Patterns of Fairytales Lyrics

Lyric discussion by fjording 

Cover art for Patterns of Fairytales lyrics by National, The

I don't get the part about the magdeline and month of may

It's contrasting Mary Magdeline, a prostitute in the Bible, and the month of May, which is known as an innocent month, the birth of spring, etc.

It's actually a typo; the song's lyric, "turning Magdalen into the month of May," references the ancient tradition in Oxford of celebrating May Day on Magdalen Bridge, beneath Magdalen Tower—thus, "turning Magdalen into the month of May."

Then, when he says "the magdalen was me," the word is a noun meaning "reformed prostitute" (after its origin, Mary Magdalen), he describes his realization that it was, in fact, HE who underwent the transformation into May, the month of innocence and the verdure and promise of spring.