Wanderers this morning came by
Where did they go
Graceful in the morning light
To banner fair
To follow you softly
In the cold mountain air
Through the forest
Down to your grave
Where the birds wait
And the tall grasses wave
They do not
Know you anymore
More, more, more
Dear shadow alive and well
How can the body die
You tell me everything
Anything true
In the town one morning I went
Staggering through premonitions of my death
I don't see anybody that dear to me
Dear shadow alive and well
How can the body die
You tell me everything
Anything true
Jesse
I don't know what I have done
I'm turning myself to a demon
I don't know what I have done
I'm turning myself to a demon
Where did they go
Graceful in the morning light
To banner fair
To follow you softly
In the cold mountain air
Through the forest
Down to your grave
Where the birds wait
And the tall grasses wave
They do not
Know you anymore
More, more, more
Dear shadow alive and well
How can the body die
You tell me everything
Anything true
In the town one morning I went
Staggering through premonitions of my death
I don't see anybody that dear to me
Dear shadow alive and well
How can the body die
You tell me everything
Anything true
Jesse
I don't know what I have done
I'm turning myself to a demon
I don't know what I have done
I'm turning myself to a demon
Lyrics submitted by wonderfulmetropolis
Tiger Mountain Peasant Song Lyrics as written by Robin Pecknold
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think this song describes the experience of grief. He sees the wanderers and the birds and the grass, but none of them knows his lost loved one anymore. He stills knows her and feels her with him. He is scared of his own death, but there is really no one close enough to him to bind him to life anymore. Even at the end when he says he is turning himself into a demon. I think it refers to letting himself go mad with grief.
3/4 count..it's a waltz.. yes, beautiful. Murder thesis is clever but it seems more like a funeral procession than a search party.."they do not know you anymore" I'd rather see part written this way:
You tell me
everything
anything
true
-ambiguous, effective multiple ways-
Through the forest
Down to your grave
Where the birds wait
And the tall grasses wave
They do not
know you anymore
I feel like this paints a scene where a dear friend's burial site is forgotten, as grass grew back in and birds land there, "They don't know you anymore"
The rest of the lyrics seem to suggest that the narrator thinks he will follow in the same fate as his friend, or, that somehow he is responsible for his friend's death "I don't know what I have done/ I'm turning myself into a demon" and that he is awaiting his punishment/death
"Dear shadow alive and well?
How can the body die?
You tell me everything?
Anything true?"
the first version I heard was actually a cover by 'first aid kit' (an awesome swedish sister duo, you should check out) i fell in love with their unique voices and harmonies so hearing the fleet foxes version caught me a little off guard
still a beautiful song
i do suggest youtubeing the 'first aid kit' cover though
found this little post on a thread on youtube...thought it was pretty interesting.
"The Fleet Foxes chief songwriter Robin Pecknold told Mojo magazine January 2009 about this reflection on mortality and loss. He explained: "My grandpa had just died and I was thinking about him. He was such a sweet guy. And the underlying influence in all this is the old English folk songs that I heard in the Lake District because they're not obvious and the melodies are weird and sophisticated."
Anyways, I don't think the first word is "wonderous" because "wanderers" would make the lyric make sense. essentially, "wanderers came by this morning."
There is no way wonderous could make sense in the context.
Wanderers this morning came by
Where did they go
Graceful in the morning light
To banner fair
(The verb form of banner is to display prominently. The archaic noun form of fair is a woman or a beloved woman. In this case I would interpret the verse as "To honor a beloved woman who died)
To follow you softly
(To follow the beloved woman could mean two things in this context. He could either be on the mountain to feel her presence, or to kill himself and follow her in death)
In the cold mountain air
(The cold mountain air of Tiger Mountain is not something that people willingly expose themselves to. In this context, the artist is on the mountain for a selfless reason.)
Through the forest
Down to your grave
Where the birds wait
And the tall grasses wave
They do not
know you anymore
Dear shadow alive and well
(Shadow is the poetic symbol of mystery and death. He knows that it is alive and well)
How can the body die
You tell me everything
Anything true
(The artist begs the shadow for the answers to life and death. This poetic act of exasperation leaves him feeling like he cannot move on with his life without the answers.)
In the town one morning I went
Staggering through premonitions of my death
I don't see anybody that dear to me
(Premonitions: a feeling of anticipation of or anxiety over a future event; The artist walks back down the mountain and sees no reason to continue living. He is deeply distraught and contemplating suicide. He tells no one because he sees no one worth telling.)
Jesse
(The artist addresses the beloved woman by name)
I don't know what I have done
I'm turning myself to a demon
I don't know what I have done
I'm turning myself to a demon
(Realizing how distraught he is, the artist decides not to commit suicide. He tells Jesse that he doesn't know what he has done. Jesse most likely died in a car accident near Tiger Mountain; the artist may have been the driver. His self-hatred after the event is turning him into "a demon")