For Mayor in Splitsville Lyrics

Lyric discussion by parttimelovah 

Cover art for For Mayor in Splitsville lyrics by La Dispute

Incredible song.

"Funny what you think of after a collapse While lying in the dirt the first thing that comes back is never quite what you’d have guessed And if you could have, you probably would’ve said you’d check if all your limbs were intact still and Then try to get out" Collapse of relationship, collapse of bridge. Y'know. It's funny how things you'd never had thought of otherwise come to mind. Not sure what's going on with the limbs not being intact and trying to get out.

"How he sort of smiled like it’s only a joke but he was lying There was something else inside of his eyes All those secrets people tell to little children Are warnings that they give them Like, “Look, I’m unhappy. Please don’t make the same mistake as me.” The dad comes in and tells him, basically, married life sucks. Don't ever get married. But that's not really what he says and he just kinda chuckles about how our narrator thought he had it bad in the game of house.

"How you’re suddenly somewhere, in the desert, in the nighttime, and it’s getting close to Christmas And then her and that movie voice she uses when she reads, “Welcome to the Land of Enchantment” from a highway sign And it’s late so you take the next exit" Referencing one of the many road trips taken in an attempt to find somewhere or something to remedy their failing relationship (which has now basically failed entirely). In Stay Happy There, a visit for Christmas is mentioned, as are rest stops in the desert.

"When that trip ended we came back the rent was due I was jobless I guess in retrospect I should’ve sensed decay" The narrator had apparently lost his job as well and should've sensed that the relationship was getting worse and they attempted to sort of bandage it by rearranging furniture.

Like I said, incredible song.

Song Meaning