Bells.

bells=death, beckoning.

I think she's saying that at last she's come to find that she's happy with the way she lived and should she die at least she will have lived.

I wonder about the meaning of 'Relation now means nothing'

This is such a beautiful song - I listen to the final three songs on "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" together on repeat. I absolutely agree with littlelindsayy that it's about the peace that comes before death, knowing that you have lived a good life. I think that "Relation, now, means nothing," might be talking about the idea that good and evil can be relative or subjective - instead, she has chosen her way of life and thought it good ("Having chosen, so defined").

This is such a beautiful song - I listen to the final three songs on "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" together on repeat. I absolutely agree with littlelindsayy that it's about the peace that comes before death, knowing that you have lived a good life. I think that "Relation, now, means nothing," might be talking about the idea that good and evil can be relative or subjective - instead, she has chosen her way of life and thought it good ("Having chosen, so defined").

I agree with littlelindsayy about the message of the song, but I think "relation, now, means nothing" could demonstrate that by the time life is nearing its end and a person feels accomplished, thier earthly bonds with people become unimportant. It no longer matters who she has been tied to her whole life; she has shaped her own identity and is ready to depart into a new world.