Icicle Tusk

I think the person speaking witnessed the coal miner's daughter being murdered for money. He was peeking through the wall at the prostitute with her murderer (keyhole peeker).

"Twenty-five grand on the table Of the high wall street stable I'm not responsible for The reputation of the Neighborhood whore"

The murderer tries to rationalize the act to the witness after the fact, using her reputation as a prostitute against her. The speaker isn't concerned with this fact, and takes justice into his own hands as he sees fit. "Icicle tusk" represents the weapon used, perhaps an ice pick.

This is the best song on the Fleet Foxes EP. I don't know what it's about, but the singing is very soulful.

To me, it's about the sorrow that comes with hard decisions and what you feel must be done because its right, to you. One is killed, but not in the name of money but because it was right to another. And then of course, living on with yourself, as the last few lines explain.

This song is a story about a peeping tom who observes the woman he loves being killed by an affluent man. The peeping tom realizes that the murderer will never be brought to justice so he shoots him down in the gambling hall.

A few items I noticed were:

In the first stanza we realize that this poem is addressed to someone. The "you" in this song is the person that he is going to shoot dead. This person is also referenced in the fourth stanza as his "surveillance keeper," or the one that will not be forgotten even though his "memory rusts".

In the second stanza he describes the "fluttering door". Could it be a window? A symbol representing the means by which the peeping tom observed the murder?

In the third stanza we learn a little more about the environment. It seems to be a gambling parlor. The reference to money is to show that the person who was killed ran around with an affluent crowd. He was very wealthy and was possibly a man of prominence. The song seems to take place in the days of the wild west and twenty-five thousand would have been a lot of money back then.

At the end of the third stanza and into the fourth we learn more about who is speaking. He is "not responsible for the reputation of the neighborhood whore" but he is a "keyhole peeker". In other words, he had never been with the prostitute but he was a peeping tom who was peeking into the room of the prostitute when he saw her murdered.

I agree with @amatterofgrace that the icicle tusk was the weapon used, but I wonder if the murderer may have used an actual icicle to kill the woman. This would make it very difficult to prove the murder because the icicle would just melt. The peeping tom realized that nobody would ever believe his story and so he took matters into his own hands. The last stanza describes how lonely he is in prison ("on my shelf").

I agree with @Lyle that the message of the song relates to doing the right thing even when there will be consequences. The song also speaks to the powerlessness of the lowly against corruption in high places.

I think this is one of the most beautiful songs ever written, and this is what i infer from it.

I'll shoot you dead For the father Of the coal miner's daughter Beneath the icicle tusk You and me among the flattering dusk

A man has a confrontation with the boyfriend/husband who is dating this girl (the coal miner's daughter). He really wants the approval of her dad, or maybe she is already married and cheating on her husband with the man. He plans to kill her husband tonight (beneath the icicle tusk, being the moon) in an attempt to win the girl's love.

In my haste I draw my weapon Designing your final lesson As you recede to the floor All is silent but the fluttering door

He sneaks in on the man, and plans to kill him. He draws his weapon, but he is having second thoughts/second guessing himself and murders the girl's boyfriend/whatever. The girl was there, all is silent but the fluttering door as she snuck out quietly.

Twenty-five grand on the table Of the high wall street stable I'm not responsible for The reputation of the Neighborhood whore

The man is paying either to buy the daughter or for a lawyer. The coal minor's daughter accuses him of murder and it is a huge trial. His defense was that she sleeps around and it could have been anyone that did it (since no one saw but her).

then is put in jail for life. During his trial, his defense is that he didn't do it and she sleeps around a lot. He especially remembers that night and in particular, the way the moon was glowing. Probably in quiet reflection of his actions or something. He gets very lonely sitting in prison, referring to his cell as his shelf.

But I'm a keyhole peeker And you're my surveilance keeper And though my memory rusts I will always see the icicle tusk

Not sure about the keyhole keeper part. Maybe he was stalking this girl even though she wanted to end things. He refers to the man he killed as his surveillance keeper because he feels haunted by the murder he committed. His memory rusts because he is has been in prison for a long time, but will never forget the way the moon looked that night and it all still feels very real to him.

And I must admit That it gets lonesome on my shelf This much I can tell This much I can tell

He admits prison is very lonely; He regrets committing the murder.

All wrong. Sorry guys. Icicle Tusk is the moon.

The song is about a man who lost his sense of purpose and his subsequent loneliness after defeating his rival in a duel. The 'surveillance keeper' is merely the subject of his memories; his rival. The 'keyhole peeping' is just a metaphor in which the narrator describes the way he remembers the subject - peering through a window into the past. The event is romanticized by the narrator, with the moon being the most significant part of his memory.

One of Fleet Foxes very best? I think so!