Old-fashioned Hat Lyrics

Lyric discussion by Ladyblue82 

Cover art for Old-fashioned Hat lyrics by Anaïs Mitchell

Clearly I remember when/ I used to scratch my poems/ on the backs of other lovers in/ the darkness of my mind/ Back before I made my home/ in the marrow of your bones...

Those have got to be some of the most beautiful lyrics I have heard in a very, very long time.

The only thing about this song that bothers me is that I don't understand where the "say what was your name again?" line comes from, because the whole rest of the song seems to be talking about a long-standing relationship. Oh well.

When she says "say what was your name again?" I took this as a long-standing relationship with two people that still have a loving bond that doesn't get old. It's almost like they are falling in love all over again.

I think that the old hat her partner puts on is just enough to make him seem like a stranger, even though the years have made them so close and intimately familiar with ever aspect of each other (now I know your figure like my own/even from behind). They decide to go out; he goes across the room and tinkers with the jukebox, and there, with that hat on, she sees him differently, almost as a stranger. She's attracted to him much like she was the first time, 'bring the tonic and the gin, let's get to know...

Actually, some time after posting that comment I read an interview in which she explained that this song was about her husband, but that "Sometimes you look at someone you know so well, and for a moment you don’t even recognize them.

It’ exciting. I hope that happens our whole life." So yes, it's like that feeling of falling for them all over again. Now that I understand those lines in that light it just makes me love this song even more.

Interview here:http://www2.registerguard.com/cms/index.php/ticket-files/comments/full-text-of-interview-with-anais-mitchell/

Song Meaning