Lyrics for Cath... as interpreted by Si_duffers

Cath... Lyrics
Cath...
She stands with a well intentioned man
But she can't relax with his hands on the small of her back
As the flashbulbs burst she holds a smile
Like someone would hold a crying child

Soon everybody will ask what became of you
Your heart was dying fast and you didn't know what to do

Cath...
It seems that you live in someone else's dream
In a hand-me-down wedding dress
With the things that could have been are repressed
But you said your vows and you closed the door
On so many men who would have loved you more

Soon everybody will ask what became of you
Your heart was dying fast and you didn't know what to do
The whispers that it won't last roll up and down the pews
And if our hearts were dying that fast, they would have done the same as you
I'd have done the same as you

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qtpa2t
06-21-2007

Rated +1 
where can I listen to this? anyone know what CD its on? I can't find it!

xx

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3 Replies
AQShet
07-04-2007

Rated 0 
If you want to see Ben playing this solo, just check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uar8b5kFVWg

Hopefully he'll end up putting it on either a postal service cd or a death cab for cutie cd... though the fact he has little control over how postal service songs come out sounding would lead me to believe it would be the latter. Good song nonetheless (Come on, it's Ben Gibbard!)

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qtpa2t
07-07-2007

Rated 0 
ohh thank you thank you. this song is so beautiful.

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Si_duffers
07-09-2007

Rated 0 
Yeah this song is amazing, it's kinda weird there's only one video/audio reference for it anywhere! Something will hopefully turn up eventually :)

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shortandsweetem
07-29-2007

Rated 0 
It reminds me of Company Calls Epilogue. Any connections, maby?

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eitheror9
09-03-2007

Rated 0 
These beginning lyrics are wrong. They should be:

Cath, she stands
With a well intentioned man

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eitheror9
09-04-2007

Rated 0 
Oh, also, this part is wrong:

As the flesh holes burst
She holds a smile

should be:

As the flash bulbs burst
She holds a smile

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Si_duffers
10-26-2007

Rated 0 
Well i think you're wrong...

Just kidding they're changed, cheers for that!

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TDDx8
02-22-2008

Rated 0 
Confirmed to be on Narrow Stairs. New name is "Cath..."

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CoolJon25
03-25-2008

Rated 0 
The lyrics are updated now. Ben played the updated version this morning on BBC6 Radio. here are the lyrics:

Cath...
She stands with a well intentioned man.
But she can't relax with his hands on the small of her back.
As the flashbulbs burst she holds a smile.
Like someone would hold a crying child.

Soon everybody will ask what became of you.
Your heart was dying fast and you didn't know what to do.

Cath...
It seems that you live in someone else's dream.
In a hand-me-down wedding dress
With the things that could have been are repressed.
But you said your vows and you closed the door
On so many men who would have loved you more.

Soon everybody will ask what became of you.
Your heart was dying fast and you didn't know what to do.
The whispers that it won't last roll up and down the pews.
And if our hearts were dying that fast, they would have done the same as you.
I'd have done the same as you.

and here is a link to the newly recorded, updated version of cath...: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BHHN9NHT

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ellie117
03-26-2008

Rated 0 
i'm really liking this song. i can't fucking wait until May 13th.

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joeyjoey
03-27-2008

Rated 0 
shortandsweetem, yup i agree that it has the same sort of theme like company calls epilogue

straight forward meaning, i love the sound of it

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MCSmate
03-28-2008

Rated 0 
you can here it here from BBC6 Radio:

http://htfafsongs.com/Mar08/02%20Cath%20%28Live%20-%20Acoustic%29.mp3

or http://htfafsongs.com/Mar08/ and find the link for the song & right click save as to get it

Also, I really like this song

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hotexcelsior
03-30-2008

Rated 0 
Amazing.

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JACKIE THE HOBO
04-28-2008

Rated 0 
you also can download it on daytrotter. i heard it today and i love it.. the lyrics are pretty straight forward. my favourite is: "she holds a smile like someone would hold a crying child." i picture a very katherine hepburn-esque girl when i listen to this song. (i dont think this song is about her though)

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TDDx8
04-30-2008

Rated 0 
The studio version sounds incredible!

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TheGallows
05-04-2008

Rated 0 
I love that I got the album 9 days early, will still buy it though. This is one of my favorites on NS, and ya reminded me of Company Calls Epilogue.

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Donotello513
05-05-2008

Rated 0 
Arnt these lyrics just unbelievable. Ben Gibbard can paint such a clear picture with his lyrics its terrifying. Respect to him.

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KisstheRain1980
05-07-2008

Rated +2 
After listening several times to Cath I ll have to confess that this is one of my favourites on the new album. I can relate a little to a company calls epilogue, because it is about a collapsed relationship that has failed years ago. She bound to a men she's not truly loving but she cannot get out of the relationship because she doesn't know what she wants else. So she's kind of a "dead" living person with no private perspective. He still adores her, because I think he is one of the guys who have loved her more, but the last line shows that he can understand the decision she made. Despite that, I think he has won a more distant look at her over the years, he still cares about her.

Well, for me the first stanza is a photoshooting at a professional photograph. She plays her role, smiles for the picture and the man on her side is a husband making an official family portrait picture. The song continues that this couple has no future anymore, so the people will ask "what became of you" - maybe a question the storyteller of this song was asked years ago in a similar situation.

The second verse clearly shows that she lives in a preowned world that she never wanted to have, but she's forced to accept the current conditions of her life. She's unhappy, but still blocks options of the past to pull her out, because she doesn't know what she wants, even when one (or more) men still show some affection for her.

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1 Reply
Nickdude6
05-13-2008

Rated 0 
Greatttt-- a song about a loved failed from sqaure one

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teamkantner
05-13-2008

Rated 0 
Basically a song about a girl who cant keep steady relationships. She just sort explodes, and does her own chaotic thing

"Soon everybody will ask what became of you.
Your heart was dying fast and you didn't know what to do"

Then eventually seh gets married, but becasue of her chaos she cant keep a steady relationship.

"The whispers that it won't last roll up and down the pews"

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thespidersfrommars
05-13-2008

Rated 0 
Easily my favorite song on the album. Lyrics are so beautiful and the guitars just make it that much better. I love it.

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chadp123
05-15-2008

Rated +1 
according to ben gibbard, this is what the song means to him: "I wanted to create this character that's going through the motions, not really sure of why they're necessarily doing it because it's just the thing that they have to do at this point and it's expected that they're going to be doing this. It's not necessarily a story [about] any particular person in my life; it's as much an amalgam of a lot of different elements of how we move forward with our lives and what's expected of us and how we transition into those places."

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Broken24
05-19-2008

Rated +1 
I wish every 24-year old girl I see out at bachelorette parties would listen to this song.

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1 Reply
MattElla
05-20-2008

Rated 0 
that's creepy...i'm 24 and i'm getting married...therefore you may see me out for my bachelorette party.

In a hand-me-down wedding dress
With the things that could have been are repressed.
But you said your vows and you closed the door
On so many men who would have loved you more.

after that, i couldn't listen anymore...too much truth...

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