Down in the bardo
There was nothing to hold so we let it go
We were empty, we were hollow
Shined with everything we were living for
And you see your soul
Like some picture show
Across Idaho
We were running through the autumn leaves
A couple kids just wearing out our jeans, running
Mary she's our autumn queen
Watch her smoking cigarettes in the street
And down she goes
Cold she blows
Across Idaho
And there's lights up in the north
And I ain't wondering where you are
Yeah just lights up in the north
Now it's white as snow
Watch the evening glow
Across Idaho
There was nothing to hold so we let it go
We were empty, we were hollow
Shined with everything we were living for
And you see your soul
Like some picture show
Across Idaho
We were running through the autumn leaves
A couple kids just wearing out our jeans, running
Mary she's our autumn queen
Watch her smoking cigarettes in the street
And down she goes
Cold she blows
Across Idaho
And there's lights up in the north
And I ain't wondering where you are
Yeah just lights up in the north
Now it's white as snow
Watch the evening glow
Across Idaho
Lyrics submitted by ready set megan, edited by Expound
Idaho Lyrics as written by Gregory Alan Isakov
Lyrics © THIRD SIDE MUSIC INC.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Bardo = a state before one’s next birth or re-birth, often a time of great opportunity and liberation. Isakov is using this Buddhist idea as a metaphor for childhood. This song is a reflection on the narrator's childhood, something vast, open, limitlessly rich, and both aweing and calming when recalled, suggested to the narrator by the spaces and skies of Idaho in winter, another bardo and perhaps also a metaphor for the narrator's time of life. This is a masterpiece of word and music. JR
Probably my favorite song on the CD.
It seems to be about fond, perhaps also sad, memories of his past or childhood. Not sure who the "Mary" in the second chorus is - maybe a common friend with the addressee of the lyrics. No matter what the meaning, this is such a beautiful song! I love it!
@Stripeythecrab I had the feeling that Mary was someone who had died. "down she goes"...
hell of a nice song!