Beautiful. This is about Ben going to Big Sur. He spent a couple weeks in a cabin where Jack Kerouac stayed and wrote a large portion of Narrow Stairs there.

Well, it is about Big Sur... but Ben has said that he wasn't able to write much of Narrow Stairs while he was there. It's more about he couldn't get the inspiration from Kerouac/Big Sur that he thought he would to help him write new songs. It's all about disillusionment, both with the trip, and with life in general.

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" descended a dusty gravel ridge
Beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge
And soon I eventually arrived
At the place where your soul had died"

This verse describes Ben's arrival at the cottage in Big Sur, CA. At this cabin, Jack Kerouac wrote Big Sur which was an autobiographical tale of the nervous breakdown he suffered at the same cabin some years earlier.

Barefoot in the shallow creek
I grabbed some stones from underneath
Waiting for you to speak to me

Kerouac spent days drinking from the creek, if i recall correctly to drink and bathe. Perhaps Ben expected Kerouac to appear to him and reveal some big truth to him about life/the universe etc.

And the silence, it became so very clear
That you had long ago disappeared
And I cursed myself for being surprised
That this didn't play like it did in my mind

Obviously, the epitomie from Kerouac never came, and thus Ben is dissapointed.

All the way from San Francisco
As I chased the end of your road
Because I've still got miles to go

The "end of your road" is symbolism of kerouac losing his mind at this location, and perhaps Ben thinking he would find answers to some sort of questions at this location. Alas, he still "has miles to go" before he finds these truths.

I want to know my fate if I keep up this way
It's hard to want to stay away
And everyone you meet all seem to be asleep
You wonder if you're missing your dream
Can't see your dream
Can't see your dream
Just can't see your dream
Dream
Dream
Dream
Dream
Dream
Dream
Dream
Dream

Not really sure what he's talking about here.

Then it started getting dark
And I trudged back to where the car was parked
No closer to any kind of truth
As I must assume was the case with you

At nightfall Ben gives up on finding his epitomie, and realises that Kerouac probably did the same thing 50/60 years ago.

Both of you are very right. The story can be applied to anybody who has ever expected to have an epifany at some meaningful location

I realized i spelled epiphany completely wrong and forgot to spell check it, that is what bixby is about......

"I want to know my fate if I keep up this way
It's hard to want to stay away
And everyone you meet all seem to be asleep
You wonder if you're missing your dream
Can't see your dream
Can't see your dream
Just can't see your dream
Dream
Dream
Dream
Dream
Dream
Dream
Dream
Dream"


well. considering the context the rest of the song puts this passage in, i feel like this is a cry from Ben to someone else seeking the same answers as him (the "big truth about life/the universe" herringha mentioned?). because we all know how lonely it can be when you can't find another soul to comprehend the thoughts you have, or perhaps, in ben's case, the answers he's searching for.

so to seriously dissect this: 1) he's asking what will become of him if he continues to search for that knowledge, because 2) he's finding it hard to give up the quest, regardless of the letdowns he has faced/may face. 3) when he speaks of everyone else being asleep, i believe he's talking about all the ignorance in this world. how most people are oblivious to the great information Ben wishes to receive..the goal he's illustrated with this song is unknown to most. and 4) how alone this realization can make him feel. which, in turn, can 5) make one wonder if he's the only one, if he's missing what seems to continuously fill the brains of those other people, content without the great status of achievement Ben's been searching for. 6) he describes that contentness with the analogy of sleeping peacefully with their dreams, and he's wondering if he's just missing his dream.

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Amazing opener.

This song is about Jack Kerouac.

if I'm not mistaken Kerouac was sober during his stay at the cabin, but continues his alcoholic ways when he up and hitchhikes back to San Fransisco..its a good book i suggest you read it

Keroauc=Big Sur
Big Sur=Bixby Canyon Bridge
Bixby Canyon Bridge=Ben Gibbard
Therefore
Ben Gibbard=Keroauc

after my first time thru the album, this was easily my favorite...

the order of the tracks on his albums are always perfection

I was so sure that he was saying

"It's hard to want to stay AWAKE"

since the next couple lines are talking about sleep and whatnot. I still think that's what he's saying :D

This song is more or less ben follwing jack kerouac and finding that his presence is long gone and forgotten. Ben then realizes that he may suffer the same fate as jack did..."I want to know my fate if I keep up this way
It's hard to want to stay away" Since ben wants to follow in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac. Awesome song, and sorta reminds me of "We looked like Giants", in terms of having the awesome jam sessions at the end.

