As everyone has said, this is about a woman leaving the narrator, and the pain and regret that he feels as he tries to bring her back. I just want to home in on some of the specific things that make this song so beautiful and painful and intricate.
[VERSE 1]
"There's no way to temper your thirst
With lasting impressions or pictures of home
"Temper" is a word usually used for anger or desire, not thirst, so we immediately get the idea of restraint, being held back or limited. Since these lines are the woman speaking to the narrator, we have to ask what this "thirst" of his is. "pictures of home" reveals that the woman tried to make a picture-perfect home for the narrator, but ultimately was unable (or unwilling) to satisfy his desires. Their wants and needs were irreconcilable. The narrator refuses to see this, but the woman has had enough. Although she loved him, he was trying to make her into someone she wasn't. I admit I don't know what to make of "lasting impressions"!
There's no way to grow that don't hurt"
She growled from the station then hung up the phone
The first of these two lines is addressed from the woman simultaneously to the narrator and to herself: she's saying it to him to get him to stop calling ('I know it hurts right now but it's for the best, you'll be okay'), and to herself to give herself courage and consolation to go through with the act even though it hurts. The choice of "growled" shows that in addition to the wisdom, maturity, and benevolence of the woman, there is also significant resentment, fear, and danger because of how he hurt her. She's trying to do this cleanly, but if he keeps poking, he's going to get bit.
[CHORUS]
There's no sacred vision like her
No eye-crushing mountain or jewelry to wear
In a sacred vision, a person sees God or an angel or something. So the narrator is saying that seeing her is better than seeing God or an angel. She is also more magnificent than any mountain and more beautiful than any jewelry.
There's no granted wish I prefer
Than she to be with me, OR us to be there
There's no wish he'd rather have granted than for her to be with him. Since he's already drawn the link between her and God, and God is the one who would have to power to grant a wish, the implication is that she would be the one granting this wish. He is begging her, 'Please come back.' But wait—"or us to be there". (I think this word is "or", not "for".) He's adding a second wish he'd like to have granted: either she can be here, or we can be there. Just a second ago, he was so sure of what he wanted from her, but he immediately goes back on it and hedges. These five simple words reveal the frailty and immaturity of his attraction to her: 'I am sure I want ths...wait, or this'. Plus, he doesn't even name where "there" is, because he doesn't know. It's anywhere, anything, anytime. He's desperate, he's flailing. This is why he needs to grow.
[VERSE 2]
"I'd rather to be all alone
Forgiveness is fickle when trust is a chore
As others have said, she'd rather be alone than continue to be hurt by him. She can't possibly forgive him because she struggles to even trust him.
It's not every sin that's atoned"
I heard her speak softly then HURT her no more
I take the first line to mean that he has so many sins (he's hurt her so many ways) that he can't possibly atone for them all, even if he's already atoned for many. In the second line, we see she's move from "growled" in verse 1 to "speak softly". This is more evidence of how painful it is for her to go through with this. Furthermore, she hung up on him in verse 1, yet here they are on the phone again. He won't stop desperately calling her, and she can't bear to just ignore his calls, although she is still leaving. Lastly, my second edit to the lyrics. This word (hurt/heard) has a double meaning: Obviously, as the transcriber interpreted, there's the parallel between "heard her speak..." and "heard her no more", indicating that she's hung up again, and if he never hears her again, then that really was the last time; she's gone. But this word can also be written as "hurt" because now that she's really gone, he can't hurt her anymore. Even though the break was painful, he finally accepts that he did in fact hurt her and gets some peace from knowing that he won't again. I think the ambiguity of this single word, which is definitely intentional on Beam's part, perfectly demonstrates his mastery of language and emotion and encapsulates the beauty of his writing.
Finally, the fact that he sings the chorus again shows how he will remember her and their relationship: beauty and desperation, but no pain. He has only good memories.
