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Third of May/Odaigahara Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Light ended the night, but the song remained
And I was hiding by the stair, half here
Half there, past the lashing rain
And as the sky[e] would petal white, old innocent lies came to mind
As we stood, congregated, at the firing line
[Verse 2]
Night ended the fight, but the song remained
And so I headed to the wall
Turned tail to call to the new domain
As if in the sight of sea, you're suddenly free
But it's all the same...
Oh, but I can hear you, loud in the center
Aren't we made to be crowded together, like leaves?
[Refrain 1]
Was I too slow? Did you change overnight?
Second son, on the other line...
[Verse 3]
Now, back in our town as a castaway
I'm reminded of the time it all fell in line, on the third of May
As if it were designed, painted in sand to be washed away
Oh, but I can hear you, loud in the center
Aren't we made to be crowded together, like leaves?
[Refrain 2]
Was I too slow? Did I change overnight?
Second son, for the second time...
[Verse 4]
Can I be light and free?
If I lead you through the fury will you call to me?
And is all that I might owe you carved on ivory?
[Refrain 3]
But all will fade. All I say. All I needed
As a flash in the eye, I wouldn't deny, all receded
[Verse 5]
Life unfolds in pools of gold
I am only owed this shape if I make a line to hold
To be held within one's self is deathlike, oh I know
[Refrain 4]
But all will be, for mine and me, as we make it
And the size of the fray, can't take it away, they won't make it
[Outro]
I was a fool
Crime after crime to confess to
But I hold the fleet angel, she'll bless you
Hold fast to the wing. Hold fast to the wing
Light ended the night, but the song remained
And I was hiding by the stair, half here
Half there, past the lashing rain
And as the sky[e] would petal white, old innocent lies came to mind
As we stood, congregated, at the firing line
Night ended the fight, but the song remained
And so I headed to the wall
Turned tail to call to the new domain
As if in the sight of sea, you're suddenly free
But it's all the same...
Oh, but I can hear you, loud in the center
Aren't we made to be crowded together, like leaves?
Was I too slow? Did you change overnight?
Second son, on the other line...
Now, back in our town as a castaway
I'm reminded of the time it all fell in line, on the third of May
As if it were designed, painted in sand to be washed away
Oh, but I can hear you, loud in the center
Aren't we made to be crowded together, like leaves?
Was I too slow? Did I change overnight?
Second son, for the second time...
Can I be light and free?
If I lead you through the fury will you call to me?
And is all that I might owe you carved on ivory?
But all will fade. All I say. All I needed
As a flash in the eye, I wouldn't deny, all receded
Life unfolds in pools of gold
I am only owed this shape if I make a line to hold
To be held within one's self is deathlike, oh I know
But all will be, for mine and me, as we make it
And the size of the fray, can't take it away, they won't make it
I was a fool
Crime after crime to confess to
But I hold the fleet angel, she'll bless you
Hold fast to the wing. Hold fast to the wing
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
This is a dense song lyrically, but I do have some ideas. Overall, I'd say this song is about dealing with regret over past mistakes. The line "to be held within oneself is deathlike" suggests that the writer is regretting being despondent instead of connecting with others ("Aren't we made to be crowded together, like leaves?"). The war imagery suggests a battle, but I think this battle is internal.
"Can I be light and free? If I lead you through the fury will you call to me? And is all that I might owe you carved on ivory?": These lines come at a major turning point, in which the writer wonders if they could cast off their melancholy and make a human connection.
I do think the reference to a "fleet angel" is about the band name. Perhaps the "song" mentioned earlier is the music the band makes, and holding fast to the wing symbolizes how music can be a means to deal with the "crime after crime" of sins and regrets.
Ōdaigahara-san or Ōdaigahara-yama (大台ケ原山), also Hinode-ga-take or Hide-ga-take (日出ヶ岳) is a mountain in the Daikō Mountain Range and on the border between the prefectures of Mie and Nara, Japan. The mountain is the highest in Mie. In 1980 an area of 36,000 hectares in the region of Mount Ōdaigahara and Mount Ōmine was designated a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve.
@s7s Right! Robin mentioned that mountain on their KEXP-gig in May 2017.
@s7s Right! Robin mentioned that mountain on their KEXP-gig in May 2017.
Via Pitchfork:
The third of May is an important date in Fleet Foxes history. Six years ago, on that day, they released their last album, Helplessness Blues. In the time since, the band’s members have released solo music, started side projects, or departed the group altogether. Less obviously, May 3 is also the birthday of founding member, guitarist Skyler Skjelset, who is the focus of Fleet Foxes’ new song “Third of May / Ōdaigahara.”
The band’s first single from their forthcoming record Crack-Up is a sober reflection on how Robin Pecknold and Skjelset’s relationship has endured success. With this issue serving as a guiding subject, Fleet Foxes present their longest and most experimental number yet. Though it’s full of all the qualities Fleet Foxes fans savor (sprawling crescendos, bellowed introspection, bucolic imagery), it feels evolved. What begins as a traditional Fleet Foxes song slowly transforms into a mournful, mystical instrumental. They retain the grand orchestration of their past work, but rather than sticking to one tone, the track dissolves into several acts across its nearly nine minutes: contemplation, melancholy, chaos, and resolution. Meanwhile, Pecknold’s lyrics take a similarly elaborate turn: “Aren’t we made to be crowded together, like leaves,” he sings. To him, their long friendship is as innate as seasons changing, but its absence is dire (“If I lead you through the fury, will you call to me?”). Fleet Foxes songs have certainly been devastating before, but never has their sensation of warmth been so wrapped in uncertainty.
The world has changed drastically since the days of Helplessness Blues. How do Fleet Foxes fit into a musical landscape where Bon Iver can make an electronic record and the Lumineers can sell out MSG? Fleet Foxes are literally out of the woods now that Pecknold resides in New York City, but they still choose to embrace nature’s aura. Instead of sounding like anachronisms, Pecknold and Skjelset dig into the past to find a way forward. On “Third of May / Ōdaigahara,” Fleet Foxes show that they can open themselves to an expanding world without losing themselves in the process.
parts of the song have a waltzy dream-like effect, which I like, and here the words are attached...interesting.
I think it may possibly be loosely based upon the painting by de goya called third of may