Fatal Shore

In "Sifters" Andrew Bird says "sound is a wave like a wave on the ocean." When a wave breaks on a shore it is, in essence, fatal to the wave. The shore is fatal to a wave. When a sound wave reaches an ear one could say that it "dies" like a wave would die when it hits a shore. Perhaps the recurring motif of the words "fatal shore" in Andrew Bird's music describe the meeting of music and the listener.

In Souverian Bird says:

"So here it comes, the chorus You will never fear anymore If you join our chorus We will meet on a fatal shore."

The meeting of people and music, ie listeners and music players, dispels fear. They meet on the shores of the sender and the receiver.

"Are you a breather Mail receiver?"

My take on this is an open question on whether or not two potential lovers should move forward that are currently far far away. He emphasizes this via lines "When are you coming to shore (?)", coupled with the line "Breathing it out" is a signal that the desired outcome is that the two meet, an exhale when a resolution is reach i.e. two lovers meet.

There is a obvious fork in the road where a decision has to be made and "fear & doubt" portion is to highlight the uncertainty that contrasted the 2 paths. 1) Inaction and maintaining a steady course where the two people will never meet and fade 2) Reunion where the invitation is fulfilled. Obviously, the latter is the desired outcome.

To me, it seems as if its a question of "Would you be better off without religion?" But that's just me. This is mostly based on the "Would you never fear any more" and "You never know any doubt." Maybe I am focusing on this too much and making the rest fit, but that's what it makes me think about.

Robert Hughes referred to Australia as the 'Fatal Shore' in his history of British penal colonies and the practice of sending criminals there, essentially to either die, or to survive on their own strength against the wilderness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fatal_Shore

"If you could see right through us You're gonna run into your homes and lock your doors"

This suggests that the speaker in the song is viewed as a criminal, or would be viewed as one if other people knew them well.

The same with these lines:

"Would you ever fear anymore If you never knew us?"

The main thrust seems to be that in the current environment, the speaker would be viewed harshly by the person they're addressing, but if they were to meet under other conditions, "on a fatal shore" - somewhere completely new and wild and free from all of the context, they might be free from their preconceived apprehensions and fear:

"Would we meet on a fatal shore? On a fatal shore? When are you comin' to shore To never fear anymore?"