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My First Lover Lyrics

My first lover
My first lover
He was tall and breezy
With his long hair down
But he gets a little hazy
When I think of him now
My first lover
My first lover
He was always talkin'
Trying to bring me down
But I was not waiting
For a white wedding gown
From my first lover
I do not remember
Any going wrong
Just a red car playing
That old Steve Miller song
"Quicksilver Girl"
"Quicksilver Girl"
At a surfing party
With a red skateboard
With a bottle of Rolling
I was on the floor
When my first lover
My first lover
I do not remembers
Any fights or fits
Just a shaky morning
After calling it quits
When my first lover
"Quicksilver Girl"
"Quicksilver Girl"
"Quicksilver Girl"
And she's free
2 Meanings

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Cover art for My First Lover lyrics by Gillian Welch

I have trouble with this one: is it a song about an emotionally abusive boyfriend, a drunken one-time hookup that cost the narrator her virginity, or is the "lover" a metaphor for alcohol?

I don't think this song is metaphorical at all -- it sounds autobiographical to me, like another of my favorite Welch songs, "Wrecking Ball" (not to be confused with the Miley Cyrus hit, lol).

I think it's literally about her first lover. It's impressionistic, which is powerful in this context, because that's how adolescent memories look from adulthood: her strongest memories of him are his height, his long hair, and a Steve Miller song. Not necessarily a story of abuse or regret, just a rite of passage seen through the haze of the time that's passed since.

Beautifully...

Cover art for My First Lover lyrics by Gillian Welch

I'm pretty sure this is a straightforward account of Gillian's first lover, apparently a manipulative surfer jerk she met as a student at UC Santa Cruz.

Love the "Quicksilver Girl" reference.

 
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