Blue Spotted Tail Lyrics

Lyric discussion by musicheadnumber9 

Cover art for Blue Spotted Tail lyrics by Fleet Foxes

What makes this song most effective is its placement in the album after "The Argument" from the previous track. You get this feeling like you're being twisted into the ground while your insides are raked, and then all of a sudden here comes the Blue Spotted Tail. It's lyrical content is totally helpless, and the structure and melody are peacefully hokey. A song about an existential crisis and pondering the emptiness of life sung to an elementary structure and melody. I interpret it as being a very sarcastic piece, again, much due to its placement in the album. If there is any resolve felt from this track, it's artificial and unsatisfactory. Like faking a smile. I think that's the point.

My Interpretation

Yeah, I'd say "Someone You Admire" is part of this too. The singer realizes that he has to change his life from his prodigal ways (from "The Plains"), but is fighting to decide how. He wants to be "Someone You Admire" but is afraid the opposite will happen: he'll fail and become bitter. Depressingly, at the end of "The Shrine", the latter seems to happen. He selfishly clings to his apples. This leads to a suicide attempt.

This song's first lines can be read as, "Why am I still alive? Why didn't...