At the end of each verse is my interpretation of its meaning. As a summary, I believe that this is about a man and woman who were married, but she cheated on him. There are two different storylines: In P.O.S.'s part he kills her, in Astronautilus' he commits suicide.
I am a handmade handgun
Operated by paper crooks,
Loaded up with bullets of blank pages torn from your little black book.
You can call me all your favorites,
Oh, I love those dirty looks.
You know I'll be drunk and waiting on the steps of St. Anthony's church.
{The term "handmade handgun" is the equivalent to "product of society". He is a manmade weapon, driven by her secrets. St. Anthony is the saint that Christians pray to to find lost things.}
Knuckle-blood stains the doorframe, frustration both ways
You see me knock, I see you gaze through the peeker
Watch me sneak far away
As I push my pleas through the shades.
I'm out of sight, for I know violence is nine cents from a dime
I spent your mind time stop for us (caught up)
{He walks back into the house that they were in when he found out, hence the knuckle-blood on the doorframe. He tries to explain to her that he's there to talk and nothing more, and that he's not there for violence.}
Cost of a heart accosted, don't blink
Nothin's so strangled like us
Nothin' deranged like that love
Nothin' explains the way I played like new things don't break
Live under your ribs, a toybox, an Apple plugin,
Tuned to tune out, give out what's yours,
Like when in doubt, play the mouse in the mouth like
Please don't let me die.
{When the voice fades out, those are her pleas. She explains that she knows she was wrong in doing what she did. But still he tunes her out and that he came there with a purpose.}
But you know me, I could never lay you down to sleep.
Take a knee, spillin' salt and shame upon your pretty feet.
With a head full of bourbon, I do this,
Though I love you and I think you hurt me on purpose...
{He begins to console her and tell her that he could never hurt her. The significance of spilling salt lies in the Christian belief that salt counteracts the power of sin. Still he takes that back, he knows what he has to do and kills her.}
I am a handmade handgun
Operated by paper crooks,
Loaded up with bullets of blank pages torn from your little black book.
You can call me all your favorites,
Oh, I love those dirty looks.
You know I'll be drunk and waiting on the steps of St. Anthony's church.
I thought of everything,
Even your paper ring,
The organs playin' our song,
Playin' our song, so sing along.
{They were married and she cheated on him, and he reflects on how fake the marriage was.}
Pay close attention to these two verses when listening; P.O.S. Says one part in the left speaker and Astronautilus says the other in the right.
P.O.S.:
Hail to the graces, the lord is with you.
A blessing for the souls that walk about
Walk among you till this hour of death,
Walk among you till this hour of death.
Astronautilus:
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
Blessed art thou among men and women,
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
You come to find me, hopelessly
Wrapped around the gun, staring at the sun.
Don't you fuckin' lie to me,
G'head and try it, see, God's witness,
Pick a sense and listens, hidden,
Layin' down behind a line of ivy
This is the same storyline with a new ending. The female finds him hopelessly holding a gun, praying. He will not change what he's going to do whether God is watching or not.
He can hand you pure moments
Or quit you from every sense you got,
Protect you with the spectacles, testicles, wallet watch,
But the devil keeps an open shop
He pays his bills and fills his pots
Thanks to the single sable sheep, hidden in that hollow flock
God can protect you sometimes, but the Devil's always open for business. The "single sable sheep" is the one dark living among the rest.
It's a classic case of damned if you do, damned if you don't
And I'll be damned if I end up playing Job with God's loving hand on my throat
You could swear I traced a trail of Wormwood slipping from the Empyrean,
But Providence, just a myth if I aim to let my trigger prey
He's damned no matter what he does, but he doesn't want to end up as Job did (another biblical reference; Job was stripped of all that he had by God). Wormwood is a forsaken star that fell to Earth and poisoned the land, and Empyrean is the highest level of Heaven. Therefore, he feels as though the best thing imaginable - her - poisoned him. He will not go to Heaven if he pulls the trigger. It is noted in Christianity that anyone who commits suicide is damned to Hell.
But you know me, I could never lay you down to sleep
I'm a prostrate paper tiger supplicating at your pretty feet
My mouth may run on a loaded gun and a belly full of bourbon
I only do this 'cause I love ya; I know you'd never hurt me on purpose.
"I could never lay YOU down to sleep" indicates that he won't kill her. He realizes that his strength was all fake. In the end, he does something: he kills himself.
I am a handmade handgun
Operated by paper crooks,
Loaded up with bullets of blank pages torn from your little black book.
You can call me all your favorites,
Oh, I love those dirty looks.
You know I'll be drunk and waiting on the steps of St. Anthony's church.
I thought of everything,
Even your paper ring,
The organs playin' our song,
Playin' our song, so sing along.
