This is a song that seemed a bit odd to me because I didn't feel like the verses lined up that well with the chorus until the final verse. Anyways, it seems like a song that's about something of a bittersweet hope. It's almost as if the narrator is trying to comfort the "darling" about her own distresses while he himself is experiencing the same feelings.
The first verse that talks about seeing god kneeling down on frozen highways and having white knuckles speaks to the desperation the narrator feels he is in. He thinks he is at a point where god can't help him because god himself is succumbing to what the narrator is struggling with. The salvation in white knuckles represents the author holding on to gthe wheel as tight as he can to maintain control of the situation that is symbolized by the frozen highway. The deer seems to just be a symbol of escaping the frozen highway and getting away from all the problems. The deer isn't a part of the struggle, it's just in the "audience." The border of surrender is getting off the road where forgiveness and, presumptuously, peace, can greet him. Obviously he is still stuck on this highway though.
The question asked is the answer to his problems and he can't seem to catch that answer.
So he speaks to his darling and tells her that the day isn't done meaning that they still have time for things to get better. He wants her to realize that the troubles are temporary. And while she can't sleep (lights on where you're sleeping), his only comfort is telling her that he hopes that the troubles will be gone, both for her and presumably him.
But he goes in the say that the problems are getting to him (The "ghost is in [his] jacket"]. It has also made him angry to the point it affects how he lives his life. He builds his life in a spiral straight back to where he has always been (winding forcefully but end up where I stand). But he tells her that his anger isn't at her (low my cannons not to kill you) and that his flaring temper is because he's dealing with problems of his own and he doesn't want it to affect their relationship.
What the message of the sign means is a mystery to me, but the hill to see the far of the land is obviously a place better than where he and his darling are at.
So he repeats that still the day is never done and that he hopes troubles will he gone for them.
This last verse is about him focusing on the thing that makes him happy (the darling) which allows him to see the frozen highway as a golden highway. I'm not sure what he means by salvation in the beauty of some brace. Maybe just the idea of a brace for his life to give him support? Anyways, the deer that represents escaping from his troubles is gone, but he realizes its a path (along its tracks) and not a singular escape.
This time the sign says that there's a higher one. This is either a reference to a diety that is in control or just saying that there's a higher hill to climb, representing the struggle of life as an uphill battle. It's up to you.
But he now realizes they are reaching the end of the road (possibly foreshadowed as golden roads referencing heaven?) as the day sets into night. The troubles are still there and time is running out. In one of his live performances, he switched the lyrics in the last chorus to what I prefer and instead of saying he hopes that troubles will be gone, he says "but I know somewhere that troubles will be gone." I feel this gives a much more positive ending and shows that the narrator isn't giving up hope. I imagine it as saying he hopes in an attempt to comfort the darling, but he is now able to, with full confidence, say that he knows that troubles will be gone. That troubles aren't going to be here forever. That life is an uphill battle on an icy road, but that at the top of the hill there is the peace the narrator and his darling are fighting for.
This is a song that seemed a bit odd to me because I didn't feel like the verses lined up that well with the chorus until the final verse. Anyways, it seems like a song that's about something of a bittersweet hope. It's almost as if the narrator is trying to comfort the "darling" about her own distresses while he himself is experiencing the same feelings.
The first verse that talks about seeing god kneeling down on frozen highways and having white knuckles speaks to the desperation the narrator feels he is in. He thinks he is at a point where god can't help him because god himself is succumbing to what the narrator is struggling with. The salvation in white knuckles represents the author holding on to gthe wheel as tight as he can to maintain control of the situation that is symbolized by the frozen highway. The deer seems to just be a symbol of escaping the frozen highway and getting away from all the problems. The deer isn't a part of the struggle, it's just in the "audience." The border of surrender is getting off the road where forgiveness and, presumptuously, peace, can greet him. Obviously he is still stuck on this highway though.
The question asked is the answer to his problems and he can't seem to catch that answer.
So he speaks to his darling and tells her that the day isn't done meaning that they still have time for things to get better. He wants her to realize that the troubles are temporary. And while she can't sleep (lights on where you're sleeping), his only comfort is telling her that he hopes that the troubles will be gone, both for her and presumably him.
But he goes in the say that the problems are getting to him (The "ghost is in [his] jacket"]. It has also made him angry to the point it affects how he lives his life. He builds his life in a spiral straight back to where he has always been (winding forcefully but end up where I stand). But he tells her that his anger isn't at her (low my cannons not to kill you) and that his flaring temper is because he's dealing with problems of his own and he doesn't want it to affect their relationship.
What the message of the sign means is a mystery to me, but the hill to see the far of the land is obviously a place better than where he and his darling are at.
So he repeats that still the day is never done and that he hopes troubles will he gone for them.
This last verse is about him focusing on the thing that makes him happy (the darling) which allows him to see the frozen highway as a golden highway. I'm not sure what he means by salvation in the beauty of some brace. Maybe just the idea of a brace for his life to give him support? Anyways, the deer that represents escaping from his troubles is gone, but he realizes its a path (along its tracks) and not a singular escape.
This time the sign says that there's a higher one. This is either a reference to a diety that is in control or just saying that there's a higher hill to climb, representing the struggle of life as an uphill battle. It's up to you.
But he now realizes they are reaching the end of the road (possibly foreshadowed as golden roads referencing heaven?) as the day sets into night. The troubles are still there and time is running out. In one of his live performances, he switched the lyrics in the last chorus to what I prefer and instead of saying he hopes that troubles will be gone, he says "but I know somewhere that troubles will be gone." I feel this gives a much more positive ending and shows that the narrator isn't giving up hope. I imagine it as saying he hopes in an attempt to comfort the darling, but he is now able to, with full confidence, say that he knows that troubles will be gone. That troubles aren't going to be here forever. That life is an uphill battle on an icy road, but that at the top of the hill there is the peace the narrator and his darling are fighting for.