A Slow Parade

I see this song as a memory for him of a person who was close to him that has passed away. I also think that he probably scattered thier ashes in the sea which is the reason for him going to the sea in the chourus. Just an opinion though, it's a beautiful mellow song.

theres a beautiful video of bondy playing some songs in this apartment. this song is the first one, and its just great: http://www.baeblemusic.com/concertvideo/The-Guest-Apartment/AA-Bondy.html

Correction to the third stanza:

Find another horse to break Just a rider on a wheel In a dream where love was real

Quiet simply put it a tortured soul whos leaving. Hes leaving the person hes referring to when saying "is it you I was to meet". He paints this person in an aweful life saying, "With your saints there on a chain Waiting on another rain". I believe he is saying those who treat said person the best are those wish to leave the most. Showing that this person, most likely his lover, from the line In a dream where love was real, he shows he once believed it, but it was just a scene or imagination. And hes finally leaving, from the Find another horse to break. But I believe if you see how he refers that that person is "dragging their shadow" they are ashamed of people. Why I believe that if you hear "And Im going down. Where the waves will surround. To the roll and the pound. Of the wild, wild sea. Talking sweet to me" you see a light picture of peace and clarity. If you combine this to the idea that it's A slow parade, you may see a funeral. near the beggining of the 3rd stanze he says. "Marching in a slow parade. There are ashes where you laid. Sometimes I dont mind at all. And sometimes head against the wall" It may show the perspective of the person who caused the heart break. So I see it as a man who commited suicide in order to escape the horrible conditions he was in. Or maybe I just see it that way, because thats how my friend put it in his suicide letter to his cheating wife before he killed himself.

Drag your shadow down the street Was it you I was to meet With your saints there on a chain Waiting on another rain

And I'm going down Where the waves will surround To the roll and the pound Of the wild, wild sea Talking sweet to me

Marching in a slow parade There are ashes where you laid Sometimes I don't mind at all And sometimes head against the wall The tide will bring and tide will take Find another horse to break just a rider on a wheel In a dream where love was real

And I'm going down Where the waves will surround To the roll and the pound Of the wild, wild sea Talking sweet to me

The song is about someone sacrificing their life to save a friend.

I think it's much more a song about losing someone. From the first verse, I get the feeling he's a pall bearer in a funeral procession a la Louisiana, literally dragging the coffin and it's shadow down the street. Perhaps contemplating the moment he met the person that died.

The chorus is either him sinking in a depression or simply being in a place where the oceans waters calm him down.

The second verse actually gives me the thought it's a funeral. A slow parade could easily be a funeral procession. Ashes are nothing and the person missing from his life doesn't bother him sometimes, but others it leaves him distressed not knowing what to do. He is well aware that people leave your life just as quickly as they jump in it, and he wants the depression to dissipate so he can move on. The depression is pretty strong though as he says he was just gliding through a dream where the love was real.

The ending chorus may be simply reiterating the first's feelings, or him killing himself. That's just how I see it. It always leaves a twinge in my heart similar to Lover's Waltz.

It's about loss. This song just gets me.