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Hear the chimes, did you know that the wind when it blows
It is older than Rome and all of this sorrow
See the new Pyramids down in old Manhattan
From the roof of a friend I watched an empire ending
Heard it loud and long, the river's song
Time marching on, to a mad man's drum
Don't forget what you've learned
All you give is returned
And if life seems absurd
What you need is some laughter
And a season to sleep
And a place to get clean
Maybe Los Angeles
Somewhere no one's expecting
On a detox walk
Over Glendale Park
Over sidewalk chalk
Some rope read "start over"
So I muffle my scream
On an Oxnard beach
Full of fever dreams that scare me sober
Into saltless dinners
Take the fruit from the tree, break the skin with your teeth
Is it bitter or sweet all depends on your timing
Like a meeting of chance
With the train station glance
Many lifetimes have passed in a instant reminded
Of a millstone house in a seaside town
When your heart gave out in a mission bed
So your wife gave birth to a funeral dirge
You woke up purged as a wailing infant
In Krug Thep, Thailand
Hear the chimes, did you know that the wind when it blows
It is older than Rome and our joy and our sorrow
It is older than Rome and all of this sorrow
See the new Pyramids down in old Manhattan
From the roof of a friend I watched an empire ending
Heard it loud and long, the river's song
Time marching on, to a mad man's drum
Don't forget what you've learned
All you give is returned
And if life seems absurd
What you need is some laughter
And a season to sleep
And a place to get clean
Maybe Los Angeles
Somewhere no one's expecting
On a detox walk
Over Glendale Park
Over sidewalk chalk
Some rope read "start over"
So I muffle my scream
On an Oxnard beach
Full of fever dreams that scare me sober
Into saltless dinners
Take the fruit from the tree, break the skin with your teeth
Is it bitter or sweet all depends on your timing
Like a meeting of chance
With the train station glance
Many lifetimes have passed in a instant reminded
Of a millstone house in a seaside town
When your heart gave out in a mission bed
So your wife gave birth to a funeral dirge
You woke up purged as a wailing infant
In Krug Thep, Thailand
Hear the chimes, did you know that the wind when it blows
It is older than Rome and our joy and our sorrow
Lyrics submitted by jeff_cassadaga, edited by kmacp
Track duration: 03:28
"Cleanse Song" as written by Conor Oberst
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The first phrase just seems like a reference to 9/11 and the decline of america as an empire. The "new pyramids" down represents the twin towers and he compares it to rome, saying we have lasted long enough as an empire and that we may be on the decline.
Hear me out:
Mission Bay is a beautiful seaside city by San Diego. It would go with the list of SoCal cities (Los Angeles, Glendale, Oxnard).
Also, when I saw him in Oakland two weeks ago he sang this and introduced it with, “this song takes place right here in California”. So idk, just what I thought it was.
Someone wrote in red, "Start over"
So I muffle my scream on an Oxnard beach
Full of fever dreams that scare you sober
Into saltless dinners
quite blatently about cocaine.. salt, chalk, powdery substances. its interesting that the sidewalk chalk, in this case, is red, not white, and is telling him to start over, and that this then causes a muffled scream.
the fever dreams, what happens when one is coming down from their high, fiending for it and wanting more, not being able to sleep and just feeling that devoid of happiness, are scaring him sober. the high is not worth the come down anymore, and because of this realization he is able to let himself get past it and begin a new part of life.
From the roof of a friend's I watched an empire ending"
Are the "new Pyramids" in Manhattan the WTC?
With the empire ending in Manhattan, is this a reference to 9/11?
from there on, i dont understand what he is saying. can someone explain it?
i have no idea about trainstation glance tho haha
Here's a Conor quote
"That song kind of flows all over the place with different ideas, but the main idea being rebirth and rebuilding and taking a well needed bath, you know? i did a little it of that in the last year & it's great to clear your head, get rid of everything, then you realize normally you can only see like ten feet in front of you because the fog is so dense of all the chemicals in your mind once you clear it all away & you can see forever then you immediately get scared and realize why you take all of those things all the time. it's good to at least visit that once in a while, clarity."