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A plague in the workhouse, a plague on the poor
Now I'll beat on my drum 'til I'm dead
Yesterday, a fever, tomorrow, St. Peter
I'll beat on my drum until then.
But what melody will lead my lover from his bed?
What melody will see him in my arms again?
Set fire to foundation and burn out the station
You'll never get nothing of mine
The pane of my window will flicker and billow
I won't leave a stitching behind
But what melody will lead my lover from his bed?
What melody will see him in my arms again?
I'll sing of the walls of the well and the house at the top of the hill
I'll sing of the bottles of wine that we left on our old windowsill
I'll sing of the years you will spend getting sadder and older
Oh love, and the cold, the oncoming cold
Now I'll beat on my drum 'til I'm dead
Yesterday, a fever, tomorrow, St. Peter
I'll beat on my drum until then.
But what melody will lead my lover from his bed?
What melody will see him in my arms again?
Set fire to foundation and burn out the station
You'll never get nothing of mine
The pane of my window will flicker and billow
I won't leave a stitching behind
But what melody will lead my lover from his bed?
What melody will see him in my arms again?
I'll sing of the walls of the well and the house at the top of the hill
I'll sing of the bottles of wine that we left on our old windowsill
I'll sing of the years you will spend getting sadder and older
Oh love, and the cold, the oncoming cold
Lyrics submitted by cleverername
Track duration: 03:51
"Cliquot" as written by Zach Condon, Owen Pallett,
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I can see that, though. The first verse is pretty straightforward. The fever came; he's dying. So the narrator (let's say a he because what the fuck does it matter) wants his lover there with him. To die with him.
"Set fire to foundation and burn out the station
You'll never get nothing of mine"
To burn with him. Because that's what happens to plague victims. And that way, you know, they'll be together forever and he doesn't want his lover to move on.
The "I'll sing of.." bit is referring to the question "what melody", so he's trying to convince his lover to come and die with him, by song, because that is what you do in a song. Beating on his drum 'til his dead; convincing. He's singing about things that will make his lover feel guilty about abandoning him, because basically, the narrator is a really swell guy. Seriously though, it's a sad song.
And I know nothing.
Yes, the song can be in different perspectives. But the song is most likely about two male lovers. Owen himself is gay and he wrote the song. It's silly to think that he wrote it from the girls perspective, and not just about two male lovers.
I also like the idea of it relating to the tale of Francois Clicquot and his widow, it does nicely explain the title.
Outside of all of this I think people are putting way too much emphasis on Pallett's sexuality. Likewise they are putting too much emphasis on a small part of the song, when the lover is referenced as a man. Frankly there is only one gender being referenced, and that may very well have been intentional so it can go any way.
Instead of trying to figure out if Pallett intended the relationship as a homosexual one, we as listeners should instead interpret it as we shall. It's poetry not an essay, it's vague and meant to be so. There are gaps, that is the nature of the work, so we must write ourselves into the spaces and fill ourselves into the work, in this way we can connect deeper with the song.
"What melody will lead my lover from his bed?
What melody will see him in my arms again?"
The singers voice could raise the dead if they only knew how to sing it.
I feel that the song possibly alternates between the perspectives of the husband and wife, with the veses being sung by the dying François and the repeating refrain being sung by his wife, Barbe-Nicole.
The first verse would then be François in the knowledge of his impending death - "Yesterday; fever, tomorrow; St. Peter."
Following this pattern it seems that François possibly resents his wife who will inherit the successful Champagne company that the Cliquot's controlled - "Set fire to foundation and burn out the station;
You'll never get nothing of mine," angered by his premature death, he states that he will not leave her anything.
In this case, it is likely that the Bridge towards the end of the song is also François 'singing' of the world he is to leave behind, and of the 'years [his wife] will spend getting sadder and older.'
And, of course, the 'oncoming cold' being his death, and/or, her loneliness in life.
In reality, she did go on to successfully control the company.
Another amazing song Beirut have rendered beautifully.
lmao, that made no sense.
aside from that, on a personal note, this makes me recall a point in most of my relationships, one in particular, where i pined for my ex for months after we had called it quits. i listen to this song and think of him, and feel all those old feelings all over again.
absolutely beautiful song, as i've said about most beirut songs.