Lyrics for Tiger Mountain Peasant Song as interpreted by wonderfulmetropolis

Tiger Mountain Peasant Song Lyrics
Wanderers this morning came by
Where did they go
Graceful in the morning light
To banner fair
To follow you softly
In the cold mountain air

Through the forest
Down to your grave
Where the birds wait
And the tall grasses wave
They do not
know you anymore

Dear shadow alive and well
How can the body die
You tell me everything
Anything true

In the town one morning I went
Staggering through premonitions of my death
I don't see anybody that dear to me

Dear shadow alive and well
How can the body die
You tell me everything
Anything true

Jesse
I don't know what I have done
I'm turning myself to a demon
I don't know what I have done
I'm turning myself to a demon

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  • 19 Comments
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Hippybuggsgirl
12-28-2009

Rated 0 
A more or less impressionistic take on the duality of life and death. Beautiful song...very well done!

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raptor15
11-14-2009

Rated 0 
This is such a wonderful, beautiful, painful song. I agree with most of the interpretations. This song has always reminded me of the film Let There Be Blood. It reminds me of the torturous, demon nature of the main character. Don't believe this song has anything to do with LTBB though. I think it is definitely about death, maybe even a ghost who can't "pass over".

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scouchie
07-10-2009

Rated 0 
i really enjoy this song....his voice is amazing...
found this little post on a thread on youtube...thought it was pretty interesting.

"The Fleet Foxes chief songwriter Robin Pecknold told Mojo magazine January 2009 about this reflection on mortality and loss. He explained: "My grandpa had just died and I was thinking about him. He was such a sweet guy. And the underlying influence in all this is the old English folk songs that I heard in the Lake District because they're not obvious and the melodies are weird and sophisticated."

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waymundo
06-28-2009

Rated 0 
I hiked tiger mountain yesterday! twas fun, but sore now..

Anyways, I don't think the first word is "wonderous" because "wanderers" would make the lyric make sense. essentially, "wanderers came by this morning."

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olivine27
05-08-2009

Rated 0 
There is a town in Washington near Seattle named Banner, so "to Banner fair" is probably correct.

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bikusficus
04-26-2009

Rated 0 
I think this is about the alcoholism that is prevalent in appalachian communities, and the narrators battle with self-hate and guilt.

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shorty61292
04-16-2009

Rated 0 
I agree with ^vivamusik^ First Aid Kit does a great interpretation of this song.

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vivamusik
03-03-2009

Rated 0 
love this song
the first version I heard was actually a cover by 'first aid kit' (an awesome swedish sister duo, you should check out) i fell in love with their unique voices and harmonies so hearing the fleet foxes version caught me a little off guard
still a beautiful song
i do suggest youtubeing the 'first aid kit' cover though

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lala_zeus
02-16-2009

Rated +1 
I find myself humming this song all the time! It is so lovely and very haunting. I agree with a lot of the comments posted here and i think this song can mean so many different things because it has so much emotion and feeling. Its a great song from a great singer. This is the type of music our generation needs to be listening to.

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onequestion
02-06-2009

Rated 0 
I see it more as the pervading feeling of alienation from God. "They do not know you (God) anymore." There is nothing to hold on to, no faith in the face of the realization that we must die. Jesse I believe is a biblical reference to Jesse,the father of David in the old testement. The Tree of Jesse, depicted in medieval Christian art, depicts the lineage of Jesus coming from Jesse. I believe the name is invoked here as a plea for the revival of a promise of a coming messiah, but right away there is the awareness again of separation from god, (demonic)sin, and hopelessness.

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kevhecat84
02-02-2009

Rated 0 
I agree this song is about grief/mourning.

The line about the grave surrounded by tall grass is a very sad and haunting image,
as is 'Staggering through premonitions of my death, I don't see anyone that dear to me'

Goes to show, behind the all pretty melodies and harmonies theres some dark stuff on this album.

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clemoh
11-14-2008

Rated +2 
This song is about murder. The protagonist observes a search party making their way along the mountain ridge and back into town in the early morning hours, seeking the dearly departed. They do not find the body, but the killer/protagonist regrets his terrible act, and considers the victim's relationship to the landscape and culture of the region. Jesse is a particularly ambiguous and asexual name; it can refer either to a friend or lover. The killer is haunted by the spirit of the victim, and finds it increasingly difficult to ignore what they have done. They have taken the life of a kindred spirit and mentor, and are lost without their guidance.

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2 Replies
xocouturecouture
09-30-2008

Rated -1 
i loooove this song. on repeat. i agree with whats said before me tho, all plausible ideas.

i reaaaallly wanna play this song.. in any format! does anyoen know the chords etc?

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Neonnoodle
08-30-2008

Rated +2 
Beautiful. I think it's interesting if you throw some question marks after a few of the lyrics:

"Dear shadow alive and well?
How can the body die?
You tell me everything?
Anything true?"

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deadwing89
08-26-2008

Rated +1 
I think the narrator, at least in the first verse, is talking about someone dear to him who diead, maybe "Jesse":
Through the forest
Down to your grave
Where the birds wait
And the tall grasses wave
They do not
know you anymore

I feel like this paints a scene where a dear friend's burial site is forgotten, as grass grew back in and birds land there, "They don't know you anymore"

The rest of the lyrics seem to suggest that the narrator thinks he will follow in the same fate as his friend, or, that somehow he is responsible for his friend's death "I don't know what I have done/ I'm turning myself into a demon" and that he is awaiting his punishment/death

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icamethird
08-26-2008

Rated -2 
I agree on the first word, i think it's wonderous too !!

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Davel62
07-17-2008

Rated 0 
I love this song! I think wonderous not wanderers is the first lyric and "to benefit" in the fourth line. But that aside, I agree with songyone to a large degree. A lonely man who feels alienated from the world as he sees it now (probably through a lost love) on the verge of suicide or insanity. I think the first line implies a disbelief that he is still alive, maybe a feeling alcholics have (but i'm no expert). The second verse, he's retracing steps that once had meaning but no longer have, and the third verse is about alianation. Just my take on it but hey what a great song, hope you enjoy as much as I.

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songyone
07-09-2008

Rated +2 
^^ agreed... :)
I think this song describes the experience of grief. He sees the wanderers and the birds and the grass, but none of them knows his lost loved one anymore. He stills knows her and feels her with him. He is scared of his own death, but there is really no one close enough to him to bind him to life anymore. Even at the end when he says he is turning himself into a demon. I think it refers to letting himself go mad with grief.

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chickenflicker
04-05-2008

Rated 0 
Haunting and beautiful and lovely and gorgeous.

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