I agree with @kschap for the most part, but in MY head (lol) I've always thought that at the point where she says "Out of the blue, it is he" it was like a hallucination, but a very vivid one, that lasted for forty days; maybe the vision was brought on by a fever of some sort, and the fever lifts, and he's gone, and she goes back to her waiting and yearning.
I also agree with @amberbreath about the religious references. I think on a metaphorical level this could be about cleansing yourself of a deity, namely the Christian God in this one, with the references to "bearing leaves" to cover her shame, sort of the way the Bible tells us God did with Adam and Eve. This is what I love about PJ Harvey, among a few other artists: They're ambiguous, yes, but they still have a solidity to them that not very many other artists seem to be able to penetrate.
I agree with @kschap for the most part, but in MY head (lol) I've always thought that at the point where she says "Out of the blue, it is he" it was like a hallucination, but a very vivid one, that lasted for forty days; maybe the vision was brought on by a fever of some sort, and the fever lifts, and he's gone, and she goes back to her waiting and yearning.
I also agree with @amberbreath about the religious references. I think on a metaphorical level this could be about cleansing yourself of a deity, namely the Christian God in this one, with the references to "bearing leaves" to cover her shame, sort of the way the Bible tells us God did with Adam and Eve. This is what I love about PJ Harvey, among a few other artists: They're ambiguous, yes, but they still have a solidity to them that not very many other artists seem to be able to penetrate.