Southern Comfort

I know this isn't exactly what the song is about, but my friend just died, and it reminds me of her dying. The first verse reminds me of her going up to heaven and her letting me know it's ok. Then the rest reminds me to live my life to the fullest.

I think the song is really about a break up though, and parting ways.

This (absolutely astoundingly awesome) song seems to be the cousin of Emo Phillips. The whole album gets progressively more serious and spiritual as it goes on, and this song is the crux of that. While Emo Phillips is a humorous take on death-oriented youngsters, this is a reflection on life and death and the potential for pain you have to cause others by living a lonely life and dying too young/alone.

Evan is a Vegan is one of the best debuts in a long, long time (along with Any Other City by Life Without Buildings), and Arrah and the Ferns will no doubt earn much-deserved cult fame soon. Long live the memory of this magnificent band!

I know that Arrah and the Ferns is a Christian band, so I'm thinking this song may be about someone singing to a friend or parent who refuses to accept Jesus? Like, they tell them that there's a better place in heaven than the earthly houses their friends and parents build.

BUT it could also be about suicide. The first half of the song until "For you to find in New Orleans" is the person who is giving up and looking to kill him/herself. The second half until the end is the friend or close one being left behind.

Or this is how I see it.

I originally thought this was about suicide, but I also like the ideas you guys suggested.

Support for suicide: "Cause I don't want to be your burden I don't want you to worry for me Just know it will better now It will be better we all will agree" The feeling suicidal people get when they think everyone will be happier without them. Mental illness(usually what prompts suicide) can feel like a burden to loved ones. I've been in that position, and it's expensive and difficult. "You won't have to waste your empathy You can do whatever you want" Once again, the warped perception from mental illness. Empathy feels like a waste on someone so hopeless and helpless, and they view their loved ones as better off with them dead. "You can try if you want you can build me a house" Building a house is a big undertaking; narrator is talking about how useless the attempts are at trying to keep him/her here. "But don't cry when I go when you knew that I would It's out of your hands, I'm trying to leave, let me go" Maybe the narrator voiced thoughts of suicide. When feeling helpless, sometimes control over your life is the last thing you have ("it's out of your hands"), and leaving is all that seems like a viable option. "When you go to meet your Maker When you go to cut your ties" Euphemisms for death. "But don't you know that you are living You are living inside a lie When you know it could be better here It could be better if you'd just try" A loved one trying to convince them it's worth it to try to get better. Suicide is a lie: it won't make things better, and there is always a reason to go on. "I want you to know the consequence When you leave this world alone" Leaving alone could mean the person is leaving by himself/herself, but it could also mean they're leaving the world alone(without them). Suicide is considered a sin, and it also wreaks havoc on the loved ones, hence the "consequence." "I won't try anymore; I won't build you a house Won't cry when you leave; I know that you're weak I did all that I could, you know I tried to give you a reason" Loved one giving up. Suicide is considered weak. The loved one tried to give them a reason to stay. "So you can die if you want, you can do what you please But remember the ones that have to bury the seeds Just know when you go, you place death upon every life Loved one saying that it's their choice, but it will affect others. Remember the people who have to pick up the pieces when you kill yourself. Suicide also usually leads others to follow; if someone you know commits suicide, you're more likely to do so. (Not sure of where I heard that, but I've seen it in several places and it makes sense)

Break-up "I'll be sure to fill it with imagery And I'll be sure to be sincere" Trying to just be friends? Maybe they loved each other, but drifted apart or just can't work together, but he wants to stay friends. "Cause I don't want to be your burden I don't want you to worry for me Just know it will better now It will be better we all will agree" This break-up is good for both of us, it's necessary. I don't want to bring you down or hurt you anymore. "When I don't have to be so many things When I don't have to be a son You won't have to waste your empathy You can do whatever you want" Being so many things=the strain a relationship can have on someone, from the responsibilities to the hurt that most relationships give. You can do whatever you want=find someone new, move on...maybe bitter about it? "You can try if you want you can build me a house But don't cry when I go when you knew that I would It's out of your hands, I'm trying to leave, let me go" It only takes one person to end a relationship. One wants to leave, but the other won't let go. "I'll write you one last letter I'll tie it to a string I'll hang it from a lantern For you to find in New Orleans" A love letter? Tying to a string=letting it float away, or maybe the words will tie them together? New Orleans=moving away, starting new life? "When you know it could be better here It could be better if you'd just try" We don't have to end. We can make this work. One person trying to keep them together. "I did all that I could, you know I tried to give you a reason" I tried to give you a reason to stay with me. Just the feeling of helplessness and frustration after giving a relationship everything and it still failing. "So you can die if you want, you can do what you please But remember the ones that have to bury the seeds Just know when you go, you place death upon every life" Death=metaphor for relationship dying. Seeds=new life? Maybe the seeds were the promise for what they had, and the burying them is recognizing they're dead OR hoping they'll grow.

Religion/Jesus "Cause I don't want to be your burden I don't want you to worry for me" Someone praying for the narrator's salvation. I felt like a burden when my Grandma was around. She would always try to get me to church, and prayed for me in hopes that I'd change. (I did, but after she was already gone) "When I don't have to be so many things When I don't have to be a son" Parent trying to save son, son feels stretched thin and can't change. "You won't have to waste your empathy You can do whatever you want" You can stop worrying about me, stop praying for me, stop trying to figure out why I am this way. "When you go to meet your Maker When you go to cut your ties When you go to drown in the water That springs eternal life" Religious references(Maker, cutting ties, baptism, Heaven). Cutting ties=umbilical cord cut, relationship with parent is cut. "But don't you know that you are living You are living inside a lie" The earthly world is a lie compared to the Heaven that awaits us. "When you know it could be better here It could be better if you'd just try" You could be happy and saved if you would try. "I want you to know the consequence When you leave this world alone" In death, the person will suffer the consequences for rejecting Jesus, especially by sinning through suicide. "So you can die if you want, you can do what you please" Parent giving up; death is the worst thing they can do, and saying that is showing how much the parent is just giving up on their child. "Just know when you go, you place death upon every life" Death on every life=refusal to accept Jesus is killing parent.

Hope it's not too sloppy, I'm getting sleepy but I wanted to finish this before I went to bed :P Like I said, some valid interpretations. I definitely think it's a conversation, with the male being the one killing himself/breaking up with her/not accepting Jesus and the female putting together the pieces when he lets her down. Great song, super sad. I've been on both sides for all of the interpretations, so my personal experiences may have colored my thoughts.

Oh my...my comment was super long xD