Black Moon

My perspective, and everyone's post sound's a lot better than mine. But the way I see it, or hear it, is that he has been doing his own thing for so long, that now he's ready to commit, and now he or she is skeptical. Meaning he is ready to get over everything he has done but she might not be there yet. Past the gate desert keeps forming, all obstacle. He might be finished but she's not so sure. But like everyone has said before "music should be interpreted by your own meaning. That is what makes this site great, is that everyone can state their opinion and no one is a asshole, just open to others' interpretation.

This song seems genius to me.

At first, i thought the first lines, "i was always right about the morning," referred something coming to past and being able to say "i saw this outcome coming" (dawn or morning usually refers to when everything comes into light. I thought he was trying to say that when all has come to light, i always knew this was going to be the outcome.) But then, you get to the line "i am always one without a warning" and it seems to completely contradict the first interpretation. How can you see something coming, be right about the outcome, and then say you are always the one blindsided?

Then i looked at the rest of the song a little closer and realized it's structure. The story of this song is split in half. The entire top half is referring how things used to be, how the author used to see things, and how nearsighted he was, and the bottom half refers to realities of where he is now, and what he sees ahead of him. You see this in the word structure of "I WAS always" in the top, as apposed to "I AM always" in the bottom.

Danced above the blades Never stopped crawling Over the black dunes

He's saying he thought he used to dance above the negatives, like he missed the bad things, (unless "blades" refers to grass) happy, light, blissful, but is now realizing he never even got on his feet. I'd think that black dunes refers to hills to climb and dark periods in life. He never actually got over something in his life, and these lines:

And I'm waiting For you Waiting forever Are you awake now too?

refer to a person he hasn't gotten past. He's asking if she has come to the same realizations he has ("are you awake now too?"). He wants to know if she is hung up on him too, but he's waiting forever regardless of whether she is waiting for him because he can't get over her.

Now we get to where he has arrived in life. In this last half he's talking about how he didn't have things as figured out as he used to. He's found himself in a completely different place than he could have anticipated.

I am always one Without a warning

He's realizing he doesn't have things figured out, and he never did. There were always things he didn't foresee with this person.

Whole days Reappear

He's looking back at events with this person and seeing them differently now that time has past and realizing the mistakes, and signs of downfall he missed.

Lift away Past the gate Desert keeps forming Underneath the black moon

Now looking ahead, instead of feeling like he knows what's out there, he knows he's lost his way. "Desert" could refer back to the "black dunes" as he's realizing what's in front of him, or it could just refer to the desolate unknown that seems to keep forming under his feet as he ventures out, but this time all alone. The black moon is referring to how alone, lost, and unenlightened he is. It's just him, this desert, and his hills to climb, now dawn or morning to come to light, but he's still waiting for this person.

It's a complicated interpretation, and i don't know if it is right, but that's how i see it. Songs like this could mean a lot of things, and people tend to see themselves in them if they can relate to the song, so that might be what i'm doing here. I can also see this being about fighting depression, or drugs, or anything really negative in your life that involves some kind of struggle, or back and forth, but this is the interpretation that i've decided on.

Kinda surprised nobody's said this yet, but I interpreted the lines "I was always right about the morning" and

And I'm waiting For you Waiting forever Are you awake now too?

as being about an insomniac waiting for his restfully sleeping companion to wake up.

And the musics's so somnambulistic besides.

Yes...Wilco is great, I am drawn to Jeff Tweedy's lyrical poetry in the same way, years ago, I was affected by Jim Morrisson's poetry... kinda dark but beautiful in a sweetly sad way. Very striking to me are the lines "And I'm waiting for you...Waiting forever..for you to wake now, too... These words may be speaking to, not another person, but to his real self, speaking to the constructed self that needs to awake. I love poetry and Wilco!

I like the metaphor about him being an old shoe, but what does it mean!? He's basically "admitting" to it as if he's being accused...

And I'm wating For you Waiting forever Are you awake now too?

My initial perspective was that of an individual lamenting about not having yet met someone who has really been able to connect with them. It seems they are singing to a fictional individual in hopes they might actually exist, unfortunately it may not be in the right time or place as the singer.

And upon later reflection, it may be also about waiting for a loved one after death, on the other side. Or perhaps it is about reincarnation of a loved one.

And I'm wating For you Waiting forever Are you awake now too?

My initial perspective was that of an individual lamenting about not having yet met someone who has really been able to connect with them. It seems they are singing to a fictional individual in hopes they might actually exist, unfortunately it may not be in the right time or place as the singer.

And upon later reflection, it may be also about waiting for a loved one after death, on the other side. Or perhaps it is about reincarnation of a loved one.

My impression of this song is that its about someone who is in a long-distance relationship.

The line:

"And I'm waiting for you Waiting forever Are you awake now too?"

can be interpreted as having to align schedules with someone who is living in a different time zone. They protagonist is staying up to see if their love is also awake, so that they can phone (Skyep, WhatsApp, FaceTime) each other.

"I am always one Without a warning Whole days Reappear Lift away"

This can be interpreted as constantly reliving memories and experiences the protagonist shared with their lover. Something as simple as a smell may trigger the memory of their time together.

Whatever the song is about, it is clearly a piece of rock/folk gold. The ambiguity of the lyrics allow every listener to have a unique experience, piecing together their own story, with the help of a beautiful voice ,and hauntingly sonorous band.

Thanks for the great music, Wilco!