Looks like we have some pretty unacquainted listeners here, which is awesome.
"The lyrics are ambiguous, and the music video is just as bad"
-Welcome to Gord Downie's writing style... this one is a easy analysis in comparison to a lot of them.
It seems to be literally decipherable (it actually is just about a lake) but metaphorically is much more interesting. "You're not coming in" refers to the tides etc. Also, the Great Lakes all look like oceans and you've got to regularly remind yourself that the are in fact lakes.
Metaphorically it does seem to be about a friendship/relationship, but I think the most telling line is "you're up to my chin" near the end. It contrasts with "you're up to my toes." This suggests he's underestimated the impact of this person. It turns the entire song into a possible denial of this person's effect on the narrator. Perhaps he/she isn't the ocean, but their effect is suddenly close to smothering.
And yeah he can sound obnoxious sometimes, but I call it dynamic.
Looks like we have some pretty unacquainted listeners here, which is awesome.
"The lyrics are ambiguous, and the music video is just as bad" -Welcome to Gord Downie's writing style... this one is a easy analysis in comparison to a lot of them.
It seems to be literally decipherable (it actually is just about a lake) but metaphorically is much more interesting. "You're not coming in" refers to the tides etc. Also, the Great Lakes all look like oceans and you've got to regularly remind yourself that the are in fact lakes.
Metaphorically it does seem to be about a friendship/relationship, but I think the most telling line is "you're up to my chin" near the end. It contrasts with "you're up to my toes." This suggests he's underestimated the impact of this person. It turns the entire song into a possible denial of this person's effect on the narrator. Perhaps he/she isn't the ocean, but their effect is suddenly close to smothering.
And yeah he can sound obnoxious sometimes, but I call it dynamic.