The Drying of the Lawns

I think this is about a guy who is completely starstruck in love with a girl, but she doesn't feel quite the same way. Let's look at the verses...

"She said I cannot tell you why, she said I'm in a rush There are softer dreams for you to think about now, love Things that you have seen this night runs by this river's flow I can use you if you're in the flame, I'm a-growin' old"

She cannot tell him why she doesn't feel the same way, she doesn't really want to dissect it because she is in a rush. She hopes to let him down easy, so he will move on and have softer (more attainable) dreams. "Things that you have seen this night runs by the river's flow" makes me think they shared an intimate moment, but like a river, she's explaining that it passes quickly and is gone - it just happened. She used him in the heat of the moment.

"Well I said I've sailed the frozen corners of the dark Atlantic Sea And I drifted on the waves and the mirage beneath And never have I felt such numb and pointless searchin' true As when I set my eyes on torched up lands of the mark of you"

He responds back saying he's completely in love, he's finally found the one, etc.

"She said you follow me like sheep that think this king could do some harm But I tell you boy, I'm frightened still with a sister's heart I set my eyes upon the shore whenever you wake up I'm leaving because you don't feel what you're dreamin' of"

She points out how attached he is to her already, how protective he is ("follow me like sheep"). Not sure what to think of the sister's heart bit. The line "I set my eyes upon the shore" makes me think when he "wakes up" or is around her, she's always looking away from him, toward the shoreline, for an escape. She doesn't want to be with him ("I'm leaving"), and she finally says the reason why: because she thinks his love is too much, too full of dreams in his head, and not how he <i>really</i> feels.

"But I will stand down in the hallway with no thought to leave the set Of a movie I will sure as hell not end just yet If evenings are for romance, then this morning is for us It will never end and our last dream will leave this house"

Love him likening their "talk" to something like a movie set... it sets an even more dramatic tone. He stands up and says he will not leave, even after the romance is gone. His love for her will never end.

And now the chorus makes a bit more sense. She keeps saying this is not the "summer dream" love that she wanted, and she wants to leave him to dry "out there". But in the last verse, HE says it's not the "summer dream" love either... it actually IS real love... and that yes, she is frightened, because she wants to leave the both of them out to dry (not just him, thus the use of "leave us here").

She said I cannot tell you why, she said I'm in a rush There are softer dreams for you to think about now love Things that you have seen this night that run by this river's flow I can use you if you're in the flame, I'm a growin' old

And no this is not the summer dream she said It's just the drying of the lawns I want to leave out there

Well I said I've sailed the frozen corners of the dark Atlantic Sea And I drifted on the waves and the mirage beneath And never have I felt such numb and pointless searchin' true As when I set my eyes on torched up lands of the mark of you

And no this is not the summer dream she said It's just the drying of the lawns I'm going to leave out there

She said you follow me like sheep that think this king could do some harm But I tell you boy I'm frightened still with a sister's heart I set my eyes upon the shore whenever you wake up I'm leavin' because you don't feel what you're dreamin' of

And no this is not the summer dream she said It's just the drying of the lawns I'm going to leave out there

But I will stand down in the hallway with no thought to leave the set Of a movie I will sure as hell not end just yet If evenings are for romance then this mornin' is for us It will never end and our last dream will leave this house

And no this is not the summer dream I said It's just the drying of the lawns that want to leave us here Oh it's the drying of the lawns that want to leave us here

"She said you follow me like sheep that think this king could do some harm" should be "She said you follow me like sheep that think this cain could do some harm" cus sheep farmers carry a cain to intimidate and heard the sheep

There are quite a few mistakes here, but I'll only comment upon a couple I am pretty certain are off:

"As when I set my eyes and torched the plans on the mark of you" should instead be "As when I set my eyes on torched up lands of the mark of you"

And "If pain and awful romance then this mornin' is for us" should instead be "If evenings are for romance, then this morning is for us"

:)

First I'll start with a couple of corrections as I hear them in the song:

"Things that you have seen this night that run by that the river's flow" should be: "Things that you have seen this night runs by that river's flow"

"I can use you if you're in the flame, I'm a growin' old" should be: "I can't use you if you're in the flame, I'm a growin' old"

"As when I set my eyes and torched the plans on the mark of you" should be: "As when I set my eyes on torched up lands of the mark of you"

"She said you follow me like sheep that think this king could do some harm" should be: "She said you follow me like shep that think this cane could do some harm"

"If pain and awful romance then this mornin' is for us" should be: "If evenings are for romance then this morning is for us"

There are a couple other lines I'm not sure of either like "the mirage beneath" sounds to me like "the Pirogenes" which I searched and couldn't find anything for. Same goes for "with a sister's heart" sounds to me like "with Zisser's arm" but couldn't find anything for that either. Just a couple of points where being sure of the lyrics might bring more clarity to the interpretation.

