Magnolia

I love when this song picks up at "You are weathered and worn". This is such an amazing song and her voice is perfect.

I agree that it is about someone who has been suffering from some illness for some time, sung from the point of view of a someone that is close to them.

"Your heartbeat is pulsing at night in your chest It's gold and it's glowing with all the life you have left" The person is still alive, and is at peace with the life they have lived. The "gold and glowing" of their heart may indicate they have let go of any bitterness they had towards their illness, and the hardships they've faced in life, and is just remembering the good. And/or they have been a good, noble person throughout their life.

"I received your words from hospitals Where you felt alone Your words like smoke, they made me sick But they kept me warm" The person has kept their friend (or whoever point of view the song is from) in the loop, as they have dealt with their illness. It may have been upsetting news, but they knew their friend was still alive which is what kept them "warm."

"Run where you'll be safe Through the garden gates To the shelter of magnolias" The POV of the singer is telling their friend it's all okay, and they want them to know they are okay with them letting go.

"Eyes like sea glass, so weathered and worn From all they've seen of adolescence torn" The person who is suffering has seen/been through a lot since their teenage years. Maybe from the illness or other things that happened during those years.

"The lovers who have tainted you They pulled you into the night They touched your skin with velvet gloves And made you feel alive" They may have turned to "lovers" to make them forget about their illness, and to let them feel like they are normal. Probably during their teenage/young adult years. However, there was no "true love" found, and that is why they were tainted by the lovers and now "alone" as referenced earlier in the song.

"There's not much time The blush in the sky begins to fade" The person may not have much time left to live and/or they may not have much time to tell others of what they are going through before their relationships are ruined forever.

"You were weathered and worn Your petals soft and torn The fading color You have bent your shoulders To hold the weight of the world You will surely shatter" The person who is sick has tried to keep their sickness hidden from the majority of people they know, and has affected a lot of their relationships (why they're "alone," why they've had tainted lovers, etc). They've pushed people away rather than let them in and let them know they are suffering, but it has made things even harder to deal with.

"Run where you'll be safe Through the garden gates To the shelter of magnolias There's not much time The blush in the sky begins to fade" It soon will be the end. Make peace with it all, and it will be alright.

So overall, I think it's a song about the acceptance of death.

This has got to be my favorite song on the new cd. It's so beautiful.

Run where you'll be safe Through the garden gates To the shelter of Magnolias

her voice is amazing. fantastic song

I think it's about someone who is sick (talking about hospitals) and the only way to be ok is to go to the garden of magnolias? I don't know what the garden is. heaven?

And this song really lead into Wine red with the whole arrow thing, and then the confrontation "who shot that arrow in your throat"

I love when this song picks up at "You are weathered and worn". This is such an amazing song and her voice is perfect.

I think its about a girl who's dying in a hospital (the life you have left) and during her teen years she was molested or abused or something(adolesence torn, lovers who have tainted you) and she never told anyone(bent your shoulders to hold the weight of the world) and maybe she got a disease from one of these guys and now she's dying. So she send letters to whoever the storyteller is, and the person telling the story is saying she has to run where you'll be safe... I think safe place might be heaven? Not sure. But this is my FAVORITE song off the new album.

My aunt is a florist, and when I asked her what magnolias stood for, she said perserverence and nobility.

I think the song is about someone who has just gone through chemo, and feels like they have aged decades over the last few months. They were once young and strong, but now they feel "weathered and worn" and it shows. The patient took a turn for the worst, and got sick enough to land them in the hospital. The narrator is trying to comfort him/her, telling the patient that it is okay to feel like you need to run away, to feel like you need to be cared for.

I played this for a woman in my mom's office who is going through chemo, and she loved it.

On a side note, does anyone else hear how angry Greta sounds when she sings this?? That confuses me, and is one of the few reasons I half-agree with GuiltyxGirl.

I agree with elmochild. because when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. "adolescence torn": the girl wasn't a normal child cuz she had cancer or another disease, and had her appearance change, go to the hospital, and couldn't do the same things normal kids could do. the "weathered and worn" part makes sense with elmochild's theory.. anways, this song is really great.