Joanna Newsom – The Fray

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bottom of the ninth inning
at which I stray through the crowd
first it was what I call quiet
then it was biblically loud

you should have seen how they tumbled
you should have seen how they danced
you should have seen them all luscious and lean
as they flew by the seat of their pants

it was not the boilin' frustration
it was not "they cannot care less"
it was not the face of that reverent place
In the horrible state of undress

I moved in a way I call mindless
I flatter myself a move true
I carved out a "J" in the spectators' fray
because that's just the thing that we do

yes, I carved out my name in the ninth of the game
because that's just a thing that we do

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Lyrics submitted by delial


The Fray song meanings
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8 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:I always sort of thought it might be about cheerleaders-- "luscious and lean" "tumbling and dancing" and "in a horrible state of undress"? Well, I don't know what she's trying to say, but I hear some kind of criticism of that particular kind of spectatorship...
    Flag CinnamonJaneon May 15, 2010   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction:I definitely hear her say "and we drive straight through the crowd..."
    It definitely puts the second verse into perspective.. but in this case I really want to know what this song means.
    Flag bsr814on February 26, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Ok, first two phrases she's describing the experience of being at a stadium when the crowd goes wild. All these people are exuding so much energy and excitement over nothing. third phrase, "it was not the boilin' frustration" refers to all of these emotions she's seeing people have over this sport; pride, anger, joy, dissapointment. She thinks it's trivial. "it was not that they cannot care less" Is probably thinking that these sports enthusiasts are apathetic when it comes to real things in life. "it was not the face of that reverent place In a horrible state of undress" I think is about seeing the stadium as this place that was once sacred, and then seeing it horribly disfigured. in the last bit she comforts herself by tagging her name into a chair or something. Tagging usually makes me feel better. It's a really simple song, basically she's like, "I went to a baseball game, it was hella weird, then I tagged my name on a chair." that's how I see it anyway. -Esme


    Flag esmexon May 19, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song makes me so nostalgic. The melody is haunting and the words are so unique.
    I don't know what it's actually about, but for me, it reminds me of when i was a little kid and watching my brother's baseball games.
    Flag music_is_my_life001on April 16, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think it may have to do with american values, since there are alot of baseball references, and baseball is viewd as the great american pasttime.
    Flag momoko243on March 12, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Okay, but does anyone have any idea as to what it means?
    Flag Whatsifsowhatsiton July 02, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song makes me feel light, like i'm falling or floating... probably the most beautiful song of joanna's besides en gallop. it's so entrancing... sigh.
    Flag sharkswithkniveson October 05, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:MAN! this is like the tightest song i ever heard in a long time.
    Flag the creekon July 29, 2006   Link

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