Otherwise, I see it like this.

First verse: She needs to leave and soothes him by telling him to think about "softer dreams" instead of the harder things that are real and in front of them. She's pulling the plug but wants to soften the blow for him. There was something natural that brought them together, the "things that you have seen this night" that "run by the river's flow" but she's past it now (growing old) and can't deal with it if he's still so impassioned.

Second verse: Sounds like he's trying to convince himself he can handle being alone. He doesn't just claim he's sailed the dark sea at that point, he mentions that he's said it in the past. What is the mirage beneath the waves? The depth of his sadness or loneliness? I'm not sure. I think the next lines are him trying to say he thinks he's found someone just like him. He's good with the "torched up lands" or perhaps maybe her baggage?

Third verse: She says she will never hurt him even if he is having trouble letting go or acting like a "sheep" following her around. She's still concerned though, but not as a lover. I think maybe she doesn't want to leave, but every time she sees an end to his pattern, "seeing the shore", whenever he finally comes out of it, it doesn't matter because even when he sees the light he doesn't know how to act on it.

Fourth verse: He probably knows better as well, and knows it won't work, but he's being stubborn because he loves her. He's not ready to give up even though she clearly is. He's trying to insist she stay, and maybe is a little childish saying that the movie will be a "never ran" and if she leaves their dreams together will die.

Main chorus: This is her stance. She knows it's not what he wants, but it's just how the cookie crumbles, or how the "lawns dry". She doesn't want that "summer dream" anymore and she's acknowledging it.

Final chorus: This is his final, reluctant acceptance, but he's still stuck in it. The drying of the lawns want to leave him there. He sees no way out at present.

So, maybe not the best interpretation, and of course most of the best songs are vague and leave you guessing, so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm way off base. I just had to take a stab at it because I like this song a lot.

"She said I cannot tell you why, she said I'm in a rush There are softer dreams for you to think about now love Things that you have seen this night that run by this river's flow I can use you if you're in the flame, I'm a growin' old"

the girl is in a rush to love somebody and finds him suitable if he's willing.

"And no this is not the summer dream she said It's just the drying of the lawns I want to leave out there"

it isn't anything she views through rose-colored glass, it's just something that is happening.

"Well I said I've sailed the frozen corners of the dark Atlantic Sea And I drifted on the waves and the mirage beneath And never have I felt such numb and pointless searchin' true As when I set my eyes on torched up lands of the mark of you"

he has been searching for something - although nothing in particular - for way too long and hard, and when he finally "found" her, he decided that she was in his best interests and what he was looking for.

"She said you follow me like sheep that think this king could do some harm But I tell you boy I'm frightened still with a sister's heart I set my eyes upon the shore whenever you wake up I'm leavin' because you don't feel what you're dreamin' of"

he's shy about getting to know her or trying to love her because he's intimidated, but she feels the same way. she realizes this pursuit isn't worth it if this is how it's going to act, and that she'd rather waste her time when he actually proves that he wants a relationship.

"But I will stand down in the hallway with no thought to leave the set Of a movie I will sure as hell not end just yet If evenings are for romance then this mornin' is for us It will never end and our last dream will leave this house"

regardless of what she knows she should do, she doesn't fully forget about him and he's still in the back of her head...and most likely will be until they actually address each other.

I can't help thinking the speaker and the "she" in this is either nature or a particular season who (personified) is talking to him.

Am I the only one who thinks he sings "Im leaving cause you dont fear what you're dreaming of?"

And that our last dream would receive this house.. I think so

Lawn is a type of cloth used in dresses, blouses, etc. So the chorus lyrics are literally referring to clothes drying outside. I'll leave the figurative meaning up to someone else.

From the Wikipedia page:

"The term "lawn" derives from "Laon", a city in France, which produced large quantities of linen lawn. Lawn cloth commonly is used for dresses, blouses, nightwear, underwear, lingerie, curtains, collar cuffs, shirting, infant wear, and handkerchiefs."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn_cloth

Just a few corrections:

"If pain and awful romance then this mornin' is for us" should be "If EVENINGS are for romance, than this mornin' is for us."

"She said you follow me like sheep that think this king could do some harm But I tell you boy I'm frightened still with a sister's heart" should be "She said you follow me like sheep that think this CANE could do some harm But I tell you boy I'm frightened still with a sister's ARM"

and this one I'm not sure on, but it sounds like "It will never RAIN and our last dream will DECEIVE this house"