I believe the first line of this song is talking about the strictures of society. The human population is so self-absorbed and populous that we can't really see what's going on in the world. The second line is talking about how, in comparison with human society, nature, represented by the "weasel in the forest," can be bitter as well(being bitten by a weasel). The third line then emphasizes that the societal constraints which we create for ourselves(friends, books, records) may be comfortable, but may not be as real as we think, signified by the distantly reminescent attitude with which these things are spoken of. By reiterating the first line, Drake implies that perhaps human society is ultimately more damaging than nature.
The next few lines about brothers and sisters emphasizes that, though human society does have negative aspects, we should still place meaning in certain elements of human existence, such as family (while the absurdity of human existence is still pointed out in such temporal things as "growing hair" & beauty("make your sister fair"). The family as "part of a chain" again signifies the things we, as humans, attach ourselves to. The taking off of the "eyeshade" and "starting over again" could possibly signify a stage of human development in which we are removed from the safe havens of our families and introduced into society. After being introduced into society, Drake comments on the development of the ego, or self-definition, signified by "finding your way in here" and "getting your story clear." After establishing ourselves as individuals, we should then allow ourselves, in the rather eastern sense, to flow with existence and allow nature to run its course("weigh up your anchor & never look 'round").
The final verse, with the finality perhaps denoting emphasis, seems to be about a more specific situation that Drake was dealing with, namely, that a particular girl(hazey jane), or the romantic ideal itself, is weighing heavily upon his mind, so he feels the need to sing about it. The last line about "if songs were lines in a conversation" seems to be a wistful statement about Drake's inability to connect with other people due to his shyness. He is also saying that if he could express himself through song, ie what he really feels, instead of just lines in a conversation then he could possibly become more connected to "Hazey Jane" and "the situation would be fine."
I believe the first line of this song is talking about the strictures of society. The human population is so self-absorbed and populous that we can't really see what's going on in the world. The second line is talking about how, in comparison with human society, nature, represented by the "weasel in the forest," can be bitter as well(being bitten by a weasel). The third line then emphasizes that the societal constraints which we create for ourselves(friends, books, records) may be comfortable, but may not be as real as we think, signified by the distantly reminescent attitude with which these things are spoken of. By reiterating the first line, Drake implies that perhaps human society is ultimately more damaging than nature. The next few lines about brothers and sisters emphasizes that, though human society does have negative aspects, we should still place meaning in certain elements of human existence, such as family (while the absurdity of human existence is still pointed out in such temporal things as "growing hair" & beauty("make your sister fair"). The family as "part of a chain" again signifies the things we, as humans, attach ourselves to. The taking off of the "eyeshade" and "starting over again" could possibly signify a stage of human development in which we are removed from the safe havens of our families and introduced into society. After being introduced into society, Drake comments on the development of the ego, or self-definition, signified by "finding your way in here" and "getting your story clear." After establishing ourselves as individuals, we should then allow ourselves, in the rather eastern sense, to flow with existence and allow nature to run its course("weigh up your anchor & never look 'round"). The final verse, with the finality perhaps denoting emphasis, seems to be about a more specific situation that Drake was dealing with, namely, that a particular girl(hazey jane), or the romantic ideal itself, is weighing heavily upon his mind, so he feels the need to sing about it. The last line about "if songs were lines in a conversation" seems to be a wistful statement about Drake's inability to connect with other people due to his shyness. He is also saying that if he could express himself through song, ie what he really feels, instead of just lines in a conversation then he could possibly become more connected to "Hazey Jane" and "the situation would be fine."