Lusitania

I think this one might be about how two people might put up boundaries in the beginning of a relationship. But when one is "defeated" his "ship is sank" it's not painful..although love is a battlefied of sorts. They slink into love and the charge of it takes over.. They don't study the war-focus on who is winning anymore... altough she may still be putting up mines on her shore to protect her heart... He can go ahead and say something dumb if he likes, there' s no shame when you fall in love.

I also get the feeling that it's about the start of a new relationship, particularly after being "out of the ring" for a while. ("We don't study this war no more") Someone who is reluctant to enter the fray but is provoked to do so by someone who sparks his passions - good and bad. The sinking of the Lusitania was a catalyst for American involvement in World War I (I only know this because I had to look it up after this song got stuck in my head - he's right, we don't study this war no more). The sinking of the Maine likewise sparked American involvement in the Spanish-American war and the line "It will help us not remember the Maine" is a little jaded reference to a prior heartache in a sly, funny way. You also get the sense that the new relationship is HOT, sparks all over the place, and it's with someone who has been in a similar situation ("Go on and say something dumb boy, there's no shame")

I'm pretty sure that I'm the dumb boy in this song - literally. I'll tell you the story: you can decide. Back in 2009, St Vincent opened up for Andrew Bird in Indianapolis. It was the beginning of their tour and pretty much the first time that they'd met.

I'm a big A.B. fan going back to 2001, so I went with my friends. We walked in halfway through St Vincent's set and were like "whoa" as Annie Clark started splitting the sky open with her guitar.

Anyway, after the show my friends and I went to another concert at Radio Radio in Fountain Square: some band, can't remember who - we just wanted to support the scene. After about an hour, Andrew Bird shows up with his band and St Vincent in tow - instant star shock. We tried to play it cool for a few minutes, but we were giggling 14 yo girls on the inside. So we go up to him and try to strike up a clumsy conversation. I mentioned that we had met before in this very bar back in 2001... yada yada yada. Awkward.

At this point, I notice Annie Clark standing near listening to us; so I turn to her and say "you were amazing too. My buddy and I walked in halfway through your set and were like 'whoa'..." and we drifted off into our own conversation as my friend continued to speak with Andrew.

Annie and I decide to go smoke a cigarette, so we go out front to the sidewalk. It's raining, so we kinda sit on a ledge close to the door, under the awning and the buzzing lights - kind of in the way, but it wasn't too crowded. We light up and start talking about music and Sufjan Stevens and stuff [I thought he was from Nebraska or something - he's from Brooklyn. TIL]. Eventually, we get into this meta-conversation about how strange and silly it is that I can have a completely normal and relaxed conversation with her - who I had never even heard of before that night - and how clumsy and awkward I was talking with Andrew Bird.

At this point, I should explain that Annie Clark is a very lovely person with huge Disney-princess eyes and we're deep in conversation - so she has my complete attention. I spoke of the formative effect that Andrew Bird's music had on me and how it's been part of the soundtrack of my life for the last decade or so.

I said "I wouldn't have been this nervous meeting Bob Dylan because Bob Dylan's music doesn't mean as much to me as Andrew Bird's does AND OH MY GOD HE'S SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO US ISN'T HE?"

He was. He had sidled up to Annie a few minutes before, and I was so engaged with her that I hadn't noticed until just then. He heard everything.

So, the second part of the song, Annie's part, is pretty much a straightforward, though poetic, telling of what happened that night. Andrew Bird's part of the song - the sinking ships part - is trickier. We didn't talk about ships that I remember (though we could have - I was in the Navy and gave a lecture on the Spanish-American War in college).

Assuming that the first half of the song was inspired by the same event as the second (a big assumption) I would hazard a guess that I touched a nerve. How do you deal with people who idolize you? What does having adoring fans do to one's ego and self-identity? What kind of internal conflicts might that create? What kind of fear? Trying to stay humble and grounded when people are putting you on a pedestal. Where do you go from there? I think that this might have been an issue for Andrew earlier in his career: something he had come to terms with or compartmentalized -"we don't study this war no more." And then I came and re-opened that wound.

Or maybe I cock-blocked him - who knows?

I agree with the prior posts - this song recounts the beginning of a relationship - but wanted to point something out.

Near the beginning of the song, Bird mentions not "remember[ing] the Maine". The USS Maine blew up while attempting to control the Cuban revolt. The explosion was blamed on the Spanish, and we started the Spanish-American War. "Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain" was actually a catchphrase for the war movement.

Later on, Annie Clark mentions a "sixty cycle hum", which is the term for the hum of the transistors in electronics.

Also known as a Mains hum.

Coincidence? Probably. :P

The Lusitania was ship sunk in WW1 12 miles off the coast of Ireland. It went down in just 18 minutes after being hit by just 1 torpedo, 1198 people died. In my view the ship sinking was down to Churchill wanting to get USA into the war (we don't study this war no more/libel perhaps too) So much is spoken of the Titanic that the Lusitania is lost in time to most. It caused uproar and riot across Britain and Germany was labelled as 'Uncivilised' as it was the first time normal citizens were caught up and killed in war (we that's not including all the murders of Native americans etc of-course) If you dig around this story however it gets pretty dirty (there was ammunition contraban onbuard, Churchill knew there were Uboats in the area but did not protect the ship as had promised and there was a big cover up at the inquest. There is a good film on youtube called 'Murder on the Atlantic' and worth checking out. My grt grandfather was one of the helmsmen on the shop that day. He was one of the 1198 that drowned.