Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Here we sit
Across the table from each other
A thousand miles from both our mothers,
Barely old enough to rust
Here we sit
Pretending both our hearts are anchors
Taking candy from these strangers
Amidst the diesel and the dust
And here we sit
Singing words nobody taught us
Drinking fire, and spitting sawdust,
Trying to teach ourselves to breathe
We haven't yet,
But every chorus brings us closer
Every flyer and every poster
Gives a piece of what we need
And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back
Morning's rough
It don't give a damn about the mission
Has no aesthetic or tradition,
Only lessons never learned
And I'd had enough
About a month ago tomorrow
Parting holds no trace of sorrow
For the bitter and the burned
And the piss they call tequila even Waylon wouldn't drink
Well I'd rather sip this Listerine I packed
But I swear, we've never seen a better place to sit and think
God bless the busted ship that brings us back
And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back
Across the table from each other
A thousand miles from both our mothers,
Barely old enough to rust
Here we sit
Pretending both our hearts are anchors
Taking candy from these strangers
Amidst the diesel and the dust
And here we sit
Singing words nobody taught us
Drinking fire, and spitting sawdust,
Trying to teach ourselves to breathe
We haven't yet,
But every chorus brings us closer
Every flyer and every poster
Gives a piece of what we need
And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back
Morning's rough
It don't give a damn about the mission
Has no aesthetic or tradition,
Only lessons never learned
And I'd had enough
About a month ago tomorrow
Parting holds no trace of sorrow
For the bitter and the burned
And the piss they call tequila even Waylon wouldn't drink
Well I'd rather sip this Listerine I packed
But I swear, we've never seen a better place to sit and think
God bless the busted ship that brings us back
And the sand that they call cocaine cost you twice as much as gold
You'd be better off to drink your coffee black
But I swear, the land it listened to the stories that we told
God bless the busted boat that brings us back
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by emergingsynergy
New South Wales Lyrics as written by Jason Isbell
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The Spy
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Techno Ted
Audioslave
Audioslave
Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
OK so this is the conclusion I came to on a google plus conversation.
When interpreting lyrics there is a literal and abstract meaning. I don't even know what the literal and abstract meaning is because it's complex.
It's definitely about him going there doing drugs but there's too many references to the colonization of New South Wales.
If you listen to the pronunciations and especially the fiddle his wife plays it's not Irish but it kind of has celtic elements. They don't spell it out for you. No wonder the critics spooged over this album.
I went to Alabama and we loved him. He's just cool. But he is so talented.
Good for Jason I don't see Dirks Bentley writing songs like this.