Lyric discussion by mickzzzzzz 

Cover art for Phase lyrics by Ani DiFranco

It should be: "I'll be your exception to whatever the rule" and "I'll sit at your red light, and wait for your shit to go by" and "against this slow leak deflation" and "yeah the further the horizon, the more it holds my gaze and the foreground's out of focus..."

I think this song is about the kind of apathy you get when you are sick of everything. I think when Ani says "I'll be your biggest fan or your fool" etc, she is basically saying 'whatever'. Same thing when she describes "the vague little smile that is her all purpose expression; the meaning of which she will leave to your discretion"; I think it means: 'whatever' and 'my expression means whatever you want it to mean'.

She sounds like she feels bored and trapped and tied down by some aspect(s) of her life when she says: "the further the horizon the more it holds my gaze". It is as if she is expecting to be tied down by her current situation and she has lost a sense of control and has become numb about it all. She hopes it is just a phase.