Oh sister, don't be afraid of me
I won't be nailing you down in the nursery
Just like the rest of them did
With those watery, wandering fingers of spit
That were supposed to be glorious and fine

Oh sister, won't you believe in me
I only wanted to be hard on the family
Here with you now in this silly infirmary
Your mother makes frantic and drunk calls
From Germany all of the time

And oh sister, sweet brown and beulahery
Milk from your blisters on your grandmother's jewelry
There in the parlor all naked in front of me
Watching the lights from the cracks
Making archery animal designs

Rose Wallace Goldaline just moves her mouth over anything
That's fleshy free and flowering like oranges out in the open
But don't you waste your sins again
She don't need you or won't fuck your friends
And you, you're American, self-important boiling over
To prove that she must still exist
She moves herself about her fist
And won't ever, never give a shit
About all those words you're wasting again
Some pretty bright and bubbly wondrous dream
You'd like to kill and claim
And claim her as your own
But don't you worry
All those dainty and dirty emotions
Just go away and fade out on their own
Sister, now that you're leaving
Our fingers will falter
Our lungs will be leaking
All over each other and without even speaking
We'll know that it's over and smile and go greeting
Whatever comes next

And oh sister
You're getting married to some angry twister
That you'll have to carry home
Drunk every evening from the cemetery
And if he makes it back half alive you can
Bury him under your sheets
And oh sister
Now that you're grieving
I cannot imagine there is any meaning
Forgetting you ever could once
Had the feeling that made you keep on
And pretend you were breathing of all of this world
And in an age of empty rings
I don't want to feel a thing
I don't even want to know
Rose Wallace Goldaline
Don't you ever die on me
Don't you woe the way you go



Lyrics submitted by mrtrout, edited by andrew5500


Oh Sister song meanings
Add your thoughts

24 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment:Weren't "Oh Sister," "Communist Daughter" and that part at the end of "Oh Comely" originally all supposed to be parts of the same song, hence the similar lyrics and mentions of Rose Wallace Goldaline?
    Flag jamie leeon March 31, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Here are the lyrics from the recent studio version.

    Oh sister, don't be afraid of me
    I won't be nailing you down in the nursery
    Just like the rest of them did with those watery
    Wandering fingers of spit that were supposed to be glorious and fine

    And oh sister, won't you believe in me
    I only wanted to be hard on the family
    Here with you now in this silly infirmary
    Your mother makes frantic and drunk calls from Germany all of the time

    And oh sister, sweet brown and beulahery
    Milk from your blisters on your grandmother's jewelry
    There in the parlor all naked in front of me
    Watching the lights from the cracks making archery animal designs

    Rose Wallace Goldaline just moves her mouth over anything
    That's fleshy free and flowering
    Like oranges out in the open
    But don't you waste your sins again
    She don't need you or won't fuck your friends
    And you, well you're American self important boiling over
    To prove that she must still exist
    She moves herself about her fist
    And will never ever give a shit
    About all those words you're wasting
    To gain some pretty, bright, and bubbly
    Wondrous dream you'd like to kill and claim and claim her as your own
    But don't you worry all those dainty and dirty
    Emotions just go away and fade out on their own

    Sister, now that you're leaving
    Our fingers will falter our lungs will be leaking
    All over each other and without even speaking
    We'll know that it's over and smile and go greeting whatever comes next

    And oh sister you're getting married
    To some angry twister that you'll have to carry
    Home drunk every evening from the cemetery
    And if he makes it back half alive you can bury him under your sheets

    And oh sister now that you're grieving
    I cannot imagine there is any meaning
    Forgetting you ever could once have the feeling
    That made you keep on and pretend you to breathing of all of this world

    And in an age of empty rings
    I don't want to feel the thing
    I don't even want to know
    Rose Wallace Goldaline
    Don't you ever die on me
    Don't you oh the way you go
    Flag ThenAimlesson May 20, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I once heard in an interview with Jeff Mangum that most of the songs on "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" were based loosely on the Book "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner. That being said, I try to imagine most of the songs as if they were sung by the main character Benjy, who has a very close relationship with his older sister Caddy. If you've ever read the book and tried to view this song from the same perspective, the meaning is easy enough to see. But I'll leave that up to you.
    Flag dylanophoidon March 13, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Could the sister be the communist daughter? There is a clear allusion to that song ("To prove that she must still exist she moves herself about her fist") and the communist daughter is in my interpretation a quite lonely, different character with personality issues that could be explained by the treatment of the sister by "the rest of them" (parents?) in this song. Just a thought.
    Flag mastermooseon April 26, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:Godaline refers to a story where two Siamese twins are stranded in Siberia and find a large ravenous creature, possibly a bear. Knowing they could never make it out, they willingly surrender to the creature and are willingly consumed.
    Flag TheKingOfCarrotFlowerson February 05, 2010   Link
  • -2
    General Comment:The songs about a little girl who was molested in the nursery.
    Flag bernadettesalemon August 20, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:i always got the impression that his sister had lived an awful life. whenever i heard the first stanza, i always thought that he was talking about his little sister being taken advantage of ("wandering fingers").

    like, his parents were supposed to be the ones taking care of her, and protecting her from evils ("supposed to be glorious and fine") when they were actually the ones causing the evil.

    and that's why he would want to be "hard on the family" (because they abused her)

    and now, because she's had a fucked up childhood, she gets married to a deadbeat drunkard, because she's never had a normal relationship.

    i dunno, maybe i'm reading into this wrong.
    Flag kconheadyon April 07, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:beulah is also a female named from the Hebrew word meaing "married"

    which may or may not be significant but since the song makes mulitple references to his messed up family dynamics, i decided to throw it out there.

    but anyway, this song is freaking amazing
    Flag ellibeanon January 12, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love how some of the lines are used in his other songs. And I just woke up, so there is no way I'm to begin figuring this out, but Mangun is epic.
    Flag Graceinfallingon January 04, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Actually, the vinyl comes with the story to be read with when listening to the record and after two headed boy there are lyrics from this song (not sung on the album but written into the story)
    Anyways, so this song would come after two headed boy
    Flag bombazinedollon July 12, 2007   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain