The "burn leaves"/"ploughman" line may mean "I can't make you an honest woman." A guy who comes to burn leaves is a manual laborer, basically, who comes and then leaves. A ploughman makes a commitment to the land, plants there and lives off of it and can't move for a while without the investment being wasted.
"Oh, I don't want my words twisted
I don't want you to listen to close
Or wait for me impatiently
And I hope I can keep seeing you
As long as you don't say you're falling in love"
Suggests strongly that there's some kind of affair going on but he doesn't want her to get too emotionally involved--that the relationship is more a vacation than moving permanently to a new place.
I think this song is great because of how it's at once a love song and a song about avoiding or wanting to avoid love. Beautiful instrumentation helps it, as well.
The "burn leaves"/"ploughman" line may mean "I can't make you an honest woman." A guy who comes to burn leaves is a manual laborer, basically, who comes and then leaves. A ploughman makes a commitment to the land, plants there and lives off of it and can't move for a while without the investment being wasted.
"Oh, I don't want my words twisted I don't want you to listen to close Or wait for me impatiently And I hope I can keep seeing you As long as you don't say you're falling in love"
Suggests strongly that there's some kind of affair going on but he doesn't want her to get too emotionally involved--that the relationship is more a vacation than moving permanently to a new place.
I think this song is great because of how it's at once a love song and a song about avoiding or wanting to avoid love. Beautiful instrumentation helps it, as well.