As with most of Califone's work the lyrics here are opaque and more poetic than literal. The title, 'Stepdaughter' is obviously a reference to Sleeping Beauty, as evidenced by the cutter (or wood cutter) delivering an Elk's heart instead of a human heart to the evil step mother as false proof of her murder. But this song evokes more than the images of a children's story it seems to deal with the emotions and motivations of the wood cutter himself. His mercy (or lack of nerve) allowed the step daughter to escape (dissolve into the dark woods), and despite the fact that he's signed his own death warrant (Step daughter made my dying bed), and the fact that his name is not even known in posterity (scratch out my name...) he would do it all over again, because - maybe - she was as beautiful and ephemeral to him as steam and soft light.
As with most of Califone's work the lyrics here are opaque and more poetic than literal. The title, 'Stepdaughter' is obviously a reference to Sleeping Beauty, as evidenced by the cutter (or wood cutter) delivering an Elk's heart instead of a human heart to the evil step mother as false proof of her murder. But this song evokes more than the images of a children's story it seems to deal with the emotions and motivations of the wood cutter himself. His mercy (or lack of nerve) allowed the step daughter to escape (dissolve into the dark woods), and despite the fact that he's signed his own death warrant (Step daughter made my dying bed), and the fact that his name is not even known in posterity (scratch out my name...) he would do it all over again, because - maybe - she was as beautiful and ephemeral to him as steam and soft light.