I find it interesting that this cover seems to change the words a little, and the meaning changes, too. In the original, the wife's eyes were sore. In this, he sings that the wife's eyes "did soar." (The song clearly sounds like 'did soar' as well.) In the original, the soldier had died, and his wife had cried her eyes out. This seems to imply that he physically walked into the house and her eyes soared when she saw him because the telegram had been a mistake. Anyone have thoughts about it? I think Iron & Wine's cover leaves it more open-ended than the original. I'm not convinced, but it's a theory about the shift in lyrics.
I find it interesting that this cover seems to change the words a little, and the meaning changes, too. In the original, the wife's eyes were sore. In this, he sings that the wife's eyes "did soar." (The song clearly sounds like 'did soar' as well.) In the original, the soldier had died, and his wife had cried her eyes out. This seems to imply that he physically walked into the house and her eyes soared when she saw him because the telegram had been a mistake. Anyone have thoughts about it? I think Iron & Wine's cover leaves it more open-ended than the original. I'm not convinced, but it's a theory about the shift in lyrics.