Make You Better

To me this song represents the story of a broken man who has been through a lot. Life has beaten him down, so he's become this sort of scummy person. People never thought he would amount to much until he met this perfect, glistening, woman who showed interest in him. They fell in love for a short time (I loved you in springtime) but then she discovered all his faults, and their relationship ended (I lost you when summer came). He was hoping that he could fix himself with this "perfect" woman and that her love would heal him (I wanted to, I needed to, to make me better). The woman ends up not being perfect either (But we're not so starry-eyed anymore/Like the perfect paramour you were in your letters). He had put her on a pedestal and thought she would love him no matter what, but she was a (flawed) human too and didn't live up to his dreamy expectations. That's why they broke up and he's broken still/again.

Great song. I like the link to "A Beginning Song". In the bridge he states that "And all I wanted was a sliver to call mine, And all I wanted was a shimmer in your shine, To make me bright". Throughout the whole song I get the feeling he still hopes they could get back together after their relationship ended in summer. And it seems in "A Beginning Song" he gets her back or at least made its peace with her, leading to a new beginning for him. However, and to get to back my initial point, in the ending of "A Beginning Song" he finds himself in that bright light that he always wanted ("My sweet love, Oh my love, And the light, Bright light, It's all around me"). Both songs are my favorites on the album and I really like the connectedness of the two.

For me, it's about liking someone so much that you want to be the best you can be for them...you're motivated to look your best, look after your health, have a good career, all to impress them. And if they say anything against you, you're motivated to improve that. You make yourself better in the hope that it will make them want you back. That person becomes your main motivation more so than anything, more than yourself.

I believe his lover (a woman or a man?) left the narrator for another woman.

To me this song underscores the perils we encounter when we define our own self worth through the love we receive from other people.

This song I always equate to Lake Song. They sound like the same girl he is singing about.

The verses are all sung to the girl he loves, and the choruses are him talking to himself. thus the lines "...make ME better..." in the verses, and "...make YOU better..." in the chorus. In other words while she pulls back from him, he feels that having her in his life makes him a better person. Then he laments MY favorite of all Decemberist Lyrics ever (and that is saying a ton) "All I wanted was a sliver to call mine, All I wanted was a shimmer in your shine, to make me bright." Chokes me up every time, maybe because I have had a similar life experience.

I am glad they play this at almost every live show!