never look her in the eyes
never tell the truth
if she knows your paper
you know she'll have to burn you

never tell the one you want that you do
save it for the deathbed
when you know you kept her wanting you

and do everything she'd never do

fall asleep with stranger's wives
the wild wives of unknown men
good for you, you've just become
just another one of them

never say you miss her
never say a word

and do everything she'd never do

don't let her see your cardinal eyes
don't let her see your cardinal eyes

let her treat you like a criminal
so you can treat her like a priest
girls forgive my human mind
girls forgive me one more time

never tell the one you love that you do
save it for the deathbed

and do everything she'd never do

don't let her see your cardinal eyes
don't let her see your cardinal eyes

jesus christ you have confused me
cornered, wasted, blessed and used me
forgive me girls i am confused
stiff and pissed and lost and loose

jesus christ you have confused me
cornered, wasted, blessed and used me
forgive me girls i am confused
stiff and pissed and lost and loose



Lyrics submitted by SomethingClever

Track duration: 06:18


Cardinal Song song meanings
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31 Comments

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  • 0
    My Interpretation:I think that instead of 'cardinal eyes', it's 'cardinal lines'. The Cardinal Lines are north, south, east, and west. By not showing your cardinal lines, you're not showing your direction or your layout. You're not letting anyone map you.
    Flag lpsdrcnson February 20, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:why isn't love enough?
    Flag mad about the boyon December 27, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Cardinal Eye Disease refers to the diseases which are caused when the extraocular muscles that hold the eyeball in its position become weak and cause the cardinal positions of the gaze to shift, causing aberrations in sight and other problems in the eyes.

    Those suffering from the cardinal eye disease, have trouble shifting their gaze and focusing intently on objects that they desire to see.

    Read more: Cardinal Eye Disease | eHow.com ehow.com/…
    Flag TheMightyMurphon December 16, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This isn't sad truths, it's terrible advice to show, "don't be this way." Every line in this is bad bad advice, and don't live to regret doing these things.

    If you get to your deathbed, and you've never looked her in the eyes or let her treat you like a criminal or sleep with wives, you will be sad and confused.
    Flag smallwonderroboton September 10, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:the sad truth
    Flagged faxek2fon December 31, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:if she knows you're paper...if she knows you have feelings O.o she'll have to set you on fire...what a mean lady >.>
    Flag artisan117on August 31, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think if this song had a sequel it'd be "Our Little Boat" by Elbow. Funny, because the two share a skill when it comes to simple chords, brilliant arrangments and melancholy lyrics (not to mention a similar slow-burning career trajectory).
    Flag nt1987on June 19, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think people are pretty close on the meaning, but have it a bit backwards. He does have a woman he loves and is/was with in a real relationship, but at some point the power shifted to her in his mind. He believes this is because he went too far in being honest and vulnerable with her, and now he thinks the right way to do this would have been to "save it for the deathbed". As ghosttrainhobo says, it's the "principle of least interest" - he got (as he sees it) sucked into being honest and vulnerable, and now she has the power and he is the weak dependent one.

    However, my take on the rest of the song is a bit different to what most have posted above. I think this is meant to be in his head, not in fact how his lover actually treated him. Suddenly he feels like the weak one, so he has taken it upon himself to go out and sleep with other women almost at random, as a way to win back his power and control over his love life. So:

    fall asleep with stranger's wives
    the wild wives of unknown men
    good for you, you've just become
    just another one of them

    is about exactly what it says - sleeping with "stranger's wives". But by doing this as an act of retribution against his true love he falls back to being just another typical unfaithful man in her eyes, destroying any value he got from his honesty ("you've just become/just another one of them"). In that context this makes sense:

    jesus christ you have confused me
    cornered, wasted, blessed and used me
    forgive me girls i am confused
    stiff and pissed and lost and loose

    He's not used to being so vulnerable, and it's left him confused and feeling "cornered, wasted, blessd and used". He's asking the girls he's then gone and slept with to forgive him because in his highly charged emotional stage he's "stiff and pissed and lost and loose" (great line) - i.e. out on the rampage because he is upset by how he feels about his true love.
    Flag caitsith01on January 20, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Jesus Christ you have confused me.
    Flag JennaCanReadon January 01, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:What does the female voice whisper in the background during the end of the first time the line "Do everything she'd never do." is sung?

    I've turned my speakers up very high and also tried headphones, but I have not idea what she's saying.
    Flag SaintGuson July 29, 2009   Link

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