So as a transgender woman myself, I've been looking forward to the opportunity to add my interpretation here on Songmeanings about this particular song.
I'm going to go off a whim here and say that it's from the perspective of someone who loves or is in love with a transgender person, but is not willing to fully come to terms with their transition. You could either interpret it as either romantic or familial love, although it perhaps reads better as romantic love.
What has me caught up with this interpretation and why I don't think it's a general song about the difficulties of the transgender experience is found in the whispered sections at the beginning of the song,
"You are the chosen few" - the chosen few is of course the trans community
"I'll lie with you out in the dew" - the dew is usually there when the grass is wet in the morning, but evaporates and dries as the day progresses. In other words, this person who loves the transgender person plans to remain close to that person in the beginning, but is starting to feel that they too will disappear as their transition continues.
"Intimacy, real true love" - The subject of the song is now thinking about whether they can truly be intimate with the person as they transition. Perhaps they'll have to reckon with a sex change and their own sexuality if they are to remain with their trans partner. This is of course in a romantic sense. You could also interpret this in a familial sense where you may lose mutual understanding and the ability to be close to this person, or perhaps have to reckon with taking sides regarding how other family members might perceive the transition
"Regarding a deal, is it really true?" - the deal is the relationship. The subject is thinking 'Is our relationship really true then if you were trans this whole time?' This is confirmed by the next line "I love you, but is it really you?"
"Because I have some news for you" - The rest of the song is going to be how the trans person's partner is processing the transition or news of it rather (or family member if you take that interpretation) Perhaps the trans person just came out of the closet and the subject is giving them their own "news", namely point of view.
"Will you ever preserve, will you ever exhume?" - 'Will my trans partner stay the way they are and preserve themself or will they go back to how I know them eventually?' is what the subject is pondering.
"Will you watch petals shed from flowers in bloom?" - I also interpret the 'flowers in bloom' as the relationship between the subject and the trans person. Perhaps they had made plans in life or were apparently doing well as a couple, but now that's all been put in jeopardy with the transition
"Nothing can live up to promise" - perhaps many things were promised during the relationship. Perhaps they were engaged! But now any promises, agreements, and/or expectations must now be reevaluated.
"Nothing can stop its narrative" - the transition is going to happen whether anybody likes it or not.
"Nothing in place of catalysts" - There will always be things, i.e. supportive people and non-transphobic people, encouraging the trans person to be trans and there's no real way they'll get out of it.
"And you'll never be pure again" - The trans person will never be as they had initially been when the subject had met them.
Again, I could be off the mark here, but as a transgender person, there was just something so real about the lyrics. Although I had a mostly positive and less difficult transition than many, the lyrics seemed to hit the mark on how a lot of transphobic people interpreted my transition. They oftentimes treated themselves as the victim or as if I were the one who had been dishonest with them for not coming out sooner or not considering their "opinion" throughout my transition. Sometimes they would even offer their opinion and/or anger under the guise of "loving me" or "caring for me."
In the end though, it's never about your best interests as a trans person, but some people's own inability to accept you. Real friends, family, and chosen family, however will support your transition no matter what, and the song itself suggests is that this person is ultimately at their own loss. The bleak melody and ambiance to the song is all in their own head because the trans person is going to have a very happy life and if the transphobe's own prejudices and inability to find a new way to love their trans partner and/or family member ultimately impedes them from doing so, then for all I care, they can stay in the gloominess.
So as a transgender woman myself, I've been looking forward to the opportunity to add my interpretation here on Songmeanings about this particular song.
I'm going to go off a whim here and say that it's from the perspective of someone who loves or is in love with a transgender person, but is not willing to fully come to terms with their transition. You could either interpret it as either romantic or familial love, although it perhaps reads better as romantic love.
What has me caught up with this interpretation and why I don't think it's a general song about the difficulties of the transgender experience is found in the whispered sections at the beginning of the song,
"You are the chosen few" - the chosen few is of course the trans community "I'll lie with you out in the dew" - the dew is usually there when the grass is wet in the morning, but evaporates and dries as the day progresses. In other words, this person who loves the transgender person plans to remain close to that person in the beginning, but is starting to feel that they too will disappear as their transition continues.
"Intimacy, real true love" - The subject of the song is now thinking about whether they can truly be intimate with the person as they transition. Perhaps they'll have to reckon with a sex change and their own sexuality if they are to remain with their trans partner. This is of course in a romantic sense. You could also interpret this in a familial sense where you may lose mutual understanding and the ability to be close to this person, or perhaps have to reckon with taking sides regarding how other family members might perceive the transition
"Regarding a deal, is it really true?" - the deal is the relationship. The subject is thinking 'Is our relationship really true then if you were trans this whole time?' This is confirmed by the next line "I love you, but is it really you?"
"Because I have some news for you" - The rest of the song is going to be how the trans person's partner is processing the transition or news of it rather (or family member if you take that interpretation) Perhaps the trans person just came out of the closet and the subject is giving them their own "news", namely point of view.
"Will you ever preserve, will you ever exhume?" - 'Will my trans partner stay the way they are and preserve themself or will they go back to how I know them eventually?' is what the subject is pondering.
"Will you watch petals shed from flowers in bloom?" - I also interpret the 'flowers in bloom' as the relationship between the subject and the trans person. Perhaps they had made plans in life or were apparently doing well as a couple, but now that's all been put in jeopardy with the transition
"Nothing can live up to promise" - perhaps many things were promised during the relationship. Perhaps they were engaged! But now any promises, agreements, and/or expectations must now be reevaluated.
"Nothing can stop its narrative" - the transition is going to happen whether anybody likes it or not.
"Nothing in place of catalysts" - There will always be things, i.e. supportive people and non-transphobic people, encouraging the trans person to be trans and there's no real way they'll get out of it.
"And you'll never be pure again" - The trans person will never be as they had initially been when the subject had met them.
Again, I could be off the mark here, but as a transgender person, there was just something so real about the lyrics. Although I had a mostly positive and less difficult transition than many, the lyrics seemed to hit the mark on how a lot of transphobic people interpreted my transition. They oftentimes treated themselves as the victim or as if I were the one who had been dishonest with them for not coming out sooner or not considering their "opinion" throughout my transition. Sometimes they would even offer their opinion and/or anger under the guise of "loving me" or "caring for me."
In the end though, it's never about your best interests as a trans person, but some people's own inability to accept you. Real friends, family, and chosen family, however will support your transition no matter what, and the song itself suggests is that this person is ultimately at their own loss. The bleak melody and ambiance to the song is all in their own head because the trans person is going to have a very happy life and if the transphobe's own prejudices and inability to find a new way to love their trans partner and/or family member ultimately impedes them from doing so, then for all I care, they can stay in the gloominess.
@JosielaDiabla thanks for sharing
@JosielaDiabla thanks for sharing