It's "stay awake," not "stay away." That set of lines is really great.

It is an AMAZING opener BUT Im a little confused by this album. It seems upbeat in a way with a faster tempo but the songs lack the depth one would expect from Death Cab. I love the album but all I'm saying is that Compared to Something about Airplanes or the Photo album, this one is light on the mind. Altogether, its a really good album.

Like all of their recent albums, Narrow Stairs paints a vivid portrait of the tribulations of the oft-wounded heart. While it is more lyrically ‘narrow’ with less wordplay, vocabulary builders, or hidden meanings, it does continue the DCFC tradition of melancholy songs played to both beautiful but tragic ballads and upbeat poppy tunes. Some of the sounds are different than albums of old, but all, new and old, are good listening. I think that, much like transatlanticism, this album follows the path of Gibbard’s failures in building and maintaining relationships. While more concrete, the epiphany of this album is that with time and age failed relationships cannot so easily be overcome or cast aside. While the conclusions drawn are somewhat pitiful, they imply that you have to settle, whether that be settling to stay with someone who isn’t ‘the one’ or settling to be alone. This isn’t a departure from Ben Gibbard’s generally depressive view of the world, but it certainly shows that he hasn’t found, even in all his success, reason to maintain a smile. Thankfully, the melodies he and Walla imbue on the listening audience give many reasons to smile.

In the first song, Bixby Canyon Bridge, the narrator is looking for someone he once knew – himself. While there are implications that he wants to resurrect Kerouac, what he really wants to do is see his life play out how he envisioned it. He dreams, and sees what he’d like, but alas, it is nothing more than a dream. The album could be conceived as something of a day-dream, but one that takes reality and shows that the dream he wants isn’t conceivable. In song two, I Will Possess Your Heart, the reverie continues – it’s moved, no longer in a placid canyon but now in a trancy club or at a Phish concert (the into is sort of Phishy) – a place where a younger version of the narrator was – and where he found his current beau. He is very confident, cocky in fact, that she will love him if she spends any time with him. However, the tone is so dominant that never does the heart have a human side, it is an object to be possessed and while he refers to the girl as ‘love’, it is hard to see him expressing any genuine love in this type of relationship. No Sunlight is the hangover. He wakes up after coming home from the club, and while he’s surrounded by familiar settings that once brought him joy, they no longer do. The remains of his drink cloud his mind as he thinks back on what he’s been and experienced and loses any sense of optimism he ever had. While he acts happy and plays a happy tune, the truth is that he’s a sour a grape as you can meet at this point in the album… In Cath, our tragic hero recalls the wedding of a good friend and former crush. She, like he, has a dying heart. Unlike him, however, she acts on it and gets married. While hers isn’t the best of marriages, it will suffice and at least keep her heart from being totally dead. While the narrator says he would do the same thing, the next few songs show this isn’t really true. In his relationship he and his significant other treat each other like talking birds. They have lots to say, but it isn’t ever meaningful. They both dare each other to leave one another, but both are too much the coward to actually do fly away. Why does he stay? You Can Do Better Than Me says its because he doesn’t think he can find someone else who he will feel better, more in love, or more comfortable with although he knows she can do better than him. They’re both stagnating the relationship because they’re afraid of being alone. In Grapevine Fires, the tone shifts, the world, or at least Wine Country, burns and the burning in cleansing. The girl’s daughter dances at the cemetery and makes him think that death, or more metaphorically endings, are something to admire, not fear. In ‘Your New Twin Sized Bed’ the couple thinks of a mutual friend who slept in a queen bed thinking that would lead someone to fall out of the sky and into their life. While a painful decision to be alone, the new bed serves as an admission that the friend failed in their attempt to find a partner, and stops their inertial thinking, the girl sees that you don’t have to be in a relationship. They both see theirs is going nowhere in Long Division. They dislike each other, she thinks he’s deceitful. He’s drawn to every open door. They don’t want to be a remainder, but both see that being the remainder of themselves is better than the minuscule remainder of their longstanding long division love-hate fling. That’s why after all the fear, all the wondering if they’ll leave one another and wishing things would be better, she finally cuts the cord in ‘Pity and Fear’ so that they no longer have to be in a relationship which sports a ravine between them. Its abrupt, and so the song ends abruptly. The narrator acknowledges that he should have seen this coming in ‘The Ice is Getting Thinner’ but was still surprised. She sees how pitiful he’s become and pushes him over the cliff. He doesn’t have the confidence he did back in ‘I will Possess Your Heart’, he realized that he will have to go on, into the ocean or the smoke of the vineyard fire alone knowing he cannot climb back up the ledge and catch her. The mood is sad, but doesn’t have the same lamentation of previous albums. He thinks he could have been better for Cath but doesn’t obsess about her like he did in Company Calls. He knows he’ll miss his girl, but he won’t call her like he did in Lack of Color. He’s resolved to go on into the adult future alone. Its only mildly cathartic as all along we see that he’s lost his sunlight and that therefore there’s no reason to do anything but pity him.

