The line "we all salivate when the bells ring" may well be a reference to Pavlov's dogs and classical conditioning; in the context of a wedding song "written for the bride on the way to her marriage chamber" (Wikipedia), this could show how those who are aware of this woman's past ("retrace those restless days now placed amongst the pews" — past sexual partners sitting and watching her wedding, with this further reinforced by the line "I saw you as much of each of us" and the reply "we just assumed you knew") are going along with the formalities ("each forever holds his peace") and are perhaps not only making a fuss of her on her wedding day but lusting after her again (salivating) as they once did, having looked back on those times ("we fucked through your room", which when combined with the line about retracing may imply that our protagonist intercepted the bride at some point before or after the wedding to remember his past relationship/encounter with her).
@tfs21 A great interpretation-- before I knew that it was a wedding poem I had guessed it was maybe about complicated childhood sexual dynamics in a church, so thanks. I'd say, an interesting alternative interpretation is you assumed that the poem is directed at the bride, but it could equally, and perhaps more interestingly, be directed at the groom. Hard to say, as tho some of their songs are overtly queer, most of them do seem to be centred on heterosexual dynamics, and particularly the positionality of women within those.
@tfs21 A great interpretation-- before I knew that it was a wedding poem I had guessed it was maybe about complicated childhood sexual dynamics in a church, so thanks. I'd say, an interesting alternative interpretation is you assumed that the poem is directed at the bride, but it could equally, and perhaps more interestingly, be directed at the groom. Hard to say, as tho some of their songs are overtly queer, most of them do seem to be centred on heterosexual dynamics, and particularly the positionality of women within those.
The line "we all salivate when the bells ring" may well be a reference to Pavlov's dogs and classical conditioning; in the context of a wedding song "written for the bride on the way to her marriage chamber" (Wikipedia), this could show how those who are aware of this woman's past ("retrace those restless days now placed amongst the pews" — past sexual partners sitting and watching her wedding, with this further reinforced by the line "I saw you as much of each of us" and the reply "we just assumed you knew") are going along with the formalities ("each forever holds his peace") and are perhaps not only making a fuss of her on her wedding day but lusting after her again (salivating) as they once did, having looked back on those times ("we fucked through your room", which when combined with the line about retracing may imply that our protagonist intercepted the bride at some point before or after the wedding to remember his past relationship/encounter with her).
@tfs21 A great interpretation-- before I knew that it was a wedding poem I had guessed it was maybe about complicated childhood sexual dynamics in a church, so thanks. I'd say, an interesting alternative interpretation is you assumed that the poem is directed at the bride, but it could equally, and perhaps more interestingly, be directed at the groom. Hard to say, as tho some of their songs are overtly queer, most of them do seem to be centred on heterosexual dynamics, and particularly the positionality of women within those.
@tfs21 A great interpretation-- before I knew that it was a wedding poem I had guessed it was maybe about complicated childhood sexual dynamics in a church, so thanks. I'd say, an interesting alternative interpretation is you assumed that the poem is directed at the bride, but it could equally, and perhaps more interestingly, be directed at the groom. Hard to say, as tho some of their songs are overtly queer, most of them do seem to be centred on heterosexual dynamics, and particularly the positionality of women within those.