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All the other girls here are stars?you are the Northern Lights
They try to shine in through your curtains?you're too close and too bright
They try and they try but everything that they do
Is the ghost of a trace of a pale imitation of you
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
This party is made with the night air and the chance that a smile
Will wind its way from your face to one of the boys in your line
You act like you're hip to their tricks and you're strong
But a virgin Wurlitzer heart never once had a song
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
And I'll have you back by break of day
I'm going your way anyway
And if you'd like to come along
I'll be yours for a song
I know you are waiting and I know that it is not for me
But I'm here and I'm ready and I've saved you the passenger seat
I won't be your last dance just your last goodnight
Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
So crawl up your trellis and quietly back into your room
And I'll coast down the length of your drive by the light of the moon
And the next time I see you?a new kind of hello
Both our hearts have a secret only both of us know
?bout the night that I drove you back home Kathleen
They try to shine in through your curtains?you're too close and too bright
They try and they try but everything that they do
Is the ghost of a trace of a pale imitation of you
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
This party is made with the night air and the chance that a smile
Will wind its way from your face to one of the boys in your line
You act like you're hip to their tricks and you're strong
But a virgin Wurlitzer heart never once had a song
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
And I'll have you back by break of day
I'm going your way anyway
And if you'd like to come along
I'll be yours for a song
I know you are waiting and I know that it is not for me
But I'm here and I'm ready and I've saved you the passenger seat
I won't be your last dance just your last goodnight
Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied
I'll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
So crawl up your trellis and quietly back into your room
And I'll coast down the length of your drive by the light of the moon
And the next time I see you?a new kind of hello
Both our hearts have a secret only both of us know
?bout the night that I drove you back home Kathleen
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Noooooo. Doubt it? What was the secret? Long time ago.
I heard this song a few days ago. I loved it!
So he drives her home. She sneaks into the house. Then rolls down the driveway so her parents don't wake up and find her sneaking in. And at the very least you have had that glimpse of a chance, that little bit of time with the girl.
This isn't about a notch on a belt, about bragging rights, about puppy love.
The signer does not TAKE Kathleen's virginity; she gives it to him, willingly, happily, beautifully, and now they share a secret that only the two of them know, because they both understand the magic they shared, and respect and love each other -- even if they never meet that way again, and even if they both go off in totally different directions, which they most likely will.
Kathleen is in highschool I suspect, a virgin, who appears strong and sure of herself, but with a virgin Wurlitzer heart. A Wurlitzer is a beautiful, flashy jukebox, full of all the very best songs. Kathleen has never been in love, never had her songs -- her innermost self -- played, no one has ever given her a song -- offered to give her themselves. The boys that stand in line don't want HER, they just want what she represents, the outside face, her smile.
As a Wulitzer, Kathleen is full of songs, she needs no one else, she can make the music all by herself. But she is waiting for someone, someone who will appreciate the music that is her life, create a harmony with her. The singer recognizes this. he also knows that he is not the "one true love" for her, or she for him. But he knows that they don't need a "forever after". They just need to understand each other at this moment. She gives her virginity, he gives her a song (Or does she give him a song, and he give her a taste of unconditional love? "I'll be yours for a song" could be read either way.) They give each other the greatest gifts each could -- love and a song -- intimacy, the certer of their souls, and ask nothing in return except respect.
"I know you are waiting and I know that it is not for me,
But I'm here and I'm ready and I saved you the passenger seat.
I won't be your last dance, just your last good night.
Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied
Josh knows he is not the one she is saving herself for. "I wont be your last dance, just your last good night" Means he wont be the one she wants to spend her life with, be he will be the one who is with her tonight. "Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied" Means everyone is influenced by many differnt loves and admirers, and Josh just wants to have an impact on her. I think driveing her home should be taken liteally. I don't think they had sex, but they did have a special connection that can not be taken away and that is want the nariator wanted.
"I know you are waiting and I know that it is not for me,
But I'm here and I'm ready and I saved you the passenger seat.
I won't be your last dance, just your last good night.
Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied
Josh knows he is not the one she is saving herself for. "I wont be your last dance, just your last good night" Means he wont be the one she wants to spend her life with, be he will be the one who is with her tonight. "Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied" Means everyone is influenced by many differnt loves and admirers, and Josh just wants to have an impact on her. I think driveing her home should be taken liteally. I don't think they had sex, but they did have a special connection that can not be taken away and that is want the nariator wanted.
"I know you are waiting and I know that it is not for me,
But I'm here and I'm ready and I saved you the passenger seat.
I won't be your last dance, just your last good night.
Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied
Josh knows he is not the one she is saving herself for. "I wont be your last dance, just your last good night" Means he wont be the one she wants to spend her life with, be he will be the one who is with her tonight. "Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied" Means everyone is influenced by many differnt loves and admirers, and Josh just wants to have an impact on her. I think driveing her home should be taken liteally. I don't think they had sex, but they did have a special connection that can not be taken away and that is want the nariator wanted.
