This is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. I agree with those who say it's about a woman coping with a break-up.
The first two lines is a want to go back to her ex. "The pond with the swans and the swimming" is a brilliant, beautiful metaphor for this relationship, and all wonderful relationships. The next two lines describe how alone she feels; relics of their relationship bring her sadness.
The next four lines are a bit of a mystery to me; if you've ever sat down outside and watched a sunset, maybe you might understand it a bit. They're beautiful. All I can say is that possibly the more enjoyable things in life bring her memories- like sunsets- but after these moments, she feels incredibly lonely and "breaks"; she falls apart.
The chorus, with that heart-filling melody, seems to me as two lines that simply express the general theme of the lyrics and the mood of the entire song. I ABSOLUTELY ADORE that first line. When rain falls, rain falls everywhere, and rain covers everything, and the sound of it is something difficult to avoid; however the sound of gentle pouring rain is very, very soothing and lovely, coupled with the gray world outside. It's something sad yet beautiful at the same time, very much like the song and the story. The sun returning seems as if it doesn't give her any comfort.
The first two lines of the second verse are all about how desperate she is for her man back. She's so tired of crying and being closed up- "careful behavior". It's a simple couplet, and it explains itself... and it's brilliant.
"A brush through her hair, children kissing upstairs" is more of that trademark Iron & Wine imagery. A brush through her hair seems to me as just what it is; perhaps she is beautiful physically. Children kissing upstairs seems to signify more though- that could be her memories of intimate moments between her and her lover, most likely their first kiss. Also probably the feeling of her and him, and that feeling of "the whole world leaving" when she's with him. She remembers those moments and misses the hell out of them. "Want for her savior" could either mean want for her religious savior, or simply want for her ex-boyfriend. If that line is tied with religion, it could either mean she pleads for help from Him or she wishes for Him to take her away (i.e. death).
The next four lines, I believe, occur in the same type of setting as "the pond with the swans and the swimming"; some place where she shouldn't despair. Of course, she is still despondent- the sun on her knees and hands gives warmth and light but that doesn't affect her.
If I could only pick two lines that I like out of this entire piece, it would be the two lines following that last one. I hear "as she begs for a [instead of her] fish from the water/ but turned them away, she's a whip and a slave". She begs for help from others, and needs someone or something to support her in her time of need. But in her distress, she doesn't communicate well with others, and "whips" at the people around her despite some trying to comfort her. In this terrible hole this girl is stuck in, she's also a "slave" to her depression. She is devoid of hope.
"...Given time she may find something better" is a thing whose meaning is self-explanatory. I regard it however as a literary device that serves a similar purpose as, say, a long slow zooming-out of the camera at the very end of a movie.
I don't think there's a word in the English language that I could use to describe just how much I adore this song and Samuel Beam. This man is a brilliant poet and phenomenal musician.
SpunkySkunk, you did a great job deciphering this song!
The only thing that I think differently about is the verse:
SpunkySkunk, you did a great job deciphering this song!
The only thing that I think differently about is the verse:
"The sun on the sand, on her knees and her hands
As she begs for her fish from the water
But turned them away, she's a whip and a slave
Given time she may find something better"
"The sun on the sand, on her knees and her hands
As she begs for her fish from the water
But turned them away, she's a whip and a slave
Given time she may find something better"
"The sun of the sand, on her knees and her hands" represents her praying to her God, or her higher power.
"As she begs for her fish from the water" comes from the saying "Plenty of fish in the sea". She is...
"The sun of the sand, on her knees and her hands" represents her praying to her God, or her higher power.
"As she begs for her fish from the water" comes from the saying "Plenty of fish in the sea". She is begging her God for a man or "another fish from the sea".
"But she turned them away, she's a whip and a slave" is saying that because she is a slave to her feelings about her lost love, she cannot bring herself to be with any of these other men.
"Given time she may find something better" is pretty obvious in it's meaning. Time heals wounds, and it is saying that eventually she may find someone who she considers better than the man she is in love with.
