Lyric discussion by 42 steps 

Cover art for February Seven lyrics by Avett Brothers, The

I see three possibilities for this song:

  1. The obvious. Infidelity, as others have commented.

  2. The end, and acceptance of that end, of the "honeymoon" period of the singer's marriage. The awakening from lust and idealization of his spouse into the reality of marriage. "When I awoke, you were standing there"...

The first verse is the initial attraction to the person, when desire comes first. Second and perhaps third verse is the cruel blow of reality that time and intimacy brings, learning who she "really" is, and the mourning that goes along with that. However, "light breaks in" and brings him to the understanding that she's standing there, waiting for him to wake up and to begin their real life together. Which he's now ready to do...

  1. Probably not what the song's about, but another fond idea of mine (and a theme I've seen running through other Avett Brothers songs)... The nature of desire (for anything) and illusion... The hall of mirrors effect. You think you're awake now, you understand where you've been and determined to go in a different direction, ("there's no fortune at the end of the road that has no end...") but you're endlessly caught in this cycle that will trap you into thinking you're done with it and awake now, even while you travel the same dream road endlessly, with nothing to be gained....
My Interpretation

Although the date doesn't match up, it also puts me in mind of this person:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Wearing

the unfortunate individual who had brain damage due to illness and lost the ability to make new memories, his only connection to the past being the love for his wife.

A sample of his writing (note-taking became a habit of his in the days after the illness struck):

<I>In a diary provided by his caretakers, Clive was encouraged to record his thoughts. Page after page is filled with entries similar to the following:

8:31 AM:...