The Well and the Lighthouse Lyrics

Lyric discussion by cloud7 

Cover art for The Well and the Lighthouse lyrics by Arcade Fire

This is based on La Fontaine's fable, The Fox, The Wolf and The Well. The most important part i think is

“You fool, now that you know your end is near; you always fall for what you desire or what you fear!”

One evening a fox, who was as hungry as a dog, 
happened to see the round reflection of the moon in 
a well, and he believed it to be a fine cheese. There 
were two pails which alternately drew up the water. 
Into the uppermost of these the fox leapt, and his 
weight caused him to descend the well, where he at 
once discovered his mistake about the cheese. He 
became extremely worried and fancied his end 
approaching, for he could see no way to get up  
again but by some other hungry one, enticed by the 
same reflection, coming down in the same way that 
he had.

Two days passed without any one coming to the  
well. Time, which is always marching onward, had, 
during two nights, hollowed the outline of the silvery 
planet, and Reynard was in despair.

At last a wolf, parched with thirst, drew near, to   
whom the fox called from below, "Comrade, here is 
a treat for you! Do you see this? It is an exquisite   
cheese, made by Faunus from milk of the heifer Io. 
If Jupiter were ill and lost his appetite he would find 
it again by one taste of this. I have only eaten this 
piece out of it; the rest will be plenty for you. Come 
down in the pail up there. I put it there on purpose  
for you."

A rigmarole so cleverly told was easily believed by   
the fool of a wolf, who descended by his greater  
weight, which not only took him down, but brought 
the fox up.

We ought not to laugh at the wolf, for we often 
enough let ourselves be deluded with just as little 
cause. Everybody is ready to believe the thing he 
fears and the thing he desires.

-A La Fontaine