Swept Inside

its about aging, life not turning out how you expected, etc.

By the shattered coals of another's arms or swept inside like the rosary that fell away when your girlish chums cried out to take on motherhood.

The lyrics are painfully wrong. This is from Future Islands website:

By the shattered calls of a mother's arms, All swept-inside like the rosary, That fell away when her girlish charms, Cried out to take on motherhood,

She waits by the windowsill, All wrapped in white and puzzling, What happened to the child inside? Who ran the streets and the days at night...

She says, "Nothing seems the same." and, "I can't change a thing." "My body's like a wave, breaking to the sea." She says, "Everything seems strange." Locked behind the years,

But life is ours to find, in the days at night.

There passes a stranger every eve, Who walks himself on a silver-leash, And in his head, the worlds asleep, Or, so the wrinkles in his hands believe,

When he was young, he had a dream, To be a star, on the movie-screen. Now it all seems a silly lie, As he walks alone, And, the days on fire.

He says, "Nothing seems the same." and, "I can't feel a thing." "My bodies like a wave, caving in on me" He says, "Everything seems strange." Holding back the tears.

And he smiles just like a child, In the days at night.

Mother of song, You'll find the right way To cherish in dreams. All of the small things.

Father in time, You'll find a world That's so perfect and calm. All of the small things.

The song pretty clearly seems to be about a man and woman who have lost a child. The first part gives the perspective of the mother, who is in shock after the child is lost, sitting and gazing out the windowsill "all wrapped in white and puzzling." And based on the lines, "What happened to the child inside?" and "My body's like a wave, breaking to the sea", it can be interpreted that the woman had a miscarriage.

The second part of the song deals with the man, who is aging and struggling to reconcile his expectations ("When he was young, he had a dream to be a star on the movie screen") and the reality of his life ("But now it seems a silly dream") in the face of this loss.

The last verse are words of encouragement/consolation to the man and woman, telling them that they will eventually find some form of acceptance and happiness.

Of course, all songs are subject to interpretation, but this one seems pretty clear cut to me.

First of all, this a genius song and has helped me really mortalize a sort of tragic aspect something rather immortal, like the memory of going up in a failing family. I know no one is going to care about this song, but it's cinematic...

Anyway, verse 1 is the mom's perspective, verse 2 the father's, and the chorus the child's. What's kind of genius, if you'll notice, is the way the resolve-lyrically, psychologically, musically... all come in at the chorus which takes you to the end...

That calm, that wisdom.. came from the child having experienced a family where the parents really dwelled on their failures.. It's really underrated and beautiful in that sense and if you've been in a family where the lyrics match, even vaguely, the description of the mother and father, then you know that chorus is medicinal...

To the person who posted the correct lyrics, I respect you, but your interpretations not right... there was no miscarriage.. the child grew up and moms sort of immortalize their young child... also an entendre for the children they both once were, having lost way of their dreams

First of all, this a genius song and has helped me really mortalize a sort of tragic aspect of something rather immortal- the memory of growing up in a failing family. I know few have or are going to care about this song, but it's cinematic...

Anyway, verse 1 is the mom's perspective, verse 2 the father's, and the chorus is the child's. What's kind of genius, if you'll notice, is the way they flow and resolve-lyrically, psychologically, musically... all come in at the chorus with instruments with a calm, monotonous voice, which takes you to the end...

That calm, that wisdom.. came from the child having experienced a family where the parents really dwelled on their failures.. It's really underrated and beautiful in that sense and if you've been in a family where the lyrics match, even vaguely, with the description of the mother and father, then you know that chorus is medicinal...

To the person who posted the correct lyrics, I respect you, but your interpretation is not right... there was no miscarriage.. the child grew up and moms sort of immortalize their young child... also an entendre for the children they both once were, having lost way of their dreams