The meadowlark and the chim-choo-ree and the sparrow
Set to the sky in a flying spree
For the sport over the pharaoh
Little while later the Pharisees dragged comb through the meadow
Do you remember what they called up to you and me, in our window?

There is a rusty light on the pines tonight
Sun pouring wine, lord, or marrow
Into the bones of the birches
And the spires of the churches
Jutting out from the shadows
The yoke, and the axe, and the old smokestacks and the bale and the barrow
And everything sloped like it was dragged from a rope
In the mouth of the south below

We've seen those mountains kneeling, felten and grey
We thought our very hearts would up and melt away
From that snow in the night time
Just going, and going
And the stirring of wind chimes
In the morning, in the morning
Helps me find my way back in
From the place where I have been

And, Emily, I saw you last night by the river
I dreamed you were skipping little stones across the surface of the water
Frowning at the angle where they were lost, and slipped under forever
In a mud-cloud, mica-spangled, like the sky'd been breathing on a mirror

Anyhow, I sat by your side, by the water
You taught me the names of the stars overhead that I wrote down in my ledger
Though all I knew of the rote universe were those Pleiades loosed, in December
I promised you I'd set them to verse so I'd always remember

That the meteorite is a source of the light
And the meteor's just what we see
And the meteoroid is a stone that's devoid of the fire that propelled it to thee

And the meteorite's just what causes the light
And the meteor's how it's perceived
And the meteoroid's a bone thrown from the void that lies quiet in offering to thee

You came and lay a cold compress upon the mess I'm in
Threw the window wide and cried, amen, amen, amen
The whole world stopped to hear you hollering
And you looked down and saw now what was happening

The lines are fadin' in my kingdom
Though I have never known the way to border 'em in
So the muddy mouths of baboons and sows, and the grouse, and the horse and the hen
Grope at the gate of the looming lake that was once a tidy pen
And the mail is late and the great estates are not lit from within
The talk in town's becoming downright sickening

In due time we will see the far buttes lit by a flare
I've seen your bravery, and I will follow you there
And row through the night time
So healthy
Gone healthy all of a sudden
In search of the midwife
Who could help me
Who could help me
Help me find my way back in
And there are worries where I've been

And say, say, say in the lee of the bay, don't be bothered
Leave your troubles here where the tugboats shear the water from the water
Flanked by furrows, curling back, like a match held up to a newspaper
Emily, they'll follow your lead by the letter
And I make this claim, and I'm not ashamed to say I knew you better
What they've seen is just a beam of your sun that banishes winter

Let us go, though we know it's a hopeless endeavor
The ties that bind, they are barbed and spined and hold us close forever
Though there is nothing would help me come to grips with a sky that is gaping and yawning
There is a song I woke with on my lips as you sailed your great ship towards the morning

Come on home, the poppies are all grown knee-deep by now
Blossoms all have fallen, and the pollen ruins the plow
Peonies nod in the breeze and while they wetly bow, with
Hydrocephalitic listlessness ants mop up their brow

And everything with wings is restless, aimless, drunk and dour
Butterflies and birds collide at hot, ungodly hours
And my clay-colored motherlessness rangily reclines
Come on home now, all my bones are dolorous with vines

Pa pointed out to me, for the hundredth time tonight
The way the ladle leads to a dirt-red bullet of light
Squint skyward and listen
Loving him, we move within his borders
Just asterisms in the stars' set order

We could stand for a century
Staring, with our heads cocked
In the broad daylight at this thing
Joy, landlocked
In bodies that don't keep
Dumbstruck with the sweetness of being
Till we don't be
Told, take this
And eat this

Told, the meteorite is the source of the light
And the meteor's just what we see
And the meteoroid is a stone that's devoid of the fire that propelled it to thee

And the meteorite's just what causes the light
And the meteor's how it's perceived
And the meteoroid's a bone thrown from the void that lies quiet in offering to thee


Lyrics submitted by delial, edited by deadvirgo

Emily Lyrics as written by Joanna Newsom

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Emily song meanings
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  • +6
    General Comment

    The song is indeed about two sisters. In an interview, Newsom said that the song is a deeply personal narrative to her sister:

    "Like every other song on this record, "Emily" is deeply biographical. The Emily in the song is my sister, who's an astrophysicist; the narrator is myself, who is not an astrophysicist. Emily is the wanderer; she lives in Argentina and sometimes New Zealand. I'm not a wanderer, which is funny because I'm on tour half the time. I'm a home, hearth and family kind of person. It's difficult for me to make too many intelligent comments about [the symbolism in this song] because the song really is a very personal reaction to real life."

    And in response to Shefik: Van Dyke Parks was only in collaboration for the production and recording, so it is unfair to call him "Joanna's producer". His task was mostly writing string parts for the orchestration, which he certainly did an excellent job of. And his role in Ys cannot be underestimated. However, the production was still mostly the work of Joanna, and the recording/mixing was headed by Jim O'Rourke, Steve Albini, and Tim Boyle (Albini recorded Joanna's vocals and harp, whereas Boyle recorded the orchestral additions. The mixing was done by O'Rourke).

    ikefoxon December 02, 2006   Link

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