This is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. I agree with those who say it's about a woman coping with a break-up.
The first two lines is a want to go back to her ex. "The pond with the swans and the swimming" is a brilliant, beautiful metaphor for this relationship, and all wonderful relationships. The next two lines describe how alone she feels; relics of their relationship bring her sadness.
The next four lines are a bit of a mystery to me; if you've ever sat down outside and watched a sunset, maybe you might understand it a bit. They're beautiful. All I can say is that possibly the more enjoyable things in life bring her memories- like sunsets- but after these moments, she feels incredibly lonely and "breaks"; she falls apart.
The chorus, with that heart-filling melody, seems to me as two lines that simply express the general theme of the lyrics and the mood of the entire song. I ABSOLUTELY ADORE that first line. When rain falls, rain falls everywhere, and rain covers everything, and the sound of it is something difficult to avoid; however the sound of gentle pouring rain is very, very soothing and lovely, coupled with the gray world outside. It's something sad yet beautiful at the same time, very much like the song and the story. The sun returning seems as if it doesn't give her any comfort.
The first two lines of the second verse are all about how desperate she is for her man back. She's so tired of crying and being closed up- "careful behavior". It's a simple couplet, and it explains itself... and it's brilliant.
"A brush through her hair, children kissing upstairs" is more of that trademark Iron & Wine imagery. A brush through her hair seems to me as just what it is; perhaps she is beautiful physically. Children kissing upstairs seems to signify more though- that could be her memories of intimate moments between her and her lover, most likely their first kiss. Also probably the feeling of her and him, and that feeling of "the whole world leaving" when she's with him. She remembers those moments and misses the hell out of them. "Want for her savior" could either mean want for her religious savior, or simply want for her ex-boyfriend. If that line is tied with religion, it could either mean she pleads for help from Him or she wishes for Him to take her away (i.e. death).
The next four lines, I believe, occur in the same type of setting as "the pond with the swans and the swimming"; some place where she shouldn't despair. Of course, she is still despondent- the sun on her knees and hands gives warmth and light but that doesn't affect her.
If I could only pick two lines that I like out of this entire piece, it would be the two lines following that last one. I hear "as she begs for a [instead of her] fish from the water/ but turned them away, she's a whip and a slave". She begs for help from others, and needs someone or something to support her in her time of need. But in her distress, she doesn't communicate well with others, and "whips" at the people around her despite some trying to comfort her. In this terrible hole this girl is stuck in, she's also a "slave" to her depression. She is devoid of hope.
"...Given time she may find something better" is a thing whose meaning is self-explanatory. I regard it however as a literary device that serves a similar purpose as, say, a long slow zooming-out of the camera at the very end of a movie.
I don't think there's a word in the English language that I could use to describe just how much I adore this song and Samuel Beam. This man is a brilliant poet and phenomenal musician.
SpunkySkunk, you did a great job deciphering this song! The only thing that I think differently about is the verse:
SpunkySkunk, you did a great job deciphering this song! The only thing that I think differently about is the verse:
"The sun on the sand, on her knees and her hands As she begs for her fish from the water But turned them away, she's a whip and a slave Given time she may find something better"
"The sun on the sand, on her knees and her hands As she begs for her fish from the water But turned them away, she's a whip and a slave Given time she may find something better"
"The sun of the sand, on her knees and her hands" represents her praying to her God, or her higher power. "As she begs for her fish from the water" comes from the saying "Plenty of fish in the sea". She is...
"The sun of the sand, on her knees and her hands" represents her praying to her God, or her higher power. "As she begs for her fish from the water" comes from the saying "Plenty of fish in the sea". She is begging her God for a man or "another fish from the sea". "But she turned them away, she's a whip and a slave" is saying that because she is a slave to her feelings about her lost love, she cannot bring herself to be with any of these other men. "Given time she may find something better" is pretty obvious in it's meaning. Time heals wounds, and it is saying that eventually she may find someone who she considers better than the man she is in love with.
Love this song, too! Woot!