Dearly Departed Lyrics

Lyric discussion by rustedshut 

Cover art for Dearly Departed lyrics by Devotchka

I've always felt this song could be about being pregnant with and giving birth to a child.

'How I miss your heart beating next to mine' seems a reference to the unborn baby and mother whose hearts are beating in close proximity to one another.

I think the part about the right words being hard to find could point to the inevitable growing apart between a mother and her child in some ways, or might be indicative of times when they two might not understand each other. The idea of the unborn baby 'belonging' to the mother can be seen in the line 'when darling you were mine, all mine' as in a sense, the only time a child truly 'belongs' to his or her mother is while in the womb. Once they're born they're for the most part a free individual.

The not having a choice part could be interpreted two ways. One being that a woman giving birth is not a choice; her body will eventually do what it was intended to do and get the baby out. Also there's the idea of a person not having a choice in being born. We don't ask to be born.

'Flesh of my flesh' and 'soul of my soul' make sense, both physically and spiritually, in the context of pregnancy and the transition into motherhood.

'All this darkness, cannot hurt us cause they made you from the light here on birthplace, don't be nervous you will make it through, this night'

This stanza reminds me of the darkness of the womb, the 'lightness' of children and it alludes to a location, like a hospital or home where a baby would be born. The birthing process is scary for both mother and baby, but it's as if it's saying the baby shouldn't be worried and that making it out of the darkness will end (being born). Also, a lot of women labor through the nighttime hours and give birth in the morning.

I don't really know what to say about 'your voice, singing right with mine' and I come back home.'

Anyhow, those are my thoughts.