I thought of everything,
Even your paper ring,
The organs playin' our song,
Playin' our song, so sing along.
At the end of each verse is my interpretation of its meaning. As a summary, I believe that this is about a man and woman who were married, but she cheated on him. There are two different storylines: In P.O.S.'s part he kills her, in Astronautilus' he commits suicide.
I am a handmade handgun Operated by paper crooks, Loaded up with bullets of blank pages torn from your little black book. You can call me all your favorites, Oh, I love those dirty looks. You know I'll be drunk and waiting on the steps of St. Anthony's church. {The term "handmade handgun" is the equivalent to "product of society". He is a manmade weapon, driven by her secrets. St. Anthony is the saint that Christians pray to to find lost things.}
Knuckle-blood stains the doorframe, frustration both ways You see me knock, I see you gaze through the peeker Watch me sneak far away As I push my pleas through the shades. I'm out of sight, for I know violence is nine cents from a dime I spent your mind time stop for us (caught up) {He walks back into the house that they were in when he found out, hence the knuckle-blood on the doorframe. He tries to explain to her that he's there to talk and nothing more, and that he's not there for violence.}
Cost of a heart accosted, don't blink Nothin's so strangled like us Nothin' deranged like that love Nothin' explains the way I played like new things don't break Live under your ribs, a toybox, an Apple plugin, Tuned to tune out, give out what's yours, Like when in doubt, play the mouse in the mouth like Please don't let me die. {When the voice fades out, those are her pleas. She explains that she knows she was wrong in doing what she did. But still he tunes her out and that he came there with a purpose.}
But you know me, I could never lay you down to sleep. Take a knee, spillin' salt and shame upon your pretty feet. With a head full of bourbon, I do this, Though I love you and I think you hurt me on purpose... {He begins to console her and tell her that he could never hurt her. The significance of spilling salt lies in the Christian belief that salt counteracts the power of sin. Still he takes that back, he knows what he has to do and kills her.}
I am a handmade handgun Operated by paper crooks, Loaded up with bullets of blank pages torn from your little black book. You can call me all your favorites, Oh, I love those dirty looks. You know I'll be drunk and waiting on the steps of St. Anthony's church.
I thought of everything, Even your paper ring, The organs playin' our song, Playin' our song, so sing along. {They were married and she cheated on him, and he reflects on how fake the marriage was.}
Pay close attention to these two verses when listening; P.O.S. Says one part in the left speaker and Astronautilus says the other in the right.
P.O.S.: Hail to the graces, the lord is with you. A blessing for the souls that walk about Walk among you till this hour of death, Walk among you till this hour of death.
Astronautilus: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; Blessed art thou among men and women, And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, Now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
You come to find me, hopelessly Wrapped around the gun, staring at the sun. Don't you fuckin' lie to me, G'head and try it, see, God's witness, Pick a sense and listens, hidden, Layin' down behind a line of ivy This is the same storyline with a new ending. The female finds him hopelessly holding a gun, praying. He will not change what he's going to do whether God is watching or not.
He can hand you pure moments Or quit you from every sense you got, Protect you with the spectacles, testicles, wallet watch, But the devil keeps an open shop He pays his bills and fills his pots Thanks to the single sable sheep, hidden in that hollow flock God can protect you sometimes, but the Devil's always open for business. The "single sable sheep" is the one dark living among the rest.
It's a classic case of damned if you do, damned if you don't And I'll be damned if I end up playing Job with God's loving hand on my throat You could swear I traced a trail of Wormwood slipping from the Empyrean, But Providence, just a myth if I aim to let my trigger prey He's damned no matter what he does, but he doesn't want to end up as Job did (another biblical reference; Job was stripped of all that he had by God). Wormwood is a forsaken star that fell to Earth and poisoned the land, and Empyrean is the highest level of Heaven. Therefore, he feels as though the best thing imaginable - her - poisoned him. He will not go to Heaven if he pulls the trigger. It is noted in Christianity that anyone who commits suicide is damned to Hell.
But you know me, I could never lay you down to sleep I'm a prostrate paper tiger supplicating at your pretty feet My mouth may run on a loaded gun and a belly full of bourbon I only do this 'cause I love ya; I know you'd never hurt me on purpose. "I could never lay YOU down to sleep" indicates that he won't kill her. He realizes that his strength was all fake. In the end, he does something: he kills himself.
I am a handmade handgun Operated by paper crooks, Loaded up with bullets of blank pages torn from your little black book. You can call me all your favorites, Oh, I love those dirty looks. You know I'll be drunk and waiting on the steps of St. Anthony's church.
I thought of everything, Even your paper ring, The organs playin' our song, Playin' our song, so sing along.
I thought of everything, Even your paper ring, The organs playin' our song, Playin' our song, so sing along.