You have a father
There is another
You have a sister
There are no brothers.
You have good friends
You have a lover
When friendships end
You will still love her
But it’s Teresa they love the best.
There was a flood
A world of water
The mason’s wife
Swam for her daughter.
One thousand people
Did what they could.
They found the steeple
And tore out the wood.
Five hundred pieces
Means five hundred float.
One thousand people means
Five hundred don’t.
And it’s Teresa they love the best.
I’ve said it before,
And I’ll say it again.
All fires have to burn alive.
All fires have to burn alive.
From near his heart,
He took a rib.
All fires have to burn alive to live.
From near his heart,
He took a rib.
All fires have to burn alive to live.
So it’s Teresa that I love the best.
There is another
You have a sister
There are no brothers.
You have good friends
You have a lover
When friendships end
You will still love her
But it’s Teresa they love the best.
There was a flood
A world of water
The mason’s wife
Swam for her daughter.
One thousand people
Did what they could.
They found the steeple
And tore out the wood.
Five hundred pieces
Means five hundred float.
One thousand people means
Five hundred don’t.
And it’s Teresa they love the best.
I’ve said it before,
And I’ll say it again.
All fires have to burn alive.
All fires have to burn alive.
From near his heart,
He took a rib.
All fires have to burn alive to live.
From near his heart,
He took a rib.
All fires have to burn alive to live.
So it’s Teresa that I love the best.
Lyrics submitted by soupcans
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Though it yet remains turbid in my mind, I feel pretty sure that this song is, somewhere below all those layers of wailing prettiness, using gender to highlight the essential tragedy of humankind. Notice first that both the narrator and the addressed are male. Notice also that every mention of Theresa, the unattainable, unidentifiable maiden at the center of this cryptic ballad, is prompted by some catastrophe (heartbreak, mass drowning, partial dismemberment/perpetual immolation.) And the Mason's wife swims "for" her daughter, not "to" her, implying that the struggling mother fails to make it to the girl it in time. Given the chivalry of those times when towns had steeples, Masons, and no plans or tools to mollify a flood, the five hundred wood floats would have been given chiefly to women and their children. Every woman in this tale (excluding your sister, who, to you, isn't effectively a woman at all, because, well, she's your sister, although the syntax of the lines does almost seem to blame her for your lack of brothers...) has someone suffering for her sake. This isn't a sexist imprecation of the female, though. Women are doing the suffering too. And, because the purity and beauty of woman renders life itself both possible and worthwhile, people will die for her willingly, and still love her even after. So, though Eve will make him Fall, Adam gladly yanks out his rib. Man must endure incompleteness, death, heartche, lust, loneliness, just to keep his other half around. He never quite seems to get the girl, though. In fact, he's been burning for her for millennia. Love hurts, ya know?
That's a great verse, but the second to last line of the song is hands down the best - "All fires have to burn alive to live."
as far as the meaning goes,
the singer is in a relationship with this wonderful girl (Teresa) that everyone adores. There is a disaster in the relationship (symbolized by the flood), and he knows that even if he tears apart everything sacred to him (church steeple), its not certain that things will work out (about a 50/50 chance).
but hes saying that he must give it everything he has no matter what.
all fires must burn alive to live
You have a lover
When friendships end
You will still love her"
So, so beautiful. I cannot wait for this album.
Means five hundred float.
One thousand people means
Five hundred don’t"
i love this verse. this is a gorgeous song. i guess it's about a shipwreck.
Means five hundred float.
One thousand people means
Five hundred don’t.
And it’s Teresa they love the best."
Definitely the best verse.