Nobody explained this properly so here I go. Of course, this is my interpretation and the only guy who 100% knows the meaning is Simon Neil (lead singer), but you'll see how my version makes so much more sense than all the rest.
To understand this, you must first know Eleanor (his mother) developed cancer (probably leukemia). The entire album has heavy connotations involving this.
The story is about a young man who's mother develops a terminal disease. The lyrics come from the mother's point of view.
"There's a man on the corner selling dozens of bones.
Every type of bone except the one that I want."
There's a Doctor at the hospital selling dozens of cures. Every type of cure, except the one that I need.
"Now it's bigger than us.
It's bigger than everything it decides to touch."
If you have seen this disease at some point during your life, you know there are periods of time when it seems like everything is stable, but there is a point where it decides to touch, it gets a lot worse, and the inevitable countdown to death starts.
"The bone's got the wrong detail, I hoped it would have for you.
Save for a shinbone or even a hand."
I could get the treatment but it's pointless, so let's not waste our savings on me and save for a time when someone else in the family needs an expensive treatment.
The non-repetitive part of the lyrics can be one of two things: either the mother describing death to her son, so she won't worry once she's gone, or the mother coming to terms with death. The first interpretation makes sense because the last verse addresses her son directly; the second makes sense because of what Simon said in an interview. Maybe it's both. Maybe it's half and half.
"Ever think what your eyes do when trying to sleep?
Or where your tongue rests, is that against your teeth?
The sleep is the safest place you can be.
You can try hard to catch it, it just catches you.
Imagine a camera coming up from your feet.
Relax all your muscles, son, just hope your heart's in one piece."
Having your heart in one piece means having no regrets. Again, it can refer to her dying with no unfinished business, or her son not letting something important unsaid.
I will paraphrase weemalone for this since he expalined it so well in his comment.
"It's bigger than a halo, a devil, an angel and a crow."
Those 4 symbols [...] are all realted to death, especially (the) crow, which is [...] an omen (of death).
To conclude we have:
"Such a lonely ride, such a lonely ride."
At first glance it might seem simple. Let me quote two more people to deepen the meaning of this. Donnie Darko, in the movie with the same name, says: "Every living creature on earth dies alone."
The meaning behind that, which is connected to the song, has been nicely explained by twinkletwos at proboards: "When a creature is born it is usually in the company of others [...] but we each die solitarily. Even if loved ones are present, holding our hand, we must leave by ourselves, alone."
Nobody explained this properly so here I go. Of course, this is my interpretation and the only guy who 100% knows the meaning is Simon Neil (lead singer), but you'll see how my version makes so much more sense than all the rest.
To understand this, you must first know Eleanor (his mother) developed cancer (probably leukemia). The entire album has heavy connotations involving this.
The story is about a young man who's mother develops a terminal disease. The lyrics come from the mother's point of view.
"There's a man on the corner selling dozens of bones. Every type of bone except the one that I want."
There's a Doctor at the hospital selling dozens of cures. Every type of cure, except the one that I need.
"Now it's bigger than us. It's bigger than everything it decides to touch."
If you have seen this disease at some point during your life, you know there are periods of time when it seems like everything is stable, but there is a point where it decides to touch, it gets a lot worse, and the inevitable countdown to death starts.
"The bone's got the wrong detail, I hoped it would have for you. Save for a shinbone or even a hand."
I could get the treatment but it's pointless, so let's not waste our savings on me and save for a time when someone else in the family needs an expensive treatment.
The non-repetitive part of the lyrics can be one of two things: either the mother describing death to her son, so she won't worry once she's gone, or the mother coming to terms with death. The first interpretation makes sense because the last verse addresses her son directly; the second makes sense because of what Simon said in an interview. Maybe it's both. Maybe it's half and half.
"Ever think what your eyes do when trying to sleep? Or where your tongue rests, is that against your teeth? The sleep is the safest place you can be. You can try hard to catch it, it just catches you. Imagine a camera coming up from your feet. Relax all your muscles, son, just hope your heart's in one piece."
Having your heart in one piece means having no regrets. Again, it can refer to her dying with no unfinished business, or her son not letting something important unsaid.
I will paraphrase weemalone for this since he expalined it so well in his comment.
"It's bigger than a halo, a devil, an angel and a crow."
Those 4 symbols [...] are all realted to death, especially (the) crow, which is [...] an omen (of death).
To conclude we have:
"Such a lonely ride, such a lonely ride."
At first glance it might seem simple. Let me quote two more people to deepen the meaning of this. Donnie Darko, in the movie with the same name, says: "Every living creature on earth dies alone."
The meaning behind that, which is connected to the song, has been nicely explained by twinkletwos at proboards: "When a creature is born it is usually in the company of others [...] but we each die solitarily. Even if loved ones are present, holding our hand, we must leave by ourselves, alone."
I hope this helped. Thanks for reading.