I always imagined this song was about marriage... as in they will settle into routines "pitching glass" and "folding clothes." When "Sister Lowery says amen," the word is carried off by the train, like a bird in the breeze, as all they can focus on is each other. They keep all the memories from their past lives apart, like grandma's gun and the bear claw, but essentially combine lives as marriage entails.
I always imagined this song was about marriage... as in they will settle into routines "pitching glass" and "folding clothes." When "Sister Lowery says amen," the word is carried off by the train, like a bird in the breeze, as all they can focus on is each other. They keep all the memories from their past lives apart, like grandma's gun and the bear claw, but essentially combine lives as marriage entails.