Familiarity

This is a lovely, long, haunting song that I am entirely obsessed with at the moment.

Discussing the song in an interview, Chris Thile described a scenario where one's hanging out with someone in a bar, and they haven't connected face-to-face with each other in a while. A song comes on that they both know, and even if they might not like it, they're familiar with it, and that brings them closer together.

Going off of that, here's what the song seems to me to be about...

"It's on again. You hate it, but you know it then. You know it, and so do your friends, and you can sing together when it's on. Pretend you love it because you love them."

A song's playing over the radio that this song's character doesn't like. But they know the song, and their friends do, so they can bond over that regardless of whether they like the song or not. As for the last line, who hasn't felt like that before- having to act like you like something more than you do, because your friends (or anyone you deeply love/care about, really) are so passionate about it?

"As you explode out of your phones (amen) to make some music of your own (amen). Or you could hate it softly to yourself, alone, a man among amens."

The character hasn't interacted with people face-to-face in a long time, sticking to contacting them from beyond a cell phone's screen. So they "explode of of [their] phones" to connect with their physical presence. "Make some music of your own" could be the character taking that chance to speak up, to interact with these people, to boldly present their true self. Or, they could keep to themselves, idly pretending to like the song and retreating back into the comfort of their cellular device. "A man among amens." A powerful, alliterative line, although admittedly one of the more obscure in the song.

"A ringing bell, or programmed drums, or both, I couldn't tell. But I rejoiced. A smoke machine, or swinging thurible, it was hard to see. But I lifted up my voice."

This is about the experience in the bar or club where the character is hanging with their friends. The programmed drums over the speakers, and the smoke machine on the dance floor, are compared to the ringing of a church bell and the smoke from a thurible. Both are communal spaces where people unite with a common mindset or goal, and grow closer together. So the secular area is transformed into a holy one, and though the song's character isn't sure which one they inhabit, they're raising their voice in praise all the same.That leads quite easily into the next line (love the harmonies on that line btw, very Beach Boys-esque):

"We've come together over we know not what."

Just like in a church, these friends have united, although their goal is much more unclear.

"A call to prayer, or the last for alcohol? We didn't care. We knelt and bowed our heads. Or did we dance, like we might never get another chance to disconnect?"

The first couplet is another comparison between the sacred and secular experiences. The second is describing disconnecting from the outside world, from social media and all those friends on the other ends of cell phones who want attention. This moment, this evening, is about personal connection and simply enjoying the physical presence of friends.

"We've come together over we know not what to say 'I love you.'"

"I love you" is perhaps one of the strongest phrases that can be used to connect to another person. So the purpose of this outing becomes clear. Once these people can connect with each other, they can express their feelings for each other (of course, not necessarily romantic). Maybe in disconnecting from each other physically, they've also managed to disconnect from their emotions, and now they are free to express them again.

The next few lines building up to the fade-out and leading into the second half of the song are like a call to the heavens, or a cry to another person to please help me make this personal connection, help me feel again, I need it, I mean it when I say I love you. It's a very straightforward, somewhat vulnerable confession.

"We lie in bed, the wireless dancing through my head, until I fear the space between my breaths."

"The wireless" here I'm assuming refers again to the cell phone. Even in bed with their lover, the character can't disconnect from social media and the outside world, until they're so afraid to go without it that they can't even take hearing the sound of their own breathing, because that would be too real. They'd have to face reality and they can't stand to do that.

"I see an end where I don't love you like I can, 'cause I've forgotten how it feels (amen) to love someone or thing for real (amen)."

The inevitable future is presented where this person's fear of personal, face-to-face interaction drives a wedge between them and their lover, sabotaging the relationship. Because connection through a cell phone should never be considered a substitute for personal interaction.

"So darling, when you wake, remind me what we've done that can't be shared or saved or even sung."

In order to draw the character back to reality, to the present, to real life with their lover, they ask the lover to recall the memories they've made together, memories that can't be trivially immortalized on social media, that can't be shared with the masses or saved to a hard drive or even confessed in a song, because the confines of a song can't capture every nuance, every exact thought and feeling.

"It's on again. You nod your head and take my hand. And though I'm not sure where we'll go (amen) to worship more than what we know (amen), as long as you're here, I won't be alone. A man among amens."

A return to that setting, where a radio's song connects two people. The lover accepts the request and affirms their love and the genuine connection between them. The closing lines essentially turn the piece into a love song, rejoicing in the deep bond that only two can share.

I've noticed it can be difficult to decipher lyrics from this band, because (the way I see it) the musicality overwhelms the strength of the lyrics, and sometimes it doesn't seem to scan or flow as well as it should because the lyrics almost seem to function only as decorative touches on the melody. But when read on their own, the lyrics become clearer to me, and their true strength is revealed. Comments from the original songwriters certainly don't hurt, either.