The lecture halls we filled in the Fall fell through
The pedagogue in me asked, "what have you read lately?"
(A pleasantry the blonde in you responded to)
You won't go into the half of it, so I'm going to nitpick

The exegesis comes quick to whoever's less sorry now
I've forgotten you've a right to be rotten
With the killer-instincts of an old flame who's slain you
I just finished the book, and some of it's true

Disgusted by the rust on a voice that you never use
How could you expect your Jesuit sect to play here?
The fake book dates back to Iberia
You won't go into the half of it, so I'm going to nitpick

The exegesis comes quick to whoever's less sorry now
I've forgotten you've a right to be rotten
With the killer-instincts of an old flame who's slain you
I just finished the book, and some of it's true

What will you burn for warmth?
Will you keep a husband this season?
Who could take you on?
Itinerant as the day is long
You won't go into the half of it, so I'm going to nitpick

The exegesis comes quick to whoever's less sorry now
I've forgotten you've a right to be rotten
With the killer-instincts of an old flame who's slain you
I just finished the book and some of it's true
I just finished the book and some of it's true
I just finished the book and some of it's true


Lyrics submitted by crippledmcgimp

Rereading the Marble Faun Lyrics as written by Daniel Bejar

Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave

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Rereading The Marble Faun song meanings
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3 Comments

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  • +3
    My Interpretation

    The Marble Faun is a moral tale by Nathaniel Hawthorne. There are four Characters, two of them female: Hilda and Miriam. I think this tries to use The Marble Faun as a metaphor for the narrators view of his ex-girlfriend. the two female characters are opposites. Hilda is compared to the virgin mary, morally pure, but also annoyingly naive. Despised by critics because of her disregard for history and knowledge along with unwavering condemnation and hypocrisy. Miriam is quite different. She is darker and seen by the narrator as an immoral woman, but decidedly passionate and human. She idealizes characters like Salome and is sexually liberated and impulsive.

    Bejar seems to be conflicted in which type of woman he is comparing with his ex-lover. At the beginning "the blonde in you responded to" suggests a naivety. The second verse ties her to the Jesuits (formed when the iberian peninsula was united, Iberia, after it was taken back from The Islamic Almohad) suggests a religious piety coinciding with Hilda's religious affectation. Coupled with the biting comments suggested in the chorus, like Hilda's quickness to denounce immoral actions, shows Bejar is comparing his ex to Hilda.

    The most interesting is the conflict between the women. Hilda denounces her friendship with Miriam, who is involved in an accidental murder, and Hilda thinks she must cast off Miriam to retain her lofty morality. Miriam replies that she is an angel among men and women, inhuman, and that she needs a sin to soften her. I think this moral dilemma is at the heart of the way Bejar thinks of his ex. Once a complete person, and then casts off her passion and humanity in favor of a rigid prudishness. "I just finished the book, and some of its true," may refer to the fact that the narrator is heavily slanted towards Hilda's piety. Ultimately I think this song is about the duality of woman.

    I LOVE THIS SONG!

    dstroyedon January 07, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this is one of my favorite Destroyer songs, which is hands down off the greatest Destroyer album (City of Daughters)

    All one needs to understand this song is a dictionary to fight Dan Bejar's love of big words...

    crippledmcgimpon July 03, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is most likely some obscure reference to Hawthorne's romance "the Marble Faun".... Linkie..

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marble_Faun

    The_Marble_Faunon February 03, 2008   Link

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