Fire Island, Ak

this song is fantastic! I can't believe that noone's commented on it yet--

I think that it might be about a man who sent a letter to the woman he loves to tell her of his love, but she dies(?). Well regardless, they find the letter in her house on Fire Island(?), and the narrator is positive about whether or not his deceased love has received it.

the last line is about her death.

yeah that's it!!!! god i love this song!

Ok here's my alternate theory:

He's a psycho, in Alaska, who sent a letter bomb or anthrax or maybe just a death threat to someone.

"Here's how I found out a man called my house he asked me what I knew they found my letter"

Somehow he left some evidence behind pointing to him. He finds out the letter got there when they call him up and question him and this makes him happy.

"Good morning Fire Island I'm not sure who to ask they said wait until tomorrow they found my letter"

He's not sure what to do now that they are on to him though.

"Cinders in the garden from the cars parked on the lawn they're tracking up the carpet they found my letter"

They get a search warrant and start going through everything in his house. He's not happy about it because he knows they'll find something.

"You've got to start the car the ice has come"

He's telling himself he has to leave now before the "ice"-the police-trap him and he can't escape.

or it could be what the first poster said...either way its a good song.

Fire Island is alos the name of the island in Cook Inlet right off the end of the Anchorage International Airport runway, in Anchorage, AK. - You can't miss it coming or going. Regardless on whose house they are tracking up, his or hers... He's outa here... perhaps, even, on the way down here.

He says something he knows he shouldn't have said - he tried to keep it in, but inevitably it came out and upset all sorts of people. He is now somewhat relieved because he doesn't have to wonder nervously about whether or not his words reached the person they were directed at, but at the same time, he's ready to start his car and run away from the icy stares of the citizens of Fire Island. They are prying at him, trying to get him to say more of what he shouldn't say.

Has anyway read the David Sedaris story "Blood Work" from his book "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim"? This song really reminds me of that.. It's like this: David starts cleaning houses, and goes to an apartment where a very sweaty man resides, who is not in favor of air conditioning. He continually talks about FIRE ISLAND in a very loud voice, "...as if it were a prearranged code, the watchwords signaling me to hand over the microfilm." As David starts to find gay pornography piled about the apartment, and wonders why the guy asks if he is coming to clean at 2PM or 2AM, he slowly catches onto the fact that this guy didn't just want any housecleaner. He watches a "movie" and pleases himself in David's presence, then proceeds to pay David $230 dollars for his services, even though he didn't "service" him, as this was a mixup in cleaning services.

ps- I stole that summary from amazon

Kind of a stretch.

I agree with Bugoff. At first I thought this was a sad song about a man sending his love a letter and finding out that she had someone else, but the cinders tracked in the house part definately points to her being dead and his being investigated for it.