Fill You In

Really awesome interpretations people! Another Josh Pyke song that I can listen to over and over again. But it is sad somewhat. Beautiful.

hes reflecting on a pretty traumatic experience, i think, whether its a break up or otherwise, there's definitely an aspect of betrayal involved.

it sounds like at first, in the "cave", he had found a sort of dull comfort, "a dark that only left you when the night came crawling home". he says that this was a nice existence at first, until the betrayal, when the roof blew away. from here everything sprialled out of control, and it began to affect him more an more, tearing at his vulnerable soul. i take the "branch fell down and came to rest upon my broken legs, and to my surprise that bough began to grow" to mean that when he was at his lowest, and he just felt like nothing else cold go wrong, the one thing he thought would kill him (metaphorically at least), symbolised in the branch, actually led to a renewal of his hope and faith, that if he just reflected on this opportunity for rebirth, (the sunset and the sky the next day) he might find that he would recover and be strong again.

he goes on to say how the 'bough' became a part of him... this is what makes me think this song is essentially about a terrible break up, where he was betrayed, and then falling in love again... that feeling of someone becoming a part of you, or completing you in a relationship; "it grew right through me". i dont get the grass bit, though, anyone else? hmm, rabbits are traditionally a sign of virility and fertility, so i think the bit about the rabbit, and the way he refers to it as 'she' is a symbol of her helping him to gain his physical and sexual confidence back; she lived throughout my body; she came in through my heart "right between my ribs"... i cant speak for everyone, but when i first fell in love, and began to find that hope and faith in another person and their love, it was a spiritual love at first, a deep connection (associated with the heart) and then we began to share physical experiences as well, living right through eachother. i think the bird pecking at his chest is symbolic of some criticisms, perhaps, of their relationship, and josh telling us that he was still vulnerable despite the newfound love.

"now there's a hole in the ground where I used to lay down and I can't fill it in" is referring to the fact that he has been scarred by the betrayal, and he's scared that even this new love will be affected by that. he wants to let her know about this though, to show her whats going on on the "colouring pad", because she has changed him, made him a full person, not just an "impression" of himself." "yeah you could lay your body in the hollow where I used to be and you could fill me in" is reassuring her that she can do this for him.

again with the rebirth, love taking him over, and then to how he has been inextricably changed by her... i know this feeling so well and this line is really what attracts me to this song "and then the very next day I believed in something new well, what can I say?" thants just amazing, you dont know what to say, cos youve never experienced being changed like that before! its interesting how the rabbit and the bird swap places here, i think thats probably showing the difference as their relationship progresses and strengthens... initially, she loved him but the bird could still peck at him and expose some doubt. now, the bird is still pecking, but the doubt cant be exposed because he knows with every cell in his body that she loves him and that he loves her. he draws on that knowledge for strength.

he finishes off by saying that he hasnt changed physically, he's still a man as he always was, but he needs her to understand him, "i want to fill you in", hes almost pleaing with her to understand that he used to be broken, invaded by something other than himself (the animals symbolising the bitterness and doubt from his previous betrayal). he says that he can go back to being just a projection of himself, he knows how to do that, but he doesnt want that, he wants her to know and understand.

okay so thats my take, probably a bit wordy, and maybe very different to everyone elses... not really sure!!

I like your analysis. Really cool.

I can offer a perspective on the grass. The grass can symbolise the neverending actions of the everyday life. He tries to hide away from the world after the traumatic experience, but reality intrudes, as the grass keeps growing and "cuts" him.

Although, when I first saw it, to me I thought instantly of the proverb "the grass is always greener on the other side". Maybe this could refer to the "cut" he feels at seeing his old love "growing" and moving on with her life, while he thinks that his is ruined. The colour imagery associated with grass lends to this kind of jealousy. But I dunno, that one seems a bit more tenuous...

this is seriously one of my favourite song ever. Beautiful!!

Well i might aswell throw my two cents in. It is pretty obvious it is about a person whom you love, but lose, and there is a hole and feeling of emptyness like you have lost apart of yourself. For the first part i think he talks about how you turn into a recluse and stay inside and keep everything in.I also think what he means by the bough and how it began to grow is that, the hole becomes apart of who you are (becuase it grows and drifts with you) and eventually is what brings you back into the real world, developing your 'new character' or new facade (ill explain that in a moment. also the bough could represent hate, rejection or denial of that person.)

I think the second part is the person returning to the world to live but everything just comes back to the hole inside of you. I think the rabbit though, represents a person (maybe a certain type of person like somone who was looking to settle down or find love) that has met this guy and found he was just empty (exhausted from grief and loss with no love to give so to speak). i think this is the same type of reference to the bird, i do think however the rabbit and bird were both digging or pecking to find his heart, or love and just leaving once they found nothing or nothing worth satying with. The person is just drifting through life with the emptyness in him

the chorus is pretty obvious aswell just saying he wants to get rid of this feeling and memory of her by filling her in with others love or anything (but obviously can't) the constant referance to the hole is just the hole in himself. And as i was saying before about how the bough became apart of him this is related to "And I was nothing more than an impression of myself" saying that he is pretending/trying to be the way he use to be to get on with his life; whatever that may have been but the bough has grown through him so it is apart of him now no mater how well he acts. when he says you could lay your body in the hollw..and fill me in it is just saying you can complete me once again and bluntly, fill the hole inside of him.

"And then the very next day I believed in something new well, what can I say?" -- well we have all been there after a break up and every day we just try to make up somthing to make ourselves feel better.

the last verse i think he is just making a statement to the person about his current life without her basically, by saying hes a man (or a shell, just a person really) like he use to be and he wants to fill you in about the hole she left ( he wants to inform her whats happened to him) could also just be about how he still wants to fill her (the hole) in with other things (i persoanlly think both can work). I think the same type of things goes with "cos there's hole in my chest where the animals lived and I want to fill you in." whether he is informing her by 'filling her in' or that whatever he has tryed to fill her in with hasnt worked and he still wants to fill the hole in....

Well hope that makes sense and yeah it is just my opinion so do what you want with it. Love the song, Josh Pyke is a legend and a half.

this song is stunning. although it does seem about losing & then finding new love & new hope, this song resounds with me personally in the context of my depression. worse than feeling awful things like rain & wind, i felt transparent & numb - like everything "went through me". the animals symbolise not positive things, but the constant depressive feelings, digging and tunnelling both into & through me. but i got better, i found hope, the 'bough' grew into something beautiful. :] but it leaves a lasting, indelible impression on me still - "the hole in the ground where i used to lay down" is that place before the depression that i can't quite seem to return to. & yeah. so even though this song is quite dark & sad, for me it reminds me of hope & growth. :]

.......could it be about his lonliness?? that's how i've always seen it...

"And I was happy there for a while until I woke one day to find the roof had blown away and the wind blew through me, and then the very next day it began to rain and it rained right through me" & "Now there's a hole in the ground where I used to lay down and I can't fill it in.......Yeah you could lay your body in the hollow where I used to be and you could fill me in." --in these parts, i thought he was talking about how he used to be ok just by himself, how he didn't take much notice of it, but then something happened that made him realise just how alone he was and now he longs for someone else to make him feel complete.

"And then a bird came and pecked at the space in my chest and then he flew right through me." & "cos there's hole in my chest where the animals lived and I want to fill you in. " & "and I want to fill you in cos there's a colouring pad in the back of my head and I want to fill you in." --talking about he feels empty, like his chest is hollow --> needs 'her' to fill that hole in.

i'm not sure if i'm right, but this is just how i've always thought of it... :\

p.s. please be nice, this is the first time i've done one of these :) tell me what you think.