Some of you seem to have nailed it, like really gotten the meaning. But if I may, this is what I hear in one sentence.

Can no one help me find what I am looking for in life?

this song is my favourite off of Narrow Stairs.
To me, it sounds like something that should've been on Plans.

I think this song is one of the strongest on the whole album.

I really can't disagree with anyone above me.
This reminds me of Couches and Alleys by Ben, both of which songs are about Jack Kerouac.

beautifully written.

fast becoming one of my fave death cab songs.

i feel ya ben.

I originally thought this song was about a girl who hung hersel of the bixby canyon bridge but i guess i was reading in to deep after seeing your guys comments.

best song on the album, i would have to say, there's an awesome musical tranistion in the middle.

Before reading the comments on the Kerouac reference's, i had my own idea:

I got the impression that Gibbard is writting about visiting a place where someone close to him had committed suicide.

"At the place where your soul had died"

The person had given up hope here.

"And waited for you to speak to me

And the silence, it became so very clear
That you had long ago disappeared
I cursed myself for being surprised
That this didn't play like it did in my mind"

He went to the place hoping for closure, but realised that he was in denial thinking going to the ridge would make him feel any better about everything.


"No closer to any kind of truth
As I must assume was the case with you"

The person presumed he/she would find the answers to 'life' in death, but did not.

That's that really. Just my interpretation... peace

I want to know my fate if I keep up this way
It's hard to want to stay awake
And everyone you meet they all seem to be asleep
You wonder if you're missing your dream
You can't see your dream
You can't see your dream
You just can't see your dream

thats my favorite part. but i think its "when everyone you meet" rather than "AND everyone you meet"
and
"you wonder if youre missing the dream" and then "you cant see a dream etc etc" not "your" dream.

i translated those lyrics myself, without looking at them beforehand and thats what i had gotten. and i think its right. but whatever. i really like that part of the song, it just speaks to me... its like everyone you meet isn't really there, or is focusing on something else, and you seem to have one thing in mind while everyone else is scattered.. there are probably other meanings but thats how i found it. or that other people around you arent really even THERE, and you seem to yourself that youre the only one being real and everyone is just floating through life, and you wonder if youre missing something by being so focused or being so serious all the time... and maybe you should just live? i dont know. those are some meanings i got from it. or he could just be talking literally, as in people seem to be ASLEEP and you wonder if youre missing a DREAM but that doesnt really make sense in the real world. hah.
but thats my favorite part, its beautiful.

Then it started getting dark
And I trudged back to where the car was parked
No closer to any kind of truth
As I must assume was the case with you

ahhhhhhhhh so great. the end is