Lyrics for Civil Twilight as interpreted by leahleahleahleah

Civil Twilight Lyrics
My confusion corner commuters are cursing the cold away
As December tries to dissemble the length of their working day
And they bite their mitts off to show me transfers, deposit change
and I can't stop finding your face in their faces, all rearranged

And angry like you never were;
and I ease us back into traffic
Dusk comes on and I wonder
Why I'm always remembering you, in civil twilight

For the most part I think about golfing and constantly calculate
all the seconds left in the minutes, and so on, etcetera
Or recite the names of provinces and Hollywood actors;
Oh, Ontario! Oh, Jennifer Jason Leigh!

This part of the day bewilders me
Streets slow down and ice over,
Dusk comes on and I struggle to stop,
To stop to stop thinking of you,in civil twilight

Hey, every other hour I pass that house,
Where you told me that you had to go
I wonder if the landlord has fixed the crack,
That I stared at, instead of staring back at you;

My chance to say something seemed so breif, but it wasn't.
Now I know I had plenty of time
Between the sunset and certified darkness
Dusk comes on and I follow the exhaust from memory up to the end

The civil twilight
The civil twilight
The civil twilight
The civil twilight

Interaction
Mail to a friend Send Lyrics to a Friend
Share on Facebook

Stumble It
Add to Del.icio.us Add to Del.icio.us




  • 18 Comments
  • Printer Friendly Lyrics
oldest first     Expand All
straka_red
04-30-2007

Rated 0 
So after listening to this song for about a week, it finally hit me. The song is about a bus driver who is remembering a past relationship. How anyone would ever think about writing a song from that perspective blows my mind, but that's why John Samson is the man.

Log in to reply
Vagroaches
06-13-2007

Rated 0 
oh, wow. i've been listening to this song for far longer a week and i got that it was about missing someone, but - yeah! it is definitely about a bus driver. that is amazing!

the ???? part in the song i think is "so on, etcetera"

Log in to reply
leahleahleahleah
07-01-2007

Rated 0 
I think that this song is about a bus driver's relationship with a reglular commuter. For some reason, the commuter no longer takes his bus. The relationship never evolved to be anything of substance, so the driver is looking back on the time spent with the commuter; comparing them to the onther, angier commuters and longing for them to take the bus again. The driver regrets never telling the commuter their feelings. "My chance to say something seemed so frequent--it was, and now I know I had plenty of time".

Log in to reply
virtutethecat
08-11-2007

Rated 0 
Wow, what a great song. A few lyric changes...

"Confusion corner commuters are cursing you pulled away"

should be "Confusion corner commuters are cursing the cold away"

and "the life of the working day" should be "the length of their working day."

Log in to reply
Polar Bears Club
08-16-2007

Rated 0 
Great, great song. One of my favorties off the new album for sure. Also, I'm pretty positive it's

My chance to say something seemed so brief
But it wasn't. Now I know I had plenty of time

Log in to reply
blackemma
08-29-2007

Rated 0 
I agree with virtute. The bus driver had feelings for a commuter, but didn't say how he felt because his "chance to say something seemed so brief." That's why he's remembering the stop where she (he?) told him she had to go. Now that she's gone, he can't stop seeing her face in the faces of others rearranged.

Good song.

Log in to reply
murrayjf3
09-16-2007

Rated 0 
I agree that the perspective of the busdriver is brilliant - J.K. Samson/The Weakerthans are pretty amazing!

However -im not certian if the nostalgic interest is a common passenger, or actually someone who the driver was significantly involved. I dont think it's clear in the song, and I think i kind of want it to be the latter - so... there's my muddled and bias take.
Reagrdless - Brilliant! Thanks for everyone who submits thier thoughts - it's always comforting to connect with those of similiar sentiment!

