Pay for Me Lyrics

Lyric discussion by Seike 

Cover art for Pay for Me lyrics by National, The

My hearing of the lyrics:

I thought I'd come and see you in your long AND lazy scene ... I've never seen a black SO dark.

Interpretation: Guy is flying in to visit his ex. Either through a divorce with the man himself or by her marrying another man an adopting his name instead of her maiden name, he cannot get used

the change in her name from what he knew her as. The return is rather tense based on the history of the separation between the two people.

The next part about the keys is a bit unclear but it appears the girl has a friend ("body-double") meet him first. The entire exchange is very orchestrated and planned out to avoid conflict. Nonetheless, the man enters her apartment and drops off the keys without an incident (perhaps, to spite her, without even confronting her at all) and leaves immediately thereafter. She paid for his plane, perhaps as a gesture of reconciliation....