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I was meant for the stage,
I was meant for the curtain.
I was meant to tread these boards,
Of this much I am certain.
I was meant for the crowd,
I was meant for the shouting.
I was meant to raise these hands
With quiet all about me. oh, oh.
Mother, please, be proud.
Father, be forgiven.
Even though you told me
'son, you'll never make a living.' oh, oh.
From the floorboards to the fly,
Here I was fated to reside.
And as I take my final bow,
Was there ever any doubt?
And as the spotlights fade away,
And you're escorted through the foyer,
You will resume your callow ways,
But I was meant for the stage.
The heavens at my birth
Intended me for stardom,
Rays of light shone down on me
And all my sins were pardoned.
I was meant for applause.
I was meant for derision.
Nothing short of fate itself
Has affected my decision. oh, oh.
From the floorboards to the fly,
Here I was fated to reside.
And as I take my final bow,
Was there ever any doubt?
And as the spotlights fade away,
And you're escorted through the foyer,
You will resume your callow ways,
But I was meant for the stage.
I was meant for the curtain.
I was meant to tread these boards,
Of this much I am certain.
I was meant for the crowd,
I was meant for the shouting.
I was meant to raise these hands
With quiet all about me. oh, oh.
Mother, please, be proud.
Father, be forgiven.
Even though you told me
'son, you'll never make a living.' oh, oh.
From the floorboards to the fly,
Here I was fated to reside.
And as I take my final bow,
Was there ever any doubt?
And as the spotlights fade away,
And you're escorted through the foyer,
You will resume your callow ways,
But I was meant for the stage.
The heavens at my birth
Intended me for stardom,
Rays of light shone down on me
And all my sins were pardoned.
I was meant for applause.
I was meant for derision.
Nothing short of fate itself
Has affected my decision. oh, oh.
From the floorboards to the fly,
Here I was fated to reside.
And as I take my final bow,
Was there ever any doubt?
And as the spotlights fade away,
And you're escorted through the foyer,
You will resume your callow ways,
But I was meant for the stage.
Lyrics submitted by sendthestars
Track duration: 07:02
"I Was Meant for the Stage" as written by Colin Meloy
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The song is entirely from his own point of view -- we don't get to hear an external opinion. What we do get is a litany of affirmations about the narrator's own heaven-declared greatness, without any discussion of merit or background on why these things are true.
Within that litany, the things that he chooses to mention (and affirm) are specific and, as such, give us insight into what the narrator feels necessary to rebut. "Mother please be proud / Father be forgiven" tells us that he's expecting pushback or friction from his family.
In his self-aggrandizing way, he dismisses them melodramatically gently, as if they could not possibly be privy to the information he is privy to. He even goes so far as to paraphrase (or bastardize) the quote of Jesus on the cross ("Father forgive them, they know not what they do") in comic inversion.
In fact, there are other examples of self-delusion wherein the narrator visualizes himself messianically: rays of light shining down on him; the heavens at his birth; the complete non sequitur of "all [his] sins being pardoned".
Within his mind, at "the end" he believes his detractors will likely receive their cosmic comeuppance -- "And as I take my final bow / Was there ever any doubt?" -- following it up with a pointed jab at the philistines that ostensibly could never understand him: "And you're escorted through the foyer / You will resume your callow ways".
The song ends gradually with the narrator's reverie crashing down around him amidst what sounds like the jeering shouts and abuse of .. other schoolchildren (?) around him. No wonder he'd want a fantasy world.
I feel a little bad for the people talking about how this song defines them. Yikes.
And then, the performance. Because I'm a visual person, as I picture it the song itself is being performed in a theatre on stage, the character performing it much in the way that Colin does. The song itself describes the theatre in a sense; 'as the spotlights fade away, and you're escorted through the foyer...' so I don't think it's an enormous leap. There's a slight echo on the vocals, suggesting a kind of solitude on stage. As the song crescendos, the dream is realised, but then, as the end release/noise jam kicks in, I can't help but picture a fire breaking out. There are cries, panic, the song descends into madness as the theatre collapses. The performer can't survive. Something they never considered happens and their predetermined world, like the theatre, falls apart. And yet, in a sense, their dream is fulfilled. The stage and themselves, perishing in unity, are inextricably linked forever.
That's how I picture it anyway.
farm4.static.flickr.com/3323/…
I'm a high school student in Theatre. At my school we have something I will refer to as bonding, and mostly due to this, I have become terribly attached to this wonderful thing we call theatre. It's given me a second home, a place where no matter what's happening I can go, and just feel comfortable and home. It's a feeling often times not even home itself can give you. To me, that is just what this songs about. The theatre being where you belong, your home, maybe your only home.
I'm going to be a senior next year, and the thought of leaving is terrifying. Not only because I'll be essentially loosing what I have here at the school, but because I'm afraid of forgetting what it was like there, with everyone else, that feeling of home. Even if I can find that same feeling somewhere else I never want to forget what I had here, and I know with this song, I never will.
I think the song means exactly that. Even though the speaker feels 'intended for stardom', they have also accepted they won't be life changing for anyone else. After the show is over the audience will just 'resume their callow ways'. In the end, despite their passion, they really weren't that important after all.
This sort has become my anthem of the application process.
Long live the Decemberists.