Haligh, Haligh, a Lie, Haligh

Here is the final copy of my essay I just posted.

The phone slips from a loose grip Words were missed then, some apology I didn’t want to tell you this No, it’s just some guy she’s been hanging out with I don’t know, the past couple weeks I guess Well, thank you and hang up the phone Let the funeral start Hear the casket close Let’s pin split-black ribbon to your overcoat Well, laughter pours from under doors In this house, I don’t understand that sound no more Seems artificial, like a T.V. set

The intro to “Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh” by Bright Eyes starts with “call ended” phone tone faintly in the background, implying someone is not answering the narrator’s calls. The narrator then calls a friend and is nervous; therefore he has a “loose grip” on the phone handle (l. 1). “Words were missed” because the narrator is worried and deep in thought about the situation (l. 2). The friend confirms the narrator’s suspicions: his girlfriend has been with “some guy” for the past while and she is indeed unfaithful (l. 3-5). Immediately after the phone call, the narrator is extremely distraught. The “funeral” is for himself because he is dead inside from sadness, and he implies he is in a closed casket (l. 7-8). On the other hand, the situation did not upset his girlfriend enough to kill her too, so she is a visitor to this funeral and wears “split-black ribbon” (l. 9). The narrator implies that he helps her put the ribbon on, meaning she did not care to show sympathy by herself; the ribbon is merely for show. The narrator is in such a depression that he does not understand happiness anymore. He hears laughing in his house and compares it to the unrealistic ideas of television (l. 10-12).

Well, haligh, haligh, a lie, haligh This weight it must be satisfied You offer only one reply You know not what you do But you tear and tear your hair from roots Of that same head you have twice removed now A lock of hair you said you prove Our love would never die Well ha, ha, ha

 “Haligh” is an exclamation; a religious word the narrator calls out through his extreme emotion, and “A lie” refers to the continuous lie: that she will be faithful (l.13). The words “a lie” are cleverly disguised between the words “haligh” as they sound the same when spoken together. This hints that the narrator does not want her to realize he knows her fault. There is a burden on the narrator’s chest from all the sadness she has caused. That burden must be “satisfied”; meaning he is going to eventually break down and release all his feelings (l. 14). The narrator tries to tell her about the hurt she causes him from cheating, but she only replies that she “know[s] not” about it, implicating she does not realize its effect on him (l. 15-16). The tearing of hair from roots aggressively represents the girlfriend trying to offer a promise that their love is forever, but she has “twice removed” the figurative hair already proving she cheated before and such promise was indeed a lie (l. 17-20). 

I remember everything The worlds we spoke on freezing South Street And all those mornings watching you get ready for school You combed your hair inside that mirror The one you painted blue and glued with jewelry tears Something about those bright colours Would always make you feel better

The narrator is nostalgic now; thinking back to the times he spent with her. He remembers watching her comb her hair everyday for school in a mirror that she decorated in “blue and glued with jewelry tears” and remembers how those colours made her feel better (l. 25-26). It is ironic that the tears make her feel better since tears represent sadness, therefore suggesting she is not mentally stable herself and acquires pleasure from pain. 

But now we speak with ruined tongues And the words we say aren’t meant for anyone It’s just a mumbled sentence to a passing acquaintance But there was once you You said you hate my suffering And you understood And you’d take care of me You’d always be there Well where are you now?

The narrator and his girlfriend now communicate in tainted, unfeeling manners because of the circumstances that happened (l. 29). The words they say are not “meant for anyone” because they are only spoken out of heartache (l. 30). Neither of them are getting through to the other, so his words have the same value as words someone mumbling while another uncaring person walks by (l. 31) The narrator then states that she claimed she understood and hates his “suffering” and is always there for him. He then wonders this, because he is currently suffering but she is not comforting him as promised (l. 32-37)

Haligh, haligh, a lie, haligh The plans were never finalized But left to hang like yarn and twine Dangling before my eyes As you tear and tear your hair from roots Of that same head you have twice removed now A lock of hair would prove Our love would never die

Their relationship was never stable; therefore any future plans were not “finalized” and were merely yearning thoughts of the narrator (l. 39). These thoughts of the two of them teased him; they were right before his eyes but he could not achieve them, like a cat being taunted with dangling string.  The “yarn and twine” are metaphors. The “yarn” representing his girlfriend: still lively and comfortable, whereas he is the “twine”: now dull and worn down (l. 40-41).  

And I sing and sing of awful things The pleasure that my sadness brings As my fingers press onto the strings In yet another clumsy chord

Again, there is irony in the narrator’s words. He creates songs using his miserable experiences as inspiration, yet his listeners get enjoyment from hearing them (l. 46-49).

Haligh, haligh, an awful lie This weight would now be satisfied I’m gonna give you only one reply I know now who I am But I talk in the mirror To the stranger that appears Our conversations are circles Always one sided Nothing is clear Except we keep coming back To this meaning that I lack He says the choices were given Now you must live them Or just not live But do you want that?

The narrator is now going to satisfy the enduring burden of sadness on his chest by telling his girlfriend his true feelings (l. 51). He only gives her “one reply” because she had done the same to him on other accounts (l. 52). His reply is he doesn’t know himself anymore due to the sadness she caused him (l. 53).  He now looks into his mirror only to see a “stranger”. His thoughts are “circles” because he can’t make up his mind in what way he needs to solve it, and has come to the same sad place so many times from staying with her (l. 54-60). The narrator knows the only right choice is to leave her, because if he chooses to stay he won’t “live”, therefore saying he will never be happy (l. 61-64).