I think the idea that it could be about Emily's father, Paul Haines, is a good one. For one, the cover art for 'Knives Don't Have Your Back' is based on that for Paul Haines' opera 'Escalator Over The Hill' so it's obvious that despite the fact he died 3 years before Emily's album was realised, he had a profound effect on her musically.
'Cursed with a love that you can't express
It's not for a fuck, or a kiss' - Can we entirely express why we love our parents? I don't think the idea of a long-distance relationship works here, because yes being in love is higher than the physical side but these lyrics seem to suggest no physical side at all, therefore making it possible for the love to be familial.
'Everywhere and every way I see you with me' - She still misses him.
I think the musical references, while possibly pointing towards choosing between a relationship and a musical career, could also be a nod to her father as a musician. It was he, after all who would make cassettes of rare and eclectic music for Emily to listen to. She ties them in with hints of suicide with 'Land out on the ice' because his death makes her want to join him.
'The life that you thought through is gone' - This just seems to be an obvious reference to death to me. Everything her father lived and worked for has gone with him and maybe there's some bitterness on Emily's part for this.
I think the idea that it could be about Emily's father, Paul Haines, is a good one. For one, the cover art for 'Knives Don't Have Your Back' is based on that for Paul Haines' opera 'Escalator Over The Hill' so it's obvious that despite the fact he died 3 years before Emily's album was realised, he had a profound effect on her musically.
'Cursed with a love that you can't express It's not for a fuck, or a kiss' - Can we entirely express why we love our parents? I don't think the idea of a long-distance relationship works here, because yes being in love is higher than the physical side but these lyrics seem to suggest no physical side at all, therefore making it possible for the love to be familial.
'Everywhere and every way I see you with me' - She still misses him.
I think the musical references, while possibly pointing towards choosing between a relationship and a musical career, could also be a nod to her father as a musician. It was he, after all who would make cassettes of rare and eclectic music for Emily to listen to. She ties them in with hints of suicide with 'Land out on the ice' because his death makes her want to join him.
'The life that you thought through is gone' - This just seems to be an obvious reference to death to me. Everything her father lived and worked for has gone with him and maybe there's some bitterness on Emily's part for this.