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Follow You Down to the Red Oak Tree Lyrics
Follow you down to the red oak tree
As the air moves thick through the hollow reeds
I will wait for you there until someone comes
To carry me, carry me down
See I have not I have not grown cold
I have stole from men who have stole from those
With their arms so thin and their skin so old
But you are young, you are young, you are young
Then somebody laughs like it's all just for hell
As though we could not be saved from the depth of the well
But the cloth that I make is a cloth you can sell
To pay for the gossamer seed
Names get carved in the red oak tree
Of the ones who stay and the ones who leave
I will wait for you there with these cindered bones
So follow me follow me down
Follow me follow me down
Follow me follow me down
Follow me follow me down
As the air moves thick through the hollow reeds
I will wait for you there until someone comes
To carry me, carry me down
I have stole from men who have stole from those
With their arms so thin and their skin so old
But you are young, you are young, you are young
As though we could not be saved from the depth of the well
But the cloth that I make is a cloth you can sell
To pay for the gossamer seed
Of the ones who stay and the ones who leave
I will wait for you there with these cindered bones
So follow me follow me down
Follow me follow me down
Follow me follow me down
Follow me follow me down
Song Info
Submitted by
tikilights On Oct 22, 2010
More James Vincent McMorrow
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There is some speculation as to whether this song was written for the movie Third Star. It is included during the credits of the movie anyhow, and fits the story and the characters very well.
To sum it up, the song (as it relates to the movie) is about a person thinking about life and death.
The person (who we'll call Davy, for no reason whatsoever) is very close to someone who is dying (who we'll call James). They might even be lovers, but you can't be certain. Davy says at the beginning of the song that he'd like to meet James at the red oak tree- which might be a special place to them for all that it's mentioned. Davy wonders why this is happening to James- James is a good person, and young, and Davy has stolen and cheated and thinks he would deserve it (death or illness) more than James does.
James or the others try to joke about it to distract from the inevitable. James is going to die sooner or later. Joking and pretending it's not happening isn't going to save James from his illness or Davy from having to live without him. The next lines are a bit abstract, but I think Davy is asking James to give him something to remember him by, so gossamer (cobwebs) don't form on their memories.
The last verse is after James' death, from James' perspective. Their names are carved into the red oak tree, suggesting that they were lovers. James says that he will wait for Davy (cindered bones could refer to cremation or simply death) to follow him wherever you go when you die.
Like I said, this song is used in the movie Third Star, and I highly suggest watching it if you want to understand the song better.