Cause

I can't help but feel this song is about the breakdown of a relationship (romantic or platonic, irrelevant) and the subsequent cynicism, doubt and pain that follows. I believe the name of this song Cause is not referring to the noun 'cause' (A movement behind which people get behind) but is actually short for "because." This motif repeats itself throughout the song, and sounds like he is trying to make excuses to himself or to others as to why he is miserable, or sad or any other myriad of reasons.

++ 'Cause I lost my job two weeks before Christmas And I talked to Jesus at the sewer And the Pope said it was none of his God-damned business ++

The religious motif here is clear. Perhaps our protagonist decided to shake off his religious beliefs, only to gain no satisfaction from it. The pain is fresh, but the worst is yet to come.

++ My Estonian Archangel came and got me wasted 'Cause the sweetest kiss I ever got is the one I've never tasted Oh but they'll take their bonus pay to Molly McDonald, Neon ladies, beauty is that which obeys, is bought or borrowed ++

A friend of the singer's takes him out, and their money is spent on Molly (MDMA) and prostitutes (the ladies standing in red neon lights, who obey the dollar) to drown out the pain.

++ 'Cause my heart's become a crooked hotel full of rumors But it's I who pays the rent for these fingered-face out-of-tuners And I make sixteen solid half hour friendships every evening ++

The cynicism is coming through now. Sadness turns to anger, anger craves retribution. Badmouthing and partaking in the rumour mill about others brings a quick but unsatisfying relief to the pain. Not only that, but our protagonist plays an instrument for a living, and doubts his own abilities (fingered-face-out-of-tuners, ie his fingers who keep making mistakes when playing,) drawing his anger at having to make a living with them.

The sixteen solid half-hour friendships is something I can relate to. When you go out to a bar and get drunk, it's easy to befriend people. In that drunken stupour, you can share your life story and forge the strongest bonds. But all it takes is for one of you to leave and the moment shatters. You never see them again.

++ 'Cause your queen of hearts who is half a stone And likes to laugh alone is always threatening you with leaving ++

The cynical and spiteful nature of the protagonist is coming out now. Perhaps this is directed at a friend (that same Estonian archangel) or a random person at a bar. To mask the pain, he turns to putting down others and questioning the ways of life. This "queen of hearts" is clearly the romantic partner of the person he is talking to, and he is making the point that she dominates this man's life by threatening to walk away. Perhaps this is grounded in fact, or perhaps this is just our protagonist angry at the concept of love.

++ Oh but they play those token games on Willy Thompson And give a medal to replace the son of Mrs. Annie Johnson ++

Not too sure on Willy Thompson, but I can see our protagonist sitting at a bar, watching the news play on a TV behind the counter and witnessing a medal ceremony at the White House. A weeping mother is handed a medal by the President and they turn to look at the camera as though that piece of metal has miraculously validated her son's brutal death in a distant uncaring land.

++ 'Cause they told me everybody's got to pay their dues And I explained that I had overpaid them ++

This is his answer to the commonly repeated concepts of "that's life" and "Life sucks, but you gotta move onwards to better things. Keep moving forward!"

Life does suck, and it has sucked for our protagonist. In his eyes, he's paid the price already so where is his happiness? When will the trough of sadness turn into the crest of pleasure and satisfaction? This is his way of saying "Fuck off" to anybody who simply tells him to cheer up and "work on himself" or "find a new hobby."

++ So overdued I went to the company store And the clerk there said that they had just been invaded So I set sail in a teardrop and escaped beneath the doorsill ++

This one is ambigious, but I think it's a metaphor that ties into the theme of paying his dues. I think it's a spiritual way of saying that he tried to change things in his life to counter the dull ache in his life, but only for it to backfire or bear no fruit. It makes him feel small and insignificant, ,metaphorically small enough to crawl beneath the door.

++ 'Cause the smell of her perfume echoes in my head still 'Cause I see my people trying to drown the sun In weekends of whiskey sours ++

It's clear the past still haunts him. Perhaps he can walk down the street, take a whiff of a passerby's perfume and all that pain and misery comes flaring back up like a flash of lightning.

His people, perhaps being his friends, seem to have moved on. Enjoying whiskey sours (a relatively classy cocktail usually associated with high end bars) on the weekends beneath the sun, or perhaps they're all high-functioning alcoholics trying to drown out the hum and drum of life (the sun, in this instance.)

++ 'Cause how many times can you wake up in this comic book and plant flowers? ++

This is a strong one with many meanings. Is he asking how people can just get out of bed, go about their day and repeat this cycle? Is he asking how people can bring new life into such a bleak world?

to me this song is about being truly in love with someone who cheated on you repeatedly broke your spirit afraid to trust in love again.