Then I meet a business associate at Starbucks and this song is playing and I'm noticing all the women in place starry eyed. So I decided to look the song up and find out what's it about. Catchy mellow tune.
Imagine my surprise to learn that the song Kathleen is country genre.
Anyway, here's my take on the song:
If you listen closely to his tone inflections and a few times sounding whistfull.
The song is about a man with an unrequited love for the woman. Everything he is saying, is how he would like life to be with her.
The virgin whirltzer is in context to the line of guys waiting in line for her to flash a smile at them signaling she wants one of them, so, I don't think that line is about her. I think it is about all the other guys wanting her.
Think about it, he tells her "Ill be yours for a song." He refers to the competitors as a virgin whirltzer. Poetic for their songs stinks. White Bread. He's got fiber.
He's basically doing the peacock rountine with Kathleen. "Hey baby, look at all my beautiful feathers. Those guys are just starlings - I'm a peacock."
They try to shine in through your curtains-you're too close and too bright.
They try and they try but everything that they do
Is the ghost of a trace of a pale imitation of you.
I'll be the one to drive you back home, Kathleen."
He thinks she's beautiful. That part is pretty self-explanatory.
"This party was made with the night air and the chance that a smile
Will wind it's way from your face to one of the boys in your line.
You act like you're hip to their tricks and you're strong,
But a virgin Wurlitzer heart never once had a song.
I'll be the one to drive you back home, Kathleen."
"One of the boys in your line" makes me think that she has her eye on one particular guy that's there. She tries to seem "cool"/not innocent (you act like you're hip to their tricks and you're strong), but she's never been in love before (a virgin Wurlitzer heart never once had a song).
"And I'll have you back by break of day,
I'm going your way anyway.
And if you come along,
I'll be yours for a song."
Maybe that one guy wasn't interested in her, even though it seems that all of the other guys there were. She's upset, maybe she's considering going home with some other guy there, and the narrator offers to give her a ride home, both to protect her and to offer some support.
"I know you are waiting and I know that it is not for me,
But I'm here and I'm ready and I saved you the passenger seat.
I won't be your last dance, just your last good night.
Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied.
I'll be the one to drive you back home, Kathleen."
He knows that she's waiting to give her virginity to someone she loves, and the narrator knows that she doesn't love him. Still, he's there to offer support and platonic love (I'm here and I'm ready and I've saved you the passenger seat). They probably go drive around that night, just enjoying each other's company. "I won't be your last dance, just your last goodnight" might mean that he won't be the last guy that she connects with/has fun with, but he might be the last one she says goodnight to (meaning the relationship doesn't continue). I'm not sure, I was a little confused about that line. "Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied" I think means that everyone is influenced by the people they've loved and the people who have loved them.
"So crawl up your trellis and quietly back into your room,
And I'll coast down the length of your drive by the light of the moon.
And the next time we meet-a new kind of hello,
Both our hearts have a secret only both of us know,
'bout the night that I drove you back home Kathleen."
He takes her home, she sneaks back into her room, and he drives home. "The next time we meet, a new kind of hello" means that things between them will be different the next time they see each other, because they got to know each other better that night. He learned something about her that she didn't tell anybody else (that she's saving herself for someone she loves), which might be what he means by "both our hearts have a secret only both of us know".
I don't know if any of that's right or not, but it's a sweet song. I love Josh Ritter.
But recently my friend said that he didn't think so since Ritter said at the start of one concert that this song was about when he was 15 and the girl was 30.
Reasons for thinking he did sleep with her:
'Both our hearts have a secret only both of us know,
'bout the night that I drove you back home Kathleen'
don't know what this could mean other than sleeping with her. I guess she could have told him a secret also, but that seems less likely. That line and my earlier statement make me think it is a song about taking her virginity.
Reasons for thinking he didn't:
In the CD booklet it calls this song 'geek love' or something like that, which doesn't normally mean selling virginity.
'I'll be yours for a song.'
Seems to suggest that it won't take that long to bring her home if she is just going to be there for one song.
'But I'm here and I'm ready and I saved you the passenger seat.
I won't be your last dance, just your last good night.'
This line and 'I know you are waiting and I know that it is not for me,' hint that she already has someone else, or likes someone who isn't Ritter.
"All the other girls here are stars-you are the Northern Lights.
They try to shine in through your curtains-you're too close and too bright.
They try and they try but everything that they do
Is the ghost of a trace of a pale imitation of you."
which is basically explained by :
"Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied"
"And the next time we meet-a new kind of hello,
Both our hearts have a secret only both of us know,"
Is such a special line, it's the feeling of something secret and shared between two people...
it's bonding and feels powerful