Log in to reply
blownspeakers
10-11-2007

Rated 0 
From http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/RST_defs.php :

"Civil twilight is defined to begin in the morning, and to end in the evening when the center of the Sun is geometrically 6 degrees below the horizon. This is the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient, under good weather conditions, for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished; at the beginning of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible under good atmospheric conditions in the absence of moonlight or other illumination. In the morning before the beginning of civil twilight and in the evening after the end of civil twilight, artificial illumination is normally required to carry on ordinary outdoor activities. Complete darkness, however, ends sometime prior to the beginning of morning civil twilight and begins sometime after the end of evening civil twilight."

Log in to reply
sund
10-14-2007

Rated 0 
"Hey, every other hour I pass that house,
Where you told me that you had to go"

His bus route takes him by their old place a couple times a day, no wonder he can't forget her.

Log in to reply
Tommy Pakko
10-14-2007

Rated 0 
This song is about a bus driver who's route takes him by his ex's house every two hours, and he's forced to remember her every two hours.

Log in to reply
beckahxduh
10-25-2007

Rated 0 
ilovethisssssss =]

Log in to reply
distorted_lens
11-18-2007

Rated 0 
gee blownspeakers, thanks, that really explains what this song is about =) ...

i don't think the song is about an ex-regular passenger... instead, it might be about person that he's lived with before

if you watch the music video, it ends up w/ the guy at the back of the bus (now transformed into a living room where he's sitting with another woman)... i'm thinking the song's about that woman,
also, regarding where the woman says she told him he had to go, the line that follows, "I wonder if the landlord has fixed the crack, That I stared at, instead of staring back at you", suggests that he's been at the place with her before... perhaps they lived together?

Log in to reply
wrat
12-11-2007

Rated 0 
The bus driver's job requires him to pay attention to the road where guided during the rush hour commute by the civil twilight. So it's ironic that the civil relationship with his ex ended abruptly since clearly the cracks had started to show before she told him she had to go, but he was far less observant and failed to heed the warning signs and basically missed the bus at a chance to fix things.

Log in to reply
blownspeakers
03-08-2008

Rated 0 
just clicked the link in my profile to read my "last comment," noticed distorted_lens' reply, and chuckled - you're right, i should have added something more significant, but i didn't know what civil twilight was and figured maybe someone else was in the same boat as me. didn't really have any novel ideas to add :)

Log in to reply
andbooth
11-08-2008

Rated 0 
The link from the bridge ("Hey every other hour...") to the final chorus ("...seemed so brief but it wasn't...") is amazing.

Log in to reply
modernaudrey
11-30-2008

Rated 0 
favorite weakerthans song by far. "and i cant stop finding your face in their faces all rearranged." epic line. I think we can all relate.

Log in to reply
selador
01-08-2009

Rated 0 
Am am siding with the faction that thinks it is not a passenger, but just an ex. If it were a previous passenger, I don't see why he would be in her apartment. So they were involved romantically, but it was cut short for whatever reason. I think sund and Pakko hit the nail on the head. Anyone who has had a relationship end knows what it is like when you go past the place where he/she used to live, and the feelings that seem to come out of nowhere. How you can't stop thinking of that person. Then having to drive past her place several times a day and trying to get over her and move on. It is a very relatable song, written from an insanely creative perspective.

Log in to reply
stevo124
02-25-2009

Rated 0 
i feel that it is actually about a frequent bus rider, and the bus driver always felt some sort of connection with this particular passenger.. she was always staring at him, but he never stared back at her.. like he wishes he would have now.. he was always staring at the crack on the outside of an apartment. possibly even her apartment. all this time he thought he never could say something to her because he didnt have enough time "My chance to say something seemed so brief but it wasn't, now i know i had plenty of time". Now he realizes he could have and should have said something to her... and now he's always hoping to see her again but its not likely he will. that's my take on it.

Log in to reply




  • Add Your Comments
What does this song mean to you?

You must be logged in to post your comments.

Feel free to create an account with us, or log in with your existing account, to start adding your comments to songs.





Popular
Top:   Lyrics, Artists, Albums
Random:   Lyric, Artist, Album

Your Ad Here