This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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Like faithful oxen through the chalk,
With dragging tails of history walk.
Soon confuse the compass and the cross.
Carefully and cursively we fill our traveling diaries with loss.
Beneath an angry Bible flood,
Did you and I first learn to love.
In my father's car we came to know.
And shivered in our painted clothes and paired like every animal below.
As heavy as a history book can be,
I will carry it with me, oh Lord.
And maybe when the bitterness has gone,
There'll be sweetness on our tongues once more.
Barefoot in a rowing boat,
You lose your shoes and freeze your toes.
And say I wear my sorrow like a crown.
And throw your arms around my head, and see it there in gold and red and brown.
As heavy as a history book can be,
I will carry it with me, oh Lord.
And maybe when the bitterness has gone,
There'll be sweetness on our tongues once more.
We'll soon forget our parents' names,
Like dogs will drive the wolves away.
And weep with fingertips opposed,
Like a church where nobody congregates.
But sweetness sings in the pasture,
We throw ourselves on the mercy of the earth.
If sand and salt have the answer,
Then the act itself will be louder than the word.
And I'll be on your side.
Like faithful oxen through the chalk,
With dragging tails of history walk.
Soon confuse the compass and the cross.
Carefully and cursively we fill our traveling diaries with loss.
Beneath an angry Bible flood,
Did you and I first learn to love.
In my father's car we came to know.
And shivered in our painted clothes and paired like every animal below.
As heavy as a history book can be,
I will carry it with me, oh Lord.
And maybe when the bitterness has gone,
There'll be sweetness on our tongues once more.
Barefoot in a rowing boat,
You lose your shoes and freeze your toes.
And say I wear my sorrow like a crown.
And throw your arms around my head, and see it there in gold and red and brown.
As heavy as a history book can be,
I will carry it with me, oh Lord.
And maybe when the bitterness has gone,
There'll be sweetness on our tongues once more.
We'll soon forget our parents' names,
Like dogs will drive the wolves away.
And weep with fingertips opposed,
Like a church where nobody congregates.
But sweetness sings in the pasture,
We throw ourselves on the mercy of the earth.
If sand and salt have the answer,
Then the act itself will be louder than the word.
And I'll be on your side.
Lyrics submitted by heartsrhythm
History Book Lyrics as written by Jonathan Warren Jon Warren
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
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okay, this is going to be long but this song means a lot to me and i've listened to it so much i have a pretty good interpretation of the entire thing. bare with me, it's going to be long. xo
Like faithful oxen through the chalk, With dragging tails of history walk. Soon confuse the compass and the cross. Carefully and cursively we fill our traveling diaries with loss.
He's talking about the woman he loves, how she's basically like oxygen to him. He can't live without her. They've made a lot of memories and in their travels they've gotten lost from religion. the actual 'history book' basically refers to their past so they've filled it with loss, but the loss of religion i think and people who are religious like family and friends and such.
Beneath an angry Bible flood, Did you and I first learn to love. In my father's car we came to know. And shivered in our painted clothes and paired like every animal below.
You're meant to not have sex before marriage when you're religious so they shagged i suppose and that's basically it. My friend went through this with me, it's basically just that and how it shows they're rebelling against their family and religion and joining with nature, hence the animal reference.
As heavy as a history book can be, I will carry it with me, oh Lord. And maybe when the bitterness has gone, There'll be sweetness on our tongues once more.
He's talking to God and being like "Well whatever it may be a lot to deal with but I'm not going to just drop it. And maybe when the people have gotten over the fact we're in love and that we're not going to abide by his rules then everything will be okay again."
Barefoot in a rowing boat, You lose your shoes and freeze your toes. And say I wear my sorrow like a crown. And throw your arms around my head, and see it there in gold and red and brown.
Pretty much another line about sex. Red and Gold are probably quite religious colours (i'm not religious, i don't know) and brown is a bit like mud so it links back to the whole idea of joining nature and leaving God. I think the crown bit shows that even though he's sad about loosing everyone, he's his own king now, he's in charge of his own life, not God and maybe his girl is congratulating him with boat sex or something.
As heavy as a history book can be, I will carry it with me, oh Lord. And maybe when the bitterness has gone, There'll be sweetness on our tongues once more.
(SAB)
We'll soon forget our parents' names, Like dogs we'll drive the wolves away. And weep with fingertips opposed, Like a church where nobody congregates.
Everything will be forgotten. They may be weak but they can stand strong against their opposition (dogs vs wolves). And they may be sad but they're not a church so they're happier. I really can't explain the last line but it makes so much sense in my head. It's like they're weeping in the same way they'd pray, much like the pastor at their church must be when people stop congregating there. Something like that, I dont know.
But sweetness sings in the pasture, We throw ourselves on the mercy of the earth. If sand and salt have the answer, Then the act itself will be louder than the word.
The good times are in like fields so nature so lets just go for it and live there instead of being all religous. If nature has the answer then having sex before marriage is more powerful than preaching about it.
And I'll be on your side.
He'll be on her side.
That's my interpretation, thank you if you got this far, sorry if you don't like it and also sorry if it's wrong, i'm not a part of Dry The River so i can't really say i know what it's about. That's all really, thank you if you liked it :) xox
The song is completely a story. The first verse, which is more of a present time, does refer to loss, but not within themselves, as they go on together carrying the weight of what they've lost as one. And how the "lines" blur between what is right, and what may very well be wrong. <br /> 2nd verse is a flashback to when they were young, and part of the bible references are symbolic, and some literal. "Beneath an angry Bible flood, <br /> Did you and I first learn to loveIn my father's car we came to know.<br /> And shivered in our painted clothes and paired like every animal below.<br /> ."..... it means that whilst undeniably serious things were going on, it was really only as if they were the only two in the world. It refers to the huge flood in the bible, and the story of Noah's Ark... and how he paired two of every animal to carry on... The chorus just means that there is much in life he must deal with, as much as anyone can handle, and it has always been said that God gives no one more than he or she or it can handle, which is true, I believe. And he says that he will carry what life gives him, because he has his love, and needs nothing else. "And maybe when the bitterness has gone, <br /> There'll be sweetness on our tongues once more." this is more literal... he means that when the hard times, or resentment has passed from him, he will be able to forgive and forget. <br /> "Barefoot in a rowing boat, <br /> You lose your shoes and freeze your toes.<br /> And say I wear my sorrow like a crown." ...this refers to a personal moment between the two of them, and she sees him for who he is inside, and she makes it apparent to him. <br /> <br /> "And throw your arms around my head, and see it there in gold and red and brown." here he's referring to her hair.... as he is so close to her when she holds him, and he can see all the colors in her hair, and also, the truth in her heart, or soul. In the end of the song he gets into more of the climax of the song. Giving the true meaning.... that whether is was his parents, or other family, or the universe.... it was always hard for them to be together, but that he didn't care, because he'd to anything for her, even if it meant his life was hard, and that he had to leave his family behind. In the end it of the song; the resolution, he talks about how it was all worth it, because that sweetness did come in their life, and they'd chosen between what theywanted and what was easy. And obviously the song may go along with losing their virginity to each other, because they loved each other, and it didn;t matter that they were probably dis-owned by their families, because they didn't care, and it didn't matter.... they only ever needed each other, not the acceptance of others. <br /> <br />