Lyric discussion by source_4 

Cover art for Letter from an Occupant lyrics by New Pornographers, The

What does "an occupant" refer to?

Jasper Johns would say "yes I see that" to any interpretation of his work. My guess is what ever you see in a painting, song, poem is right for who you are at the moment. So for me, the occupant (of a soul) is a person who gives shallow lip service-letter, as opposed to unspoken action, meditation, belief. . . to a god. Eventual downfall- a broken soul, the bill =$, ask for anything-the moon, shoot what I want- just be yourself, the last 10 min.-now, time passing, & just now bets their hand on $ is a trade causing...

I really like the "date" setup, as a former dining room server it reminds me of observed dates gone sour. Or even long time relationships. Or hookers! The lines that really gets me are, "Where the hell have the 70s brought me/You traded me away long ago" What's this about? Anti-feminism? Is Neko expected to pay the bill? Shit, where did the good times go? The main chorus line... "For the love of a god, you said/ Not a letter from an occupant" comes to me as an exercise in contrast between absolute power, lordship and...