As everyone has said, this is about a woman leaving the narrator, and the pain and regret that he feels as he tries to bring her back. I just want to home in on some of the specific things that make this song so beautiful and painful and intricate.
[VERSE 1]
"There's no way to temper your thirst
With lasting impressions or pictures of home
"Temper" is a word usually used for anger or desire, not thirst, so we immediately get the idea of restraint, being held back or limited. Since these lines are the woman speaking to the narrator, we have to ask what this "thirst" of his is. "pictures of home" reveals that the woman tried to make a picture-perfect home for the narrator, but ultimately was unable (or unwilling) to satisfy his desires. Their wants and needs were irreconcilable. The narrator refuses to see this, but the woman has had enough. Although she loved him, he was trying to make her into someone she wasn't. I admit I don't know what to make of "lasting impressions"!
There's no way to grow that don't hurt"
She growled from the station then hung up the phone
The first of these two lines is addressed from the woman simultaneously to the narrator and to herself: she's saying it to him to get him to stop calling ('I know it hurts right now but it's for the best, you'll be okay'), and to herself to give herself courage and consolation to go through with the act even though it hurts. The choice of "growled" shows that in addition to the wisdom, maturity, and benevolence of the woman, there is also significant resentment, fear, and danger because of how he hurt her. She's trying to do this cleanly, but if he keeps poking, he's going to get bit.
[CHORUS]
There's no sacred vision like her
No eye-crushing mountain or jewelry to wear
In a sacred vision, a person sees God or an angel or something. So the narrator is saying that seeing her is better than seeing God or an angel. She is also more magnificent than any mountain and more beautiful than any jewelry.
There's no granted wish I prefer
Than she to be with me, OR us to be there
There's no wish he'd rather have granted than for her to be with him. Since he's already drawn the link between her and God, and God is the one who would have to power to grant a wish, the implication is that she would be the one granting this wish. He is begging her, 'Please come back.' But wait—"or us to be there". (I think this word is "or", not "for".) He's adding a second wish he'd like to have granted: either she can be here, or we can be there. Just a second ago, he was so sure of what he wanted from her, but he immediately goes back on it and hedges. These five simple words reveal the frailty and immaturity of his attraction to her: 'I am sure I want ths...wait, or this'. Plus, he doesn't even name where "there" is, because he doesn't know. It's anywhere, anything, anytime. He's desperate, he's flailing. This is why he needs to grow.
[VERSE 2]
"I'd rather to be all alone
Forgiveness is fickle when trust is a chore
As others have said, she'd rather be alone than continue to be hurt by him. She can't possibly forgive him because she struggles to even trust him.
It's not every sin that's atoned"
I heard her speak softly then HURT her no more
I take the first line to mean that he has so many sins (he's hurt her so many ways) that he can't possibly atone for them all, even if he's already atoned for many. In the second line, we see she's move from "growled" in verse 1 to "speak softly". This is more evidence of how painful it is for her to go through with this. Furthermore, she hung up on him in verse 1, yet here they are on the phone again. He won't stop desperately calling her, and she can't bear to just ignore his calls, although she is still leaving. Lastly, my second edit to the lyrics. This word (hurt/heard) has a double meaning: Obviously, as the transcriber interpreted, there's the parallel between "heard her speak..." and "heard her no more", indicating that she's hung up again, and if he never hears her again, then that really was the last time; she's gone. But this word can also be written as "hurt" because now that she's really gone, he can't hurt her anymore. Even though the break was painful, he finally accepts that he did in fact hurt her and gets some peace from knowing that he won't again. I think the ambiguity of this single word, which is definitely intentional on Beam's part, perfectly demonstrates his mastery of language and emotion and encapsulates the beauty of his writing.
Finally, the fact that he sings the chorus again shows how he will remember her and their relationship: beauty and desperation, but no pain. He has only good memories.
Amazing little song!
[Edit: Edit for formatting, I'm new here.]