Sim Sala Bim

In the beginning of the song, it's being sung by an invisible observer. A narrator and not a character.

"He was so kind, such a gentleman tied to the ocean side Lighting a match on the suitcase's latch in the fading of night."

The line, "tied to the ocean side," brings to mind an image of being chained. The man in this story feels "tied down" in his current state, probably a relationship, but up to this point he's masqueraded as the loyal, faithful type. Because of his commitment issues, he packs up and leaves while his girlfriend is sleeping.

"Ruffle the fur of the collie 'neath the table Ran out the door through the dark Carved out his initials in the bark"

The collie symbolizes a stable, "American dream" type life. You know, the house, dog and picket fence. So maybe these two are just married and he's had second thoughts. He carves his initials in the tree as a way of saying goodbye - implying he's too cowardly to say it face to face.

"Then the Earth shook, that was all that it took for the dream to break All the loose ends would surround me again, in the shape of your face."

Now we're in the voice of the girl he left. The "dream" of love and a family life is gone. She still loves him, though. Why?

"What makes me love you despite the reservations? What do I see in your eyes? Besides my reflection hanging high?"

She's questioning why she even cares about him. Despite the fact that he ran out on her, despite the fact that he left without warning, despite the fact that he shattered their future together, she's still in love anyway. "My reflection hanging high" is like...a soul mate. When you find someone that's so perfect you feel like you share the same soul. (yeah yeah yeah sappy I know)

"Are you off somewhere reciting incantations? 'Sim Sala Bim!' on your tongue? Carving off the hair of someone's young?"

The only thing she can do is wonder where he is, what he's doing, and who with. I don't get the hair thing though.

"Remember when you had me cut your hair? Call me 'Delilah' then, I wouldn't care."

Now I'm reminded of the Samson and Delilah story, where hair is a source of strength. Remember that he saw marriage as being "tied to the ocean side," so maybe he also saw it as being stripped of his power. Now the "carving off the hair of someone's young" line makes sense! She's wondering if he's involved with another woman, "cutting her hair" meaning tying her down. Maybe he loves this other person enough to marry her.

I reaaaallly need to learn how to summarize better but I'm too lazy :) Does anyone get what I'm trying to say?

In short:

Husband leaves because he feels suffocated in his marriage. When he leaves, his wife has no clue as to what drove him away because there was a lack of communication. She wonders what he is doing, and think about how she might be the problem but she doesn't care. In the end, he was too "kind" and never spoke what what truly in his heart so why should she be upset.

"Sim Sala Bim" is (a possibly fake) meaningless Indian phrase comparable to "Hocus Pocus". Delilah is from the Old Testament. For money, she coerced Samson to tell her the secret of his strength, which lead to his capture. A “Delilah” is a treacherous and cunning femme fatale.

The narrator seems to be singing about someone who travels a lot, and is, therefore, away from him a lot. The line, "What do I see in your eyes, besides my reflection hanging high," indicates that he is the singer’s father; his reflection is hanging high above him in his father’s eyes. The singer loves him because he is his father, but he has reservations for good reasons. The guy is always travelling away from his family. He even leaves his family to go on spiritual quests, reciting, "Sim sala bim." At certain points the singer sees through his familial love and starts to realize that his father is far from perfect ("the dream to break"). "Cutting off the hair of someone’s young" could refer to the father having a second family. He should be cutting the singer’s hair, not someone else’s young.

My only guess on the last lines are that the singer is actually his daughter. She perhaps feels that she is betraying her father by feeling that he is not a good person. If he would accuse of her of this she could finally break away from him. I guess everything above works pretty well if the singer is actually his wife.

For some reason this song gives me Blue Ridge Mountains vibes

[Edit: typo]

excellent except "are you off somewhere reciting incantations?"

Maybe this song is about unrequited love or love that has ended.

The person, though he (or maybe she) is desperately and loyally in love with another, can't understand the feelings (or even doesn't see them) of this "another" anymore. And the object of his/her love has found someone else, but afraid to tell the truth.

beautiful song.

What do I see in your eyes? Besides my reflection hanging high?

Maybe this means that he thinks that his love is just too far above him, and reflects what he wants to be?

About the "besides my reflection hanging high"---

It's an ego thing. Being with this (attractive/hard to get) woman made him feel good about himself (in her eyes he sees his reflection hanging high, e.g. he's a badass for having this woman's attentions), but besides that, what else does he see in her? Why is he so stuck on her?

So I believe the hair thing has to do with a religion like Hare Krishna or sorts. "reciting incantations" "cutting off the hair of someones young". The person leaving in this song leaves to follow the religion. Just like my aunt did, left her family, and kids to follow the hare krishna religion