Montezuma

First of all I just want to say that I've been visiting this website quite often for a long time now, yet this is the first I actually create a user and post a comment. I think it has a lot to do with how stunningly beautiful this song is.

On to the song itself… this is going to be quite long detailed, but it might be worth it :) I think the lyrics are about growing up and realizing what's really important in life. The speaker is reflecting back on 'what he used to be' from a new perspective.

"So now I am older than my mother and father when they had their daughter. Now what does that say about me?"

He starts by posing a question - now that I've reached the age where my parents already had a child, what does that mean? I am no longer a child myself, being taken care of constantly and free to be completely selfish and self centered. I am in the next phase of my life.

"Oh how could I dream of such a selfless and true love Could I wash my hands of just looking out for me?"

In direct relation to the previous line, the selfless and true love is that of a parent to his or her child - changing our priorities and truly putting someone else above ourselves — but it also pertains to any ideal of unconditional love. The speaker is asking himself if he can even dream of something so noble and pure at this point of his life, and wonders if he could actually change his ways: 'wash his hands' of being selfish and thinking only of himself.

"Oh man what I used to be Oh man oh my oh me"

This is such a simple line yet it has so much depth and emotion in the context of the song and its melody. We've all said this to ourselves before in one way or another when thinking about our past, especially our childhood. The speaker is evolving and maturing, and from this new perspective he can look back on what he used to be with this beautiful mix of sorrow, compassion and longing that I get when I listen to this tune.

"In dearth or in excess Both the slave and the empress will return to the dirt I guess Naked as when they came"

Beyond any ego, material possessions, wealth or status (as exemplified by the comparison of an empress to a slave) - we all leave this world just as we came into it, naked and without anything at all. He is realizing that his endless pursuit after these things is meaningless and empty. What is important then? Here it comes:

"I wonder if I'll see any faces above me or just cracks in the ceiling Nobody else to blame"

When it's our time to die and leave this world, will we be surrounded by our loved ones or will we be staring at the ceiling all alone? The answer to this question is totally up to you and how you live your life, hence there is 'nobody else to blame'. This is just as relevant to the empress as it is to the slave, and all the money in the world can't change that.

"Gold teeth and gold jewelry, every piece of your dowry Throw them into the tomb with me, bury them with my name Unless i have someday ran my wandering mind away"

This part is a bit trickier. I take it almost as a confession, showing how he is still very connected to his ego: wealth (gold teeth and jewelry), selfish love (symbolized by the dowry, the 'price' of a bride, unlike the priceless, selfless love in which there is nothing specific to gain) and his status or reputation in the eyes of society, his 'name'. He wants all of these things to be buried with him, unable to let them go even when he dies and they become of no use. This is beautifully contrasting his earlier realizations, and shows how he is still unable to actually live by them... unless he will someday ‘run his wandering mind way’. To me that means silencing the voice in your head that is never satisfied, that constantly wants more and always wanders off instead of being present and grateful in the moment. We're almost done now when this line totally throws me off:

"Oh man what i used to be Montezuma to Tripoli"

As far as I understand this is reference to the "Marines' Hymn", the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps. In the original piece the line goes:

"From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli We fight our country's battles in the air, on land, and sea"

I see it delivering a double punch: the first is a metaphor for the entire process the song talks about in the form of a battle. The Halls of Montezuma represent his current self-centered state of being and the shores of Tripoli are the promised land of unconditional, selfless love. He is fighting the battle, so to speak, of conquering himself. A second meaning could be that the song serves both as a personal account and a political one, where that same process is relevant for the US as a nation: ‘washing its hands’ of looking out only for itself and realizing that it's not as important if you're the emperor or the slave as it is that you are good to others, to the world at large.

I would love to hear your guys' opinions on this line, as it's quite open ended. Personally, as far as the impact and meaning the song holds for me go, I choose to basically disregard whatever political aspects and stay with the soulful, spiritual and intimate confession of a man.

