To me, this song has a very subtle and complex meaning.
"Now I've taken the side
Of a beautiful calm"
He's changed perspectives. Now he sees thing through calm eyes and the world looks and/or feels beautiful. Such as when you wake in the morning, smell the morning air, and everything appears, calm, fresh and beautiful.
"Can you see this disguise
Fading to a resolve"
Everyone acts in what they consider out of their own character, or wishes they had acted differently at times. And we all wear masks at times, to fulfill roles or accomplish something. He's saying this disguise is fading/leaving/being replaced by a resolve. That resolve is most likely to be true to himself and his intentions.
"And there it goes my innocence
While gathering up a compliment"
There are often times when you are complimented for things that make you lose your innocence towards something. It creates a dichotomy, because you are receiving praise for something that makes you view the world in a more cynical manner. Alternatively, it reminds me of times when you have accomplished something, or are known for something and people compliment you for it. But secretly, you feel like you betrayed that part of yourself, that innocence, that intent. You've moved and changed but people still think of you as your older self, and give you praise for it.
"And here I lie with words to swear
There's something more than
The world out there"
He's lying down, feeling that he has things that need said, looking at the bigger picture. And he's saying, that there's something more than this. He's feeling listless, trapped, and that he can't escape the everyday pattern that he is becoming fed up with. On the other hand, he's also feeling hopeful, because there is "More out there". Its said in a way that not only does he believe there is more out there but he intends to find it. It also is another dichotomy, as the world is a word that usually means everything, and he's saying there is more than that. One interpretation is that the world means everything material, and he seeks the spiritual. Another interpretation is that there is more to the world than what he currently knows of it, and possibly that his current loss of innocence has let him see that.
"Hesitation compounds
I've nothing left to sustain"
He hesitates, feels like he has no resolve left. Or possibly, that its not worth sustaining the way his current life is as its too full of hesitation. Or perhaps, he is hesitating to make that change.
"My worries here have allowed
A momentary refrain"
His worries over the way things are progressing right now, have given him an opportunity to sit back and take a look at things. It has also changed things enough so that things, even if for a short while, have changed for the better because at least now he's thinking about how to attack the problem rather then letting things go as they were.
The title of the song is Compliment. It seems to me this points that perhaps the whole reflectiveness of the song, his changed perceptions, his resolve to accomplish something all stem from the dichotomy of being complimented during a time of lost innocence. It lets him see the difference between what he is, what he was, and perhaps, what he wishes to be. At the very least, it gives him a perspective on the world, its size, and his feeling toward it.
To me, this song has a very subtle and complex meaning.
"Now I've taken the side Of a beautiful calm"
He's changed perspectives. Now he sees thing through calm eyes and the world looks and/or feels beautiful. Such as when you wake in the morning, smell the morning air, and everything appears, calm, fresh and beautiful.
"Can you see this disguise Fading to a resolve"
Everyone acts in what they consider out of their own character, or wishes they had acted differently at times. And we all wear masks at times, to fulfill roles or accomplish something. He's saying this disguise is fading/leaving/being replaced by a resolve. That resolve is most likely to be true to himself and his intentions.
"And there it goes my innocence While gathering up a compliment"
There are often times when you are complimented for things that make you lose your innocence towards something. It creates a dichotomy, because you are receiving praise for something that makes you view the world in a more cynical manner. Alternatively, it reminds me of times when you have accomplished something, or are known for something and people compliment you for it. But secretly, you feel like you betrayed that part of yourself, that innocence, that intent. You've moved and changed but people still think of you as your older self, and give you praise for it.
"And here I lie with words to swear There's something more than The world out there"
He's lying down, feeling that he has things that need said, looking at the bigger picture. And he's saying, that there's something more than this. He's feeling listless, trapped, and that he can't escape the everyday pattern that he is becoming fed up with. On the other hand, he's also feeling hopeful, because there is "More out there". Its said in a way that not only does he believe there is more out there but he intends to find it. It also is another dichotomy, as the world is a word that usually means everything, and he's saying there is more than that. One interpretation is that the world means everything material, and he seeks the spiritual. Another interpretation is that there is more to the world than what he currently knows of it, and possibly that his current loss of innocence has let him see that.
"Hesitation compounds I've nothing left to sustain"
He hesitates, feels like he has no resolve left. Or possibly, that its not worth sustaining the way his current life is as its too full of hesitation. Or perhaps, he is hesitating to make that change.
"My worries here have allowed A momentary refrain"
His worries over the way things are progressing right now, have given him an opportunity to sit back and take a look at things. It has also changed things enough so that things, even if for a short while, have changed for the better because at least now he's thinking about how to attack the problem rather then letting things go as they were.
The title of the song is Compliment. It seems to me this points that perhaps the whole reflectiveness of the song, his changed perceptions, his resolve to accomplish something all stem from the dichotomy of being complimented during a time of lost innocence. It lets him see the difference between what he is, what he was, and perhaps, what he wishes to be. At the very least, it gives him a perspective on the world, its size, and his feeling toward it.