We sailed away on a winter's day
With fate as malleable as clay
But ships are fallible, I say
And the nautical, as all things, fades
And I do recall our caravel
A little wicker beetle shell
With four fine maste and lateen sails
It's bearings on Cair Paravel

Oh, my love
Oh, it was a funny little thing
To be the ones to see

The sight of bridges and balloons
Makes calm canaries irritable
And they caw and claw all afternoon
Catenaries and dirigibles
Brace and buoy the living room
A loom of metals warp woof wimble
And a thimble's worth of milky moon
Can touch hearts larger than a thimble

Oh, my love
Oh, it was a funny little thing
To be the ones to see

Oh, my love
Oh, it was a funny little thing
It was a funny, funny little thing



Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher


Bridges and Balloons (Joanna Newsom cover) song meanings
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13 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:can anybody explain the Narnia refrence?
    Flag relientkfanaticon July 27, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I read a bit of an interview that said he "just fucked it up," and was "probably drunk." Good show.

    I love both versions of this song, and mostly the fact that it connects two fabulous musicians.
    Flag inktreeon June 17, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Also he makes "buoy" sound like "boil" but eh. that could just be some utterly bizarre pronunciation. but what got me was how -- as opposed to what's on this sheet of lyrics -- clearly he says "be" instead of "touch" where the milky moon line is concerned. That's gotta be a deliberate choice, maybe to do with the awkwardness of that line (because it HAS always seemed kind of weird to me). I have a live version where he says "touch," though.

    also, this version of the songs seems to be two chords for the verse, two others that are involved in the chorus. I don't know anything about music though so does anyone know which chords these are so I can demand that a friend of mine learn it on guitar?
    Flag Salty Kevinon March 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:RE: emanfena
    It's quite possible he fucked up the lyrics, if you youtube the song you can see the actual video of the take that's on Picaresqueities, it's just Colin and it's live, so it might have been just a preliminary take before they decided to axe it from the full length. Just a thought.
    Flag jimmyjamesjack87on August 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i agree with all in that this cover is perfect for colin meloy...however, i wish he could get the lyrics right...he clearly says "cabenaries" insteaed of "catenaries" and "womb" instead of "loom."

    i absolutely love this song (perhaps even more the decemberists' cover) but i do think these lyrics errors are non-intentional.

    did colin fuck up?
    Flag emanfenaon July 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:errrr... look here's the url: circuitous.org/bec/more/…
    Flag Shedronianon February 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:BAM! to all you who need to discover and enjoy the succulent acoustic morsels of Mr. Meloy.
    Flag Shedronianon February 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i agree with cherub rock, they adopt joanna's sound very well as it's quite similar. pretty cover.
    Flag missmeon January 12, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Haven't heard this yet, but wow, talk about a perfect match lyrics-wise. This sounds just like the sort of thing Colin Meloy would write

    evanreyes, it's on the Picaresqueties EP (five outtakes from the album), which is only available on the double LP vinyl or on the iTunes music store...
    Flag Cherub Rockon April 29, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:when did they cover this?!?! it's my favorite Joanna Newsom song, covered by my favorite band?!?! how do I get a hold of it?!?!
    Flag evanreyeson March 17, 2006   Link

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