Clementine

This was the first song I heard by her, and it made me fall in love with Sarah Jaffe's vocals and soft music.

It's an obvious cry to the popular song ' Oh My Darling, Clementine '.

She's sick and tired of boys making promises, and then coming and going. She wants someone who will cherish her, like 'dear Clementine', a man who will remember her even after her death. There's also the underlying question of indecision. Do they still love her or not?

The question is: Is she saying "I'm feeling different" or "I feel indifferent" It can be heard either way even if you listen closely. Just an artist's way of leaving it up the the listener to interpret for themselves.

As far as song interpretation, the lines:

we were young we were young we were young we didn't care ...oh all that time, wasted

strike a chord with most of us. Wasted youth, wasted time. Don't we all wonder that to some extent when we come of age?

In any case, it is a beautiful song that has universal themes. This is one of the best tunes I have heard in a long time.
Way to go Sarah...

It could also be a reference to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

the name "clementine" means gentle, merciful. i think this song is about how after so many relationships, you get calloused and i think she's regretting being so calloused. i think she just wants to be more gentle, more delicate, more careful w/ her heart and the hearts of others.

50 means all. Change my mind means change my ways and in doing so feel like a new person. Young means careless, didn’t stop to think, is it gone as in God’s touch (protection or spirit) or is it flowing in the air.

Time wasted without God, more delicate = more pure, I wish my name was Clementine means I wish I could be more merciful, mild and gentle'…but it’s hard because innocence is gone.

I think definitely a reference to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a file about undergoing a procedure to forget your past obsessions of a person. Kate Winslet's character's name was Clementine and she underwent the forgetting procedure.

In this songs case, it seems more generalized like a desire to forget a lot of things in addition to any one person and even includes other decisions about drinking and/or drugs. Just bad decisions in general that one wants to forget about.

So as far as my interpretation goes, she starts off with "50 states, 50 lines, and so on"

50 - in my opinion - doesn't really have a meaning in itself other than "a lot of" A lot of boys, a lot of lies.

Now I feel indifferent - She has lost the feelings she could once have for someone. Or at least for some time. She is sad because of someone who's left her life, possibly by cheating, or no longer being in love, or for any reason.

The whole chorus on "We were young we didn't care Is it gone Oh it's floating in the air I changed my mind Now I feel indifferent"

They were young when they started, she, too, changed her mind. But still she wished he was still there in one way or another. Torn between the two opposites.

I wish I was a little more delicate - I believe this turns to "perhaps I did something wrong, maybe I should have been more like this"

In the end she's hurt and wants this all to just go away. No more heartaches. Hence "I wish my name was Clementine"; a reference to "The enternal sunshine of the spotless mine". Remove it from memory altogether.

Happy I could render her some inspiration & lyrics ideas specially in those times of crooky dating sites.(xdating types , steamyplaycom etc so many) I know I was on the site quite a exhibit of "duck pucks" at the end but I had to make a point how meaningless we are if we are taken as just physical and not wholly (wholy not holy should we be taken) Psycho-emotional & physical package treated as One.

I didn't upload this because I wasn't sure if she said "now I'm feeling different" or "now I feel indifferent", I think it's the second option, but Sarah's vocals always confuse me!

I agree with bluenay and also think that she's actually saying "indifferent"