Very much like his other song, "This is not a song; it's an outburst" I feel this is a very general depiction of the shallowness or more specifically the 'funny' things of life. The first line that draws multiple interpretations just from myself is... "And I talked to Jesus at the sewer, And the Pope said it was none of his God-damned business". If I had to guess it is either that the real right and wrong defined by an individual for that individual is somehow overruled by history and/or the established hierarchy (And possibly morality). The more literal interpretation would be the Church's (and all those in power really) abuse of power and the act of ignoring the "bottom feeders". "While the rain drank champagne" An obvious link to the adverse effects this shallow world has had on the writer (turned him into an alcoholic). "My Estonian Archangel came and got me wasted" A reference to a friend of Rodriguez from Estonia, I would say he earns his title as an archangel for taking him out of his hell and into heaven by getting wasted, even though it is only temporary. "'Cause the sweetest kiss I ever got is the one I've never tasted Oh but they'll take their bonus pay to Molly McDonald" Although I have no idea who or what Molly McDonald is I think these two lines are intertwined. It would appear to remark on the nature of man for pursuing/needing more and always taking for granted. The best kiss (or generally experience) is to come and their bonus pay is sacrificed to someone else for presumably something else (I really am not sure about the Molly McDonald line though). "Neon ladies, beauty is that which obeys, is bought or borrowed" I personally interpreted this as a reference to the conformitive (I think I may have just made that word up) nature that the pursuit of beauty forces. "Neon Ladies" is probably a reference to the shallow and materialistic nature of humans. Of course it could very easily be the general control aesthetics have over our society. "Cause my heart's become a crooked hotel full of rumors" I'm quite unsure on this one. Again, if I had to guess I would say it is the unstable (Crooked) and temporary (hotel) nature of his love. "But it's I who pays the rent for these fingered-face out-of-tuners" I'm not sure what "fingered-face out-of-tuners" means exactly but I would think the entire line is his way of saying either it is he who almost willingly encourages this by paying the rent and therefore sabotages himself or it is another way of saying it is he who suffers. I would argue for the former. "And I make sixteen solid half hour friendships every evening" Every relationship (intimate or friendly) he makes is shallow and possibly temporary. He makes fun of the shallow nature by calling them "SOLID half our friendships". "'Cause your queen of hearts who is half a stone And likes to laugh alone is always threatening you with leaving" I find this line almost comedic. I'm not sure if my interpretation is correct but I think he is pointing out how someone's Queen of Hearts (partner and owner of your love) is in fact weighing them down and finds satisfaction independently yet still threatens them with leaving thus keeping them in eternal suffering (Obviously they'd be better alone but this self-sabotaging nature appears to be a reoccurring theme). "And give a medal to replace the son of Mrs. Annie Johnson" Without knowing who Annie Johnson or her son are my best guess is that is a scenario in which a mother has lost her son to war and has been given his medal of honour for his sacrifice but Rodriguez comments on this action negatively by using the word 'replace' to comment on the transfer. Of course the medal can never replace the son and we know the mother will be left empty. He moves straight onto... "Cause they told me everybody's got to pay their dues And I explained that I had overpaid them". Pointing out the justification made by everyone for the suffering and is a general comment on the lack of justice and fairness. "So overdued I went to the company store And the clerk there said that they had just been invaded So I set sail in a teardrop and escaped beneath the doorsill" Referencing his previous line he is commenting on the fact that he has overpaid his dues and so he seeks his reward (perhaps the wrong word but you know what I mean) but he doesn't get anything because it has all been taken and there is nothing left for him so he left in sadness and "escaped through the doorsill" (your guess is as good as mine on that one but I would say it is a psychedelic way of saying he feels small and insignificant). "'Cause the smell of her perfume echoes in my head still" This line is interesting because the sweetest kiss he ever got was the one he never tasted yet he is haunted by a lover from the past. This seems to be a reflection on man's doomed state due to its nostalgic tortures and shallow lures. "'Cause I see my people trying to drown the sun In weekends of whiskey sours" Not too sure but perhaps people are trying to escape their reality through drunken states or even escape this world via suicide (The sun in this case being a symbol of life) in a drunk state. "Cause how many times can you wake up in this comic book and plant flowers?" Many interpretations can be had from this line, personally I feel he is questioning the repetitive nature of mankind acting out segments in a comic book before giving/planting new life for the cycle to be repeated.

The first thing that I did after I was listening to this song is to check the age of Rodrigues and the time that this song produced. this song is about dealing with disillusionment. " I lost my job two weeks before Christmas And I talked to Jesus at the sewer". After he lost his fate in god he lost his fate from love "Cause the sweetest kiss I ever got is the one I've never tasted". The loneliness screaming from the words -"Cause how many times can you wake up in this comic book and plant flowers?"

My 2 cents is: Cause is of course short for 'because.' And because is typically an excuse. He merges excuses with causes. Fighting for a cause, "And give a medal to replace the son of Mrs. Annie Johnson" is an excuse and at what price. I feel this song writer says so much more than just hearts breaking. He is saying, 'wake up.'

Could possible this be from the view of a troubadour.....who either grew up in the town he's performing in or knows them well by name enough to put them in a song he's singing in a crowded auditorium. Maybe a mine recently caved in and the owners were less than sympathetic to the townsfolk....While Mentioning names in the middle...smash cut to those very people in the audience who somberly look on ..some even weep openly at the mention of their names and their son who may have died in a mine accident. It just seems he's preaching to a town full of sad people who are moved at his knowledge of their plight