To Just Grow Away

from the man himself @ deadoceans.com

We’re melting ruby hearts a confusing trade to burn the ore to shape a blade then to swing it low beginners fate to lose a skin to just grow away Like a rain, to help a river but a river so hard to please but I’ve grown to see the diamonds you’ve thrown in just for me We spent so many nights just gathering stones the silver tears old sapphire bones all the copper leaves then dreamt, now true look how they find their path to cut right through Like a rain, to help a river but a river so hard to please but I’ve grown to see the diamonds you’ve thrown in just for me Look when your hopeless child will figure there are moments when hope’s not only real when flagging far down a road with an armful broken arrows and no hand free for the bow your kid will lose a battle but your ways will let him go I lose my wish to drown and aimless flee what you’ve thrown to lose is still right here with me.

I think this is about the journey of coming to terms with unrequited love, or perhaps the pain and subsequent journey to healing of being in love with someone who has fallen out of love with him.

"We’re melting ruby hearts a confusing trade to burn the ore to shape a blade then to swing it low beginners fate to lose a skin to just grow away"

I think this first verse talks about the initial act of finding love, with the metaphors of forging a blade, mixing ores, and melting hearts together. But then it talks about how the beginner's fate and 'to lose a skin' which to me invokes going into things naively, and coming out the other end having lost something, or perhaps shedding a part of yourself when you realize the person you love no longer loves you.

"Like a rain, to help a river but a river so hard to please but I’ve grown to see the diamonds you’ve thrown in just for me"

The first two lines seem to illustrate the futility of the situation once love is lost - people try as hard as they can to change the course of how things are going, but like rain trying to change the course of a river, it's futile - "a river so hard to please" Any yet, nonetheless, the singer has "grown to see the diamonds" that were thrown in for him - to me, this signifies that he can still think of the memories or the good things fondly, even though the love is now gone.

"We spent so many nights just gathering stones the silver tears old sapphire bones all the copper leaves then dreamt, now true look how they find their path to cut right through"

There's a lot of autumn / death imagery in this verse, with mention of old sapphire bones, and copper leaves. To me, this verse elaborates on all the nights he/they tried to make things work, all the 'silver tears' shed, but in the end, the inevitable was coming. I feel like the copper leaves signify autumn, and the end of summer, as things wither away and die. Perhaps when they were still very much in love, the thought of an impending autumn / end to their love was just a dream, but now it has become a reality, and the course is so clear and inevitable.

"Look when your hopeless child will figure there are moments when hope’s not only real when flagging far down a road. And with an armful broken arrows and no hand free for the bow your kid will lose a battle but your ways will let him go"

The bridge was the hardest to understand. There's a repetition of the theme of a road, a river, a journey etc...maybe he's talking about the journey of recovering, transitioning from hopelessness to actually finding hope, even though hope is not obvious there at the end of the path you're travelling ("hope's not only real when flagging far down the road"...but perhaps it must be found down a different path)

The image of a kid with a bow and arrow is suggestive of cupid - in this case, the battle is lost = the love is now gone. Or perhaps he's talking about himself, coming out the other end with only broken arrows and no fight left.

"your ways will let him go" < I'm not sure what this line means, but perhaps it suggests that even though he is broken, he has been left with something new from his love that will let him mend.

"I lose my wish to drown and aimless flee what you’ve thrown to lose is still right here with me."

This last verse truly tells us that the singer has moved on, and I agree with the above interpretation. I really like that bittersweet line of "what you've thrown to lose, is still right here with me." It sort of feels like he's talking about unrequited love, where one person doesn't really care, while the other person treasures all the moments and memories of time spent together.

When I read the lyrics I think about someone that has grown up and now can accept the break up.

"to lose a skin, to just grow away" - now I have to face the truth and grow away to move on

"but i've grown to see the diamonds you've thrown in just for me" - now I see the good things you (the lover) did for me [probably breaking up with him]

"We spent so many nights just gathering stones the silver tears, old sapphire bones all the copper leaves then dreamt, now true look how they find their path to cut right through" - i don't know what he meant by these verses and I can't say anything but I really love them

"like a rain to help a river but a river so hard to please" - i think is about how he tried to help her [and he loved her] but she was never pleased and never felt loved [it doesn't contradict the good thing she did for him, on the contary - since I can't make you feel loved it's better we separate]

"i lose my wish to drown and aimless flee what you've thrown to lose is still right here with me" - oh, I shiver when I hear it. amazing. also, I think it's what guide the whole interpretation - though her actions (probably the break up) won't change anymore, he overcomes the sadness and GROWS AWAY.