The Blind Leaving the Blind: 4th Movement Lyrics

(Part One)
I'm coming back, my friends
From the deep and bitter end

Where I was so concerned
We would be the ones who burned
The more scared the safer
The more grateful for the grapejuice
And the wafer

And I sound done
And I feel done
But I'm not done
Unless you'd give up on a lost son

And I need to hear Him say
"You and your friends can come in
Your thoughts and that girl can come in
Your parents and brothers are here
I let them In
Who told you I wouldn't let you all in?
You are my children."

(Part Two)

Heaven shine through those stars
The city lights and the nearest bar
Where I'll be with my friends
Hiding from the bitter end
The armor and the weapons
Were a strange way
To show them my affection

And I sound done
And I feel done
But I'm not done
Unless you'd give up on a lost son
1 Meaning

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Cover art for The Blind Leaving the Blind: 4th Movement lyrics by Punch Brothers

Finishing up my interpretation of the full piece, "The Blind Leaving the Blind."

"I'm coming back, my friends, from the deep and bitter end, where I was so concerned we would be the ones who burned."

The narrator is returning from his period of debauchery and soul-searching, fully on the road to recovery now. All the time, he was concerned he would hurt his friends or alienate them, but now he's intent on repairing the relationships.

"The more scared, the safer, the more grateful for the grape juice and the wafer."

These are the effects of this period- he's more scared, of losing the ones he loved and possibly fearing God more. He's safer, no longer in a position where he feels he's "ultimately resigned to dying" as the third movement said. And he's ready to accept communion and return to a spiritual life.

"I sound done, and I feel done, but I'm not done, unless you'd give up on a lost son."

Everything about him appears resigned and defeated, but he isn't because he has spiritual support, and he doubts God would abandon him now.

"And I need to hear Him say, 'You and your friends can come in. Your thoughts and that girl can come in. Your parents and brothers are here. I let them in. Who told you I wouldn't let you all in? You are my children.'"

This is the climax of the whole piece, the resolution at last. He's found the missing piece from the spiritual puzzle and affirmed his faith, envisioning an all-loving and accepting God, instead of a judgmental one.

"Heaven shines through those stars, the city lights and the nearest bar, where I'll be with my friends, hiding from the bitter end."

Just as he's made peace with God, he has now made peace with his friends and fully returned to enjoy their company wholeheartedly. "The armor and the weapons were a strange way to show them my affection."

I think this means that he pushed his friends away when he was soul-searching and suffering from the past relationship, but it was really just out of a desire not to hurt them or be hurt by the possibility of them leaving him.

"I sound done, and I feel done, but I'm not done, unless you'd give up on a lost son."

Again, this is talking about faith and his vision of an accepting God.

This, to me, is a moving, powerful work. The lyrics alone are impressive enough in the way they tell their story, and that's not even scratching the surface of a musical analysis.

My Interpretation
 
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