Lovesong of the Buzzard

I don’t think this song has any specific meaning or purpose, other than to express a sense of religious skepticism, and very poetically, I might add. It draws on several Christian stories, maxims, and beliefs, but adds sinister twists to them. There is a stark juxtaposition of idealistic religious dogma against secular realism. For instance:

“Lucy in the shade of the dogwood blooms Yesterday the solace of a poison fish”

The dogwood fable, as explained above by Beam92, specifically alludes to Christ. Sitting under the dogwood blooms could be listening/understanding his teaching, it could be mourning his crucifixion. I prefer the former because during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus fed the masses with one fish–but the fish in this song is poisoned, a twist to traditional dogma, a hint of skepticism. The fish, perhaps an image for the sermon itself, feigns solace. People listen to Jesus and are comforted, but there is something not quite right about what they are hearing, something beneath the surface is not quite healthy–while they are taking in the idealism, they are dying. The body is in pain while the “spirit” soars towards something hopeful and chimerical.

“No one is the saviour they would like to be The lovesong of the buzzard in the dogwood tree”

Despite all Christ’s good intentions, the world is still full of shit. Terrible stuff still happens. Things die, other things eat the dead things (like the buzzard). The buzzard could also be Christ, which I think is a pretty shocking image. He preaches about life after death, an eternity of happiness, all wishes fulfilled. Almost like a buzzard feeding on carrion, his message gains strength on his “afterlife” assertions. People want hope, they want something greater, better than reality; they are more likely to abide by his teachings if they are promised a cushy seat in heaven. Jesus gains strength and followers by feeding on their fears and notions of death. The horses and the “cradle’s unimaginative sense of time” also juxtapose worldly and heavenly life. Horse laughing: “Yes this world sucks; sucker them in by offering better.” The cradle plays the obvious, “unimaginative” eternity card to sway a mass of mortal followers.

“Springtime and the promise of an open fist A tattoo of a flower on a broken wrist”

Jesus rises on Easter, opens his fist to show where the stakes hung him to the cross, but in this instance he is very worldly and contemporary, having a tattoo instead of a hole, and despite having risen from death as the son of God, he still has a broken wrist, a very mortal thing to sport when associated with God. The "flower tattoo" also substantially links Christ to the dogwood image. Anyway, all of this puts his "godhood" into serious doubt: what diving being has a tattoo and broken wrist?

These descriptions are framed by the scene of two people, man and woman, sitting on a hill beneath a tree in the late afternoon. The song's religious skepticism is superbly amplified by the last two lines:

“Lucy tells me jokingly to pe her brow With a pocket map to heaven and the sun goes down”

To wipe your brow with a map to heaven doesn’t put much faith or importance in the map. It’s like she’s saying, “Yes, Christ’s promises about eternity are nice, but right now my brow is sweaty and I’d like to clean it. I’ll deal with that other stuff later--if ever. Right now, the sun’s setting and I’d like to watch.”

I think the reference to the 'solace of a poison fish' is saying that there is comfort in faith in Christianity, but it is corrupt (or maybe corrupting). Sam Beam seems to be one of those who believes in the teachings of Christianity, but not the dogma. I heard James Taylor say on TV the other night that he writes 'gospel music for agnostics'. I thought that was sort of applicable to Sam Beam, too. He uses intense religious symbolism, but always infuses his songs with doubt/skepticism. A tender-hearted heretic. This song is really complex and simple at the same time. Like Beam92, I still am absorbing it. Whatever all Beam's symbolism means, it is truly beautiful.

I read an interview where Sam Beam said that sometimes he just writes and he doesn't even have an inkling as to what it's about. His response to the question of, "What's Lovesong of the Buzzard about?" was no.

Not every song has to have a deep powerful meaning, guys. Haven't you ever written anything that was aesthetically pleasing and nothing more?

Holy shit Sam Beam is a genius. Learning about this song gave me the chills and made my eyes water. This song is definitely optimistic...to me atleast. This is from wikipedia: There is a Christian fable that proclaims that the cross used to crucify Jesus was constructed of dogwood.[3] As the fable goes, during the time of Jesus, the dogwood was larger and stronger than it is today. After his crucifixion, Jesus changed the plant to its current form: he shortened it and twisted its branches as to assure an end to the use of the plant for the construction of crosses, and he transformed its inflorescence into the form of the crucifixion itself. The four white bracts are cross-shaped, which are said to represent the four corners of the cross, each bearing a rusty indentation as of a nail; the red stamens of the flower, represents Jesus' crown of thorns; and the clustered red fruit represent his blood. The first stanza seems to represent that there were bad times in the past, "yesterday the solace of a poison fish." and good times in the future: "tomorrow I'll be kissing on her blood red lips." There's so much more meaning in this song...I'll have to think about it and come back to it later.

this song is glorious...

C'mon people - where's the love? This song is AMAZING. This is the kind of song that you live a life too.

I don't know about this Sam Beam guy. I've always thought he was a hero of sorts, but after listening to his new album, I'm thinking he's probably more of a god.

he definitely is a god. an absolute genius.

i absolutely adore this song.

anyone else feel like his new 'sound' is a bit jeremy enigk? not that thats a bad thing, or that he's ripping him off, just has that feel to it.

From hearing his songs... I don't really believe That Sam really is agnostic, I refuse to believe that evev if he said it... like SONGYONE said he's a "tender hearted heretic" and I thinks he does believe in Christianity but a bit resentful with it... it might have something to do with something that happened in his life... what? I completely ignore it

wow emilykate, what a thorough analysis. I agree on all your points. Maybe he is suggesting that christianity/religion is a cloud, obscuring the already "failing light" (truth, which is hard to make out/find).

I dont know, it seems rather hopeful overall. Its just that last stanza that makes things unclear.