one more thing about the suicide interpretation: the fact that eli is dressed all in corduroy could be significant. because the song implies that he is very poor, having to try & sell coal & marigolds just to get by, it may also be that this corduroy outfit was his 'best suit.' think about it in context to a line from another decemberists song:
'& i don't know why she got all dolled up for a suicide'
he dressed up because he knew he was going to drown himself. could this be possible? someone please correct me if i'm obviously wrong.
one more thing about the suicide interpretation: the fact that eli is dressed all in corduroy could be significant. because the song implies that he is very poor, having to try & sell coal & marigolds just to get by, it may also be that this corduroy outfit was his 'best suit.' think about it in context to a line from another decemberists song:
'& i don't know why she got all dolled up for a suicide'
he dressed up because he knew he was going to drown himself. could this be possible? someone please correct me if i'm obviously wrong.
xo