I woke in the snow with my face on the pavement and icicles hanging off most of my clothes
10 picket fences for 10 perfect houses with green little gardens lined up in a row
I walked past the gardens and into the trees
And I found myself rather lost
And I picked a nice clearing
I dropped to my knees
I said I will get home at any cost

But they found me in the snow
Icicles on all my clothes
Surrounded in the splinters of 10 picket fences for 10 perfect houses
There shattered and scattered all across the road
I stand and I look at the wreckage around me
I whistle and turn
I start walking home

And it's back through the gardens and through the same trees to the clearing I passed out in before
And I threw up my hands to admit my defeat
When the chemicals erupted once more
And the clearing grew and began to bend
And all the sun light started pouring in
And you walked up, all bathed in white
And you stripped me naked
You held me tight

But they found me in the snow
Icicles on all my clothes
Surrounded in the splinters



Lyrics submitted by tallgrl45

Track duration: 02:55


The Clearing song meanings
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16 Comments

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  • 0
    My Opinion:Also, he states in "The Drugs" that "you can paint me a junkie/ it's quite alright", so it seems like some of you are on the right track.
    Flag sXe LEXXIon June 16, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I agree with the idea of this being a vicious cycle of some sort, but I don't think he destroyed the houses himself, I think his whistling just denotes his total apathy towards what happened to them. Also, this might be cliché and wrong but I think he meets a girl who seems like an angel, and he thinks she can save him from his recurring bouts of *insert problem here*, but after they have sex he doesn't feel any better and his life continues as it had been.
    Flag sXe LEXXIon June 16, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It's not that Warren won't write a song about God, see "Everyone Loves a Good Microcosm" / "King Reason" (on YouTube). But, here I think the God reference is misplaced. It is possible that he's making the statement that he saw bright lights (which some people would view as God), but in reality it was just the shrooms, and human beings found him. So, I guess what I'm saying is I agree with all of you about the subject matter, just not in the way that some of you said. Aliens... maybe - that might fit in with the wreckage, although it seems kinda like he's just totally lost in the chaos of his mind and maybe that NONE of the things he's seeing are real. This would also fit if he saw God or something God-like in the trip because by mentioning the chemicals he's acknowledging that it is not real, it's just a delusion. The only way to find his way "home" seems to be to get out of the trip, or out of the delusions.

    Just thoughts.
    Flag asSTARSfallxon September 22, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Trippppin. maybe not on shrooms, but more like acid. "and the chemicals erupted once more"
    Trust me, i've had trips like that.
    Flag kissedonfilmon September 08, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"i totally agree this band is like totally drugged"

    what a druggie thing to say.
    Flag frommytreeon May 05, 2009   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:I think this song might be about feeling strung out and just having enough... he says he comes to a clearing in a town of 10 picket fences and 1o perfect houses where he drops down to his knees and gives up. It's those bad days when an addict feels like getting sober again... they suck. he's in his hometown when this is all going on with people all around him trying to help him out, but at the end of the day he just goes back to the way things were... the way they make sense. It's a vicious cycle. idk maybe this is all just personal reflection and I'm digging to deep into it, but by a person who's been there... who is there; it makes sense. peace. =]
    Flag roarsir3on March 27, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:ok first of all to all the people talking about god and angels.. no. warren has made it very clear that he is not religious so get those ideas out of your head. who ever said this was about a trip i totally agree this band is like totally drugged (still fantastic though)

    i think that this song has a native american feel like the rest of the songs on this album. (i could be completely off base) he passed these 10 perfect houses with ten perfect fences... this sounds kind of sarcastic and he actually thought of them as nothing special or even repulsing. and then he went into this clearing in the woods where a white figure came to him show him, at least i think, that is where he should be in the wild or one with nature or whatever. then he destoyed all of the fences showing that they werent right and weent supposed to be there in nature and expressed his content about destroying them by saying that he whistled. give me responses please cause i wanna know what u guys think about this.
    Flag butifuldaisasteron January 19, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:in respnse to Uhmerican responding to elsa, I agree with elsa. I don't think you got what she meant. He expected God to come Save him and comfort him, but in the end he just woke up in the snow again. He expected God but it didn't happen, further supporting the fact that he doesn't believe in a god.
    Flag circoheeveon July 15, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Sounds like he's on some hard drug or really drunk, trying to make his way home. He explains what he sees, or what happens in his mind, but actually dies on his way... "but they found me in the snow..."
    Flag HeBrokeAStringon May 03, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:These lyrics sound like a recurring dream. He continuously wakes up in a clearing covered in icicles and splinters. Also, to show that it's a dream and not reality, the ten perfect houses continue to have ten perfect green gardens through the winter.
    Flag Dhes135on April 22, 2008   Link

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