"A gardener told me some plants move, but I could not believe it
When they first met and started a relationship, he saw them as being fixed, a lovely couple that couldn't change. Someone more knowledgeable about relationships warned him that people can change, and he didn't believe them
"Til me and Hannah Hunt saw crawling vines and weeping willows"
But then things did start to change in their relationships.
"As we made our way from Providence to Phoenix"
A nice alliteration that references them moving out towards the west coast and away from New York area. However, it has a second meaning.
Providence- in the Godly sense, meaning all knowing, a sense of knowing the future.
Phoneix- a mythical greek bird that rises from the ashes of it's predecessor.
Their relationship is moving from this solid bond, that the protagonist thought would last forever, towards a new stage when it ends.
"A man of faith said hidden eyes could see what I was thinking
I just smiled and told him that was only true of Hannah
And we glided on through Waverly/Lincoln"
Here I think the protagonist's friends or people around him can start to see the affect the cracks are having on the relationship/protagonist. He is willfully ignoring them. The perfect use of the smile and "gliding" capture that feeling you have when you think everything's rosy in a relationship and don't want to wake up and see what's going on.
"Our days were long, our nights no longer
Count the seconds, watching the hours
Though we live on the US dollar
You and me, we got our own sense of time"
Time went by, they were caught up in the relationship, and even though they were still living lives like everyone else, they were kind of oblivious to the outside world.
"In Santa Barbara, Hannah cried amidst those freezing beaches
Hannah was not happy with the relationship, she did not feel warm anymore. This could either of happened out west, if they literally traveled there. Or following on from the first verse, Santa Barbara is at the end of their Journey, the phoenix is ready to be reborn, and the relationship is over or nearing an end.
"I walked into town to buy some kindling for the fire"
The protagonist tries their best to make hannah happy and comfortable. Kindling is a metaphor for this cause of the use of freezing in the last line
Hannah tore the New York Times up into pieces"
Hannah did things her own way and made herself comfortable (perhaps had an affair). I think the new york times carries the metaphor of kindling on- she tore it up for the fire. It also may reflect their relationship.
As before, the protagonist saw it as this concrete object that was indestructible, like the new york times. But just like the paper, it is easily destroyed.
"If I can't trust you, then dammit, Hannah
There's no future, there's no answer
Though we live on the US dollar
You and me we got our own sense of time"
They can't continue and the protagonist finally realizes it's at an end.
I agree totally with your interpretation of the flow of the song, but I'd like to add a potential metaphor:
The "New York Times" that were mentioned towards the end might also mean the times him and Hannah spent in New York prior to the changes that occurred. This would mean Hannah is now trying to forget the past.
I agree totally with your interpretation of the flow of the song, but I'd like to add a potential metaphor:
The "New York Times" that were mentioned towards the end might also mean the times him and Hannah spent in New York prior to the changes that occurred. This would mean Hannah is now trying to forget the past.
Brilliant song, perfectly paced, and very sad.
It's about a relationship breaking up.
"A gardener told me some plants move, but I could not believe it
When they first met and started a relationship, he saw them as being fixed, a lovely couple that couldn't change. Someone more knowledgeable about relationships warned him that people can change, and he didn't believe them
"Til me and Hannah Hunt saw crawling vines and weeping willows"
But then things did start to change in their relationships.
"As we made our way from Providence to Phoenix"
A nice alliteration that references them moving out towards the west coast and away from New York area. However, it has a second meaning. Providence- in the Godly sense, meaning all knowing, a sense of knowing the future. Phoneix- a mythical greek bird that rises from the ashes of it's predecessor.
Their relationship is moving from this solid bond, that the protagonist thought would last forever, towards a new stage when it ends.
"A man of faith said hidden eyes could see what I was thinking I just smiled and told him that was only true of Hannah And we glided on through Waverly/Lincoln"
Here I think the protagonist's friends or people around him can start to see the affect the cracks are having on the relationship/protagonist. He is willfully ignoring them. The perfect use of the smile and "gliding" capture that feeling you have when you think everything's rosy in a relationship and don't want to wake up and see what's going on.
"Our days were long, our nights no longer Count the seconds, watching the hours Though we live on the US dollar You and me, we got our own sense of time"
Time went by, they were caught up in the relationship, and even though they were still living lives like everyone else, they were kind of oblivious to the outside world.
"In Santa Barbara, Hannah cried amidst those freezing beaches
Hannah was not happy with the relationship, she did not feel warm anymore. This could either of happened out west, if they literally traveled there. Or following on from the first verse, Santa Barbara is at the end of their Journey, the phoenix is ready to be reborn, and the relationship is over or nearing an end.
"I walked into town to buy some kindling for the fire"
The protagonist tries their best to make hannah happy and comfortable. Kindling is a metaphor for this cause of the use of freezing in the last line
Hannah tore the New York Times up into pieces"
Hannah did things her own way and made herself comfortable (perhaps had an affair). I think the new york times carries the metaphor of kindling on- she tore it up for the fire. It also may reflect their relationship. As before, the protagonist saw it as this concrete object that was indestructible, like the new york times. But just like the paper, it is easily destroyed.
"If I can't trust you, then dammit, Hannah There's no future, there's no answer Though we live on the US dollar You and me we got our own sense of time"
They can't continue and the protagonist finally realizes it's at an end.
That's my interpretation anyway.
Such great use of metaphors and very moving.
I agree totally with your interpretation of the flow of the song, but I'd like to add a potential metaphor: The "New York Times" that were mentioned towards the end might also mean the times him and Hannah spent in New York prior to the changes that occurred. This would mean Hannah is now trying to forget the past.
I agree totally with your interpretation of the flow of the song, but I'd like to add a potential metaphor: The "New York Times" that were mentioned towards the end might also mean the times him and Hannah spent in New York prior to the changes that occurred. This would mean Hannah is now trying to forget the past.
that's my two cents anyway
that's my two cents anyway