There are various references to "Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair" throughout the album, mostly towards the end:
Safer in the Forest/Love Song for Poor Michigan: "I will hold these old streets sweetly in my head like her." (Specifically Andria: "So dear, no matter how we part, I hold you sweetly in my head.")
All Our Bruised Bodies and the Whole Heart Shrinks: "Did you find your lover laying in your bedroom with another and then did you let it hover over you and everything else well after the fact?" (References the entire album.)
You and I in Unison: "When I sing, don't I sing your name right at the same time that I sing my own?"
"I will sing sweetly..."
"I'll sing your name in every line, just like I did throughout this, just like I've always done."
"Until I die, I will sing our names in unison." (All referencing lines from Andria.)
The whole album, like the previous, has a story that flows through the songs.
It's divided into four parts as the lyrics show in this song:
A Departure
"First, the feeling of abandonment": Harder Harmonies St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church Blues Edit Your Hometown
A Letter
"Then trying to cope": Safer in the Forest/Love Song for Poor Michigan The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit
A Poem
"Then death and hope": King Park Edward Benz, 27 Times I See Everything
A Broken Jar
"And the thing itself, waiting for me": All Our Bruised Bodies and the Whole Heart Shrinks You and I in Unison
Every song beginning with "A..." provides the shift in content, and the layout of the entire album provides a sort of symmetry:
Introduction 3 songs Shift 2 songs Shift 3 songs Shift 2 songs
There are various references to "Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair" throughout the album, mostly towards the end:
Safer in the Forest/Love Song for Poor Michigan: "I will hold these old streets sweetly in my head like her." (Specifically Andria: "So dear, no matter how we part, I hold you sweetly in my head.")
All Our Bruised Bodies and the Whole Heart Shrinks: "Did you find your lover laying in your bedroom with another and then did you let it hover over you and everything else well after the fact?" (References the entire album.)
You and I in Unison: "When I sing, don't I sing your name right at the same time that I sing my own?" "I will sing sweetly..." "I'll sing your name in every line, just like I did throughout this, just like I've always done." "Until I die, I will sing our names in unison." (All referencing lines from Andria.)