I find this song particularly interesting because of the chorus. Not only is it lyrically at odds with the rest of the song, which is relatively straightforward, but it is sung with a creepy, husky and low tone that doesn't match Mew's usual style at all.
The rest of the song is, in contrast, all of the mood of the singer watching and pressing in. As several people have mentioned, it gives the impression of a stalker -- someone whose presence is not wanted and possibly dangerous. The voyeurism of "my boat... when the lights are low, I can watch you move" suggests a one-sided desire and there seems an underlying threat in the suggestion, "You can run away... but you should look back twice, just to be on the safe side."
Even the more traditional love-lorn lyrics fit with the unrequited passion of the above. The words "you are just like an avalanche, cold as I might have guessed, but at least I am covered up for now" suggest the singer's felt a cold rejection and finally "I won't care for you, like I'm really supposed to, there are things I'll do, that could really hurt you" is still about the singer acting upon the girl (Callie?). This could be about resignation and rationalization in the face of her coldness or the realization that he really is a creepy, potentially dangerous stalker.
But all this is why I find the chorus so important to the ultimate meaning of the song. Mew has a tendency to do various versions of their songs, some of them quite mutated, but I've found their delivery of the chorus constant. Even in concert there's that odd, breathy voice calling to "Callie," with each chorus, but this time it's Callie who has the desire:
Callie, if you really want me to
I can always get you down
If you got the money for me
Callie, in the summer rain
You will be kept dry you see
If you got the money for me
In the end, this sounds like two fucked up people in some sort of mutual relationship. The singer is a bit sick in the mind, and acknowledges that he's dangerous, but Callie (partly, at least) desires that danger. She might just be a girl who likes to be hurt or it may be a more complex relationship, one literally involving money and something more than the exchange of twisted psychological hang-ups.
I have absolutely no theories on the title. Maybe it's the money?
I find this song particularly interesting because of the chorus. Not only is it lyrically at odds with the rest of the song, which is relatively straightforward, but it is sung with a creepy, husky and low tone that doesn't match Mew's usual style at all.
The rest of the song is, in contrast, all of the mood of the singer watching and pressing in. As several people have mentioned, it gives the impression of a stalker -- someone whose presence is not wanted and possibly dangerous. The voyeurism of "my boat... when the lights are low, I can watch you move" suggests a one-sided desire and there seems an underlying threat in the suggestion, "You can run away... but you should look back twice, just to be on the safe side."
Even the more traditional love-lorn lyrics fit with the unrequited passion of the above. The words "you are just like an avalanche, cold as I might have guessed, but at least I am covered up for now" suggest the singer's felt a cold rejection and finally "I won't care for you, like I'm really supposed to, there are things I'll do, that could really hurt you" is still about the singer acting upon the girl (Callie?). This could be about resignation and rationalization in the face of her coldness or the realization that he really is a creepy, potentially dangerous stalker.
But all this is why I find the chorus so important to the ultimate meaning of the song. Mew has a tendency to do various versions of their songs, some of them quite mutated, but I've found their delivery of the chorus constant. Even in concert there's that odd, breathy voice calling to "Callie," with each chorus, but this time it's Callie who has the desire:
Callie, if you really want me to I can always get you down If you got the money for me Callie, in the summer rain You will be kept dry you see If you got the money for me
In the end, this sounds like two fucked up people in some sort of mutual relationship. The singer is a bit sick in the mind, and acknowledges that he's dangerous, but Callie (partly, at least) desires that danger. She might just be a girl who likes to be hurt or it may be a more complex relationship, one literally involving money and something more than the exchange of twisted psychological hang-ups.
I have absolutely no theories on the title. Maybe it's the money?