That’s it for now. Congratulations for making it this far! Have a beautiful day and don't forget to smile :)

I too find this song to be an introspective exploration on the meaning of one's life where the consequence of one's selfishness is realized and debated.

My only modification to the interpretation would be to re-think what is going on in the 6th verse

Gold teeth and gold jewelry every piece of your dowry throw them into the tomb with me bury them with my name

I think in this verse he is pleading with the rest of the world, with all of society, to throw away its selfish habits with him when he passes. Asking that he would be the last to have to suffer with these lonely realizations.

Really sets the mood for the rest of the album, no?

"Endure foreign excess" = "In dearth or in excess"

i love how no one comments except to correct everything, which is okay, but seriously, this is song meanings lets delve into some meaning.

i think it's pretty clear that this is about the USA. how we've outgrown the european way of life and really changed the world with out american ideology. we have a dream that is just and good but it is hardly ever realized anymore.

i think the part about foreign excess is from his point of view. since america is the queen of excess, the foreign part is every other person who lives excessively and he shall endure it as he sees it making slaves of people and he hopes to return to an agrarian way of life. he and all people who think similarly.

there's the possibility of regaining honor and prestige for our nation (the faces on murals on church ceilings) and it's also possible that it will continue to deteriorate away and form cracks. and whatever happens it will be due to the people of america, whether they work to redeem it or do nothing.

but it's probable the latter will happen, and in the process people will lose everything. and the people in power will take it all with them to their graves, and they will also take all the good that america once stood for.

unless of course the "wandering mind" of america is run away and it gets its shit together.

the montezuma to tripoli put me on this train of thought, and although its pessimistic, i think the song supports it and its also pretty realistic. thoughts? comments?

"i wonder if I'll see any faces above me or just cracks in the ceiling nobody else to blame"

when i first heard these lines, i immediately thought of heaven. questioning if it exists at all.

this songs resonates with me as just a reflection of how he used to be and how he is now, whether that is good or bad. just a change. ive often reflected on my life and have been in awe of all that has happened - the good the bad the mediocre, and questioned what is before me.

This is introspective, about life and time, love and pleasure and passion, and the eventuality of death. It's a musing on the finite and tragic. I really think that Robin is a bit too developed to be commenting on current or political events. If anything, this is about politics in the ancient sense. That is, people of this and that kind, with our differences and our similarities. How do we live together? From Montezuma to Tripoli, we're all temporary, confined to something or someone, prisoners to time and place. I think there's a kind of idealistic hope here too.

Wow this song gives me goosebumps. It's amazing.

This song represents exactly why Fleet Foxes is one of my favorite groups. Robin's lyrics are prolific poetry, coaxing the listener to slowly chew on the words for a while...

That being said, I believe Robin was commenting on the selfish nature of both man and society in today's world. Technology has led us to this narcistic place, but in the end we still end up in the earth the same way as our ancestors.

As in tiger mountain peasant song, Robin includes a few lines about being afraid of dying alone. In Tiger Mountain Peasant Song it was the line, "Staggering through premonitions of my death, I don't see anybody that dear to me". In this it's, "I wonder if I'll see any faces above me, or just cracks in the ceiling". I think this is reflected in a lot of his music; not being loved by anyone in the end.

No one pointed this last part out.

"Oh man what I used to be, Montezuma to Tripoli, oh man oh my oh me."

Montezuma and Tripoli are both references to historically significant battles for the Marine Corps. The Marines' Hymn even starts:

"From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, we fight our country's battles in the air on land and sea..."

"The shores of Tripoli" is a reference to when the Marines first fought a war against the Barbary Pirates in 1805. "The halls of Montezuma" is a reference to when the Marines stormed Chapultepec Castle in the Mexican-American War.

I wonder if the character in this song is supposed to be a former Marine? Maybe the Fleet Foxes simply liked the rhyme of the words?