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There is a house by the sea
Two jealous sisters, they're waiting for me
And one is laid on the floor
And one is changing the locks on the doors
And I've been buying the time on my knees
And I've been selling their blankets to bleed (on)
Around the house by the sea
The scent of roses and raspberry leaves
And there is smoke in my clothes
Too much time with just smoke in my nose
And I've been making the meaning they lack
And I've been burning that book they come back too
There is a house by the sea
And an ocean between it and me
And like the shape of a wave
The jealous sisters will sing on my grave
And I've been living to run where they led
And I've been dying to rise from their bed
And I've been sparing my neck from their chain
And they've been changing the sound of my name
And I've been swimming to them in my sleep
And I've been dreaming our love and our freedom
Two jealous sisters, they're waiting for me
And one is laid on the floor
And one is changing the locks on the doors
And I've been buying the time on my knees
And I've been selling their blankets to bleed (on)
Around the house by the sea
The scent of roses and raspberry leaves
And there is smoke in my clothes
Too much time with just smoke in my nose
And I've been making the meaning they lack
And I've been burning that book they come back too
There is a house by the sea
And an ocean between it and me
And like the shape of a wave
The jealous sisters will sing on my grave
And I've been living to run where they led
And I've been dying to rise from their bed
And I've been sparing my neck from their chain
And they've been changing the sound of my name
And I've been swimming to them in my sleep
And I've been dreaming our love and our freedom
Lyrics submitted by sethbrown
Track duration: 04:22
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There is a house by the sea.
Two jealous sisters, they’re waiting for me.
They wait; one patient, the other restless.
She lies on the floor, sprawled on the lush rug with her loose curls framing her beautiful face. Her body motionless, defying any sign of life, only her eyes are alive. Unblinking eyes pupils contracting and expanding, awaiting my arrival.
She pries open the lock on the door, fiddling with the insides. Her body tense with excitement but hands moving swiftly. Eyes gleam with anticipation. I thin smile on her dry lips marveling her own cunning. When I come as I inevitably must, I will not be able to leave the same way as before.
I’ve been begging on my knees for time, time before I must return to them and hide my bleeding wounds with their blankets, blankets that try desperately to slowthe flow but failing miserably.
My despair rises up like smoke from smoldering coal, meandering its way through my clothes, choking me with every breath. The sweet scent of roses and raspberry leaves invites me to the house by the sea, willing me to shed my smoky clothes and be embraced by the sweet fragrance of submission.
I come again to fill in their void, make meaning of their existence. I am the soul that whispers life into their arcane bodies.
There is a house by the sea.
An ocean stands between it and me. As I wade through the turbulent waters, they come like a wave sweeping me to the bottom. There they lay me gently, easing me into my grave. They sing on my grave, coaxing me to lay there.
I’ve been living to follow where they beckon, running down the treacherous path they lead me on. Aching for a chance to escape their bed, where they hold me, jealously tearing at me, and tossing me between them. Desperately I try to spare my neck from their chains, for if I am bound they will never let me go. For eternity they shall feed on me, gouging out bits of me, fighting for every last morsel of my soul.
They call to me, twisting my name on their wicked tongues that I don’t know what my name is supposed to sound like.
Still everything I do leads me to them, in my slumber I have been edging towards them. My dreams of our love and our freedom betray me to their beds, to the house by the sea.
Sam is just doing his thing of putting a unique twist to a bible story. You always have to keep in mind that Sam is one of those writers that admits to throwing in nonsense lines just cause they sound good. I don't think he intends for his lyrics to be overly dissected.
The story is told from what would typically be Jesus's perspective...the narrator's role is morphed into that of one who visits the women, charms them, but is trying to avoid being bound to them.
One sister is addiction (any kind) while the other is the will to fight the addiction.
It seems like there might be some drug references with the scents and the smoke and it seems like it's something he's really struggling with.
It's hard to describe, but it's like he feels like neither one of them is good and he'd love to just get away from #1 addiction and #2 the need to fight the addiction. If it were up to him he wouldn't have to worry about either, but it's what his whole life has turned into. That's all he focuses on and does (the last few lines). Ultimately though, they'll both sing on his grave because one or the other will kill him.
I think even if you 'dislike' politics you have to see its relevance in this song..
I read somewhere as well that this album Sam planned on tackling wider themes and whilst avoiding a propaganda style protest record he did have some commentary re: Americans re-electing Bush.
Its a shame not many song-writers comment on the political endeavours of the UK. Its all about new shoes and being drunk in a club with the music over here... dumb, just dumb.
As always though other peoples interpretations hold up so it's really about what the song means to you.
KwahDB
He's not deeply religious, but he uses the stories from the Bible so that others can relate with whatever point he's trying to get across: Jezebel, Cain and Abel, and Mary and Martha...
In the first verse, I feel that the sisters have something amorous going on with the singer, who is clearly male; this is perhaps the cause of their jealousy towards each other, or towards any other women he looks at. The one laying on the floor is being inviting and enticing, and the one changing the locks is conspiring to keep the man there. The part about buying their time on his knees seems to refer to the fact that, in lots of hormone-centered relationships like this one, the guy humbles himself before the girl to get into her pants.
The second verse is describing how heavenly the house by the sea is; how great it is when everybody's natural instincts co-incide and love-making is what's going down. Roses and raspberry leaves smell pretty good, and having smoke in your nose, whether it's tobacco or a more illicit substance, is a fun, meaningless thing you do in luxury. Maybe this also links to their being two girls instead of your normal one-on-one relationship - the house by the sea is an irresistable male fantasy."Making the meaning they lack" could refer to the man thinking up reasons to be there, and him "burning the book they come back to" means that he's rejecting their reasons - they think he should stay there, start a family.
In the third verse, the man has left the sisters and has travelled far away, putting an ocean between himself and that heavenly house. "Like the shape of a wave," their regard from him goes from a zenith of love and mating to a nadir of celebrating his death.
The final six lines are particularly potent, amptly and poetically summarizing the relationship. 1: he lives for them, hopelessly in love, and he goes whenever they do. 2-3: Their control over him tightens, and his instincts want him to escape and roam. This goes from simply wanting to leave to trying to escape the metaphysical bondage he's in. 4: They don't call him Sam Beam (or whatever) like they used to, now the name is full of responsability and expectations. 5-6: Having left, he still dreams of the pleasure of that house, and he dreams of "love and freedom" co-existing somehow.