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I traveled though the atmosphere as a wall of feedback climbed
The pegs were gold, the band was old, they played in half time
Now every dream gets whittled down just like every fool gets wise
You will never reap of any seed deprived of sunlight
So I have become the middleman
The gray areas are mine
The in-between, the absentee
Is a beautiful disguise
So I keep my footlights shining bright just like I keep my exits wide
Because I never know when it's time to go, it's too crowded now inside
The dead can hide beneath the ground and the birds can always fly
But the rest of us do what we must in constant compromise
So I have become the middleman
The gray areas are fine
The "I don't know," the "maybe so"
Is the only real reply
It is the only true reply
The pegs were gold, the band was old, they played in half time
Now every dream gets whittled down just like every fool gets wise
You will never reap of any seed deprived of sunlight
So I have become the middleman
The gray areas are mine
The in-between, the absentee
Is a beautiful disguise
So I keep my footlights shining bright just like I keep my exits wide
Because I never know when it's time to go, it's too crowded now inside
The dead can hide beneath the ground and the birds can always fly
But the rest of us do what we must in constant compromise
So I have become the middleman
The gray areas are fine
The "I don't know," the "maybe so"
Is the only real reply
It is the only true reply
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THANK YOU CONOR!
However, I'd like to refer to the album's title for the meaning of the chorus and title. Cassadaga is a spritualist community in Florida, referenced by the female speaker in the opening track. It's home or destination to a large number of psychics and mediums, and I think it's mediumship that's referenced here.
Oberst is comparing the life of a lyricist/performer to that of the medium. The opening line is analogous to the spiritual transcendance of a seance- the performer must bring his audience something "from the ether" for entertainment and enlightenment, just as the medium is called upon to "commune with the dead", to borrow a line from "Four Winds".
The last two lines in the first verse point out the hook of the song- that is, just as the reluctant messiah Donald Shimoda does in Richard Bach's Illusions, the narrator has grown tired of the constant demand of the audience. The fool that gets wise in the third line is the narrator after realizing the demand to perform is depriving his "seed", his creativity, of "sunlight", or inspiration.
The chorus is where the narrator begins to feel that his stage persona is now just that- a persona, and not a true reflection of his person. He's reduced to "I don't knows" and "maybe sos" to answer the demand, no longer capable of offering substance or real insight. His audience is oblivious, and his popularity grows, evident in the second line of the second verse.
The climax of the song is the narrator's acceptance of his plight though still in admiration of the dead and the birds, both capable of escaping the crowds and the demand.
Interesting song, and if I've left any loose ends, comment back and I'll tie up what I can.
"the things about middlemen is they're exceptional because they've convinced everyone that they're necessary, when they're really not, and they blend into the scenery & that's what makes them survive. uh you know, it's like cockroaches, how they'll be the last ones after the nuclear war, you know? it's just like, you gotta blend in at a certain point and there's a desire to rise above the fold and leave your mark & you know, be of use, be of actual substantial use, but you don't last that long, if you try that. it might be better just to slip through the cracks."
I think that’s some of what the guy in the background is saying. I can’t understand all of it and I’m not sure I’m right on all of what I have. He also says something about alligators and salt miners. I’m not sure. I wish someone had all the lyrics.