The song seems to about the frustrating and morally questionable life of a musician. The first verse is a narrative about waiting for the band's turn to perform (in Chinatown, presumably), and the writier wishing it were "not so brief." The leaf he burns might be marijuana, but I'm guessing sage or something like that, which he uses to alieviate the sickly state he is in. The wilderness in the speaker's head is likely a slew of chaotic thoughts, dream-like in their sequence and cadence, which he recognizes are a product of his lack of sleep. He wants to put them to rest, but such is the life of a performer, that he must trudge forward.
In the second verse the writer is doubting his current feelings about his life. He admits that music and his band have gotten complicated, and wonders why it stopped being so fun. He considers that his "dearest dreams" are not much in the way of dreams, but recognizes that he must remember his roots and keep faith in his gift and love of music.
The line "lion in a choma" probably means that the writer feels as though he is "lyin' in a coma" (Animal Collective play with words like that. Eg: Sports brother/ support your brother), able to observe but unable to participate. A performer is beholden to so many people that it can feel as though you have no control over your life, and I think the writer is trying to shake this feeling, and to feel good about his station in the world again.
I think.
The song seems to about the frustrating and morally questionable life of a musician. The first verse is a narrative about waiting for the band's turn to perform (in Chinatown, presumably), and the writier wishing it were "not so brief." The leaf he burns might be marijuana, but I'm guessing sage or something like that, which he uses to alieviate the sickly state he is in. The wilderness in the speaker's head is likely a slew of chaotic thoughts, dream-like in their sequence and cadence, which he recognizes are a product of his lack of sleep. He wants to put them to rest, but such is the life of a performer, that he must trudge forward. In the second verse the writer is doubting his current feelings about his life. He admits that music and his band have gotten complicated, and wonders why it stopped being so fun. He considers that his "dearest dreams" are not much in the way of dreams, but recognizes that he must remember his roots and keep faith in his gift and love of music. The line "lion in a choma" probably means that the writer feels as though he is "lyin' in a coma" (Animal Collective play with words like that. Eg: Sports brother/ support your brother), able to observe but unable to participate. A performer is beholden to so many people that it can feel as though you have no control over your life, and I think the writer is trying to shake this feeling, and to feel good about his station in the world again. I think.