I Was a Cage

From Andy: The last song on The Eventually Home is called “I Was A Cage” and that’s him standing and overlooking his wife in bed with his brother about to kill her. That’s where the second record left off. The third one picks up exactly there with him. Instead in the heat of the moment he kills his brother and he makes his wife watch.

In the first song it’s told that a farmer’s wife heard the murder [of his brother], the children saw the murder, and the farmer’s wife turns the sailor in and he goes to prison. There’s a mention of a trial, but it’s more implied that he’s sentenced to death. It’s a recounting of his mistakes and his triumphs while speaking with his family and the captain’s ghost for the final time. It’s a man and his last thoughts before he meets death. It’s a stationary album because he isn’t doing anything but sitting in a cell. It definitely goes back to the first album in terms of the storytelling process with thoughts rather than actions. He murdered his brother and has to pay for his sins, but he has to reconcile his own thoughts about his life before he dies. It’s a really dark adventure in this guys mind that takes place during his last week alive.

I hear and afterwards I swore that I would harm you not haunt idk though I love this song andy hull is great when is the 3rd CD coming out?

I thought it was "afterwards I swore that I would haunt you" but I could be wrong. He talks about haunting a lot on the album so maybe that's why I'm hearing it.

I concur. It's "... I would haunt you"

beautiful, i can relate entirely.

The first time I heard it, I didn't even question that the line was "And afterwords I swore that I would haunt you," but now that I listen to it closer, it really does sound like HARM... enough though HAUNT makes more sense and it is a reoccurring theme in the album. He does mention hurting HER a few times though... like in Gasoline Family. At least I thought he was talking about her and not the guy she cheated with.

ANYWAY, this song kind of seems like he is kind of realizing why Anna would have cheated on him. Or he's just too tired to be so angry about it anymore. Still doesn't want to forgive her, though. Obviously the "I was a cage," is a negative thing. No one wants to be caged. "I am afraid of the truth inside of you," could possibly be him knowing that she had reason to cheat. He left them for so long and she was so alone even though he went to sea for his family. And ending with "I was away" just kind of reinstates that.

he's singing to his wife, kind of assuming that he must have been like a "cage" to her, holding her back or that she felt stifled by him. even though he probably doesn't completely agree, he's realizing that that is the way she viewed him. same with "wave collapsing you", like she felt drowned by his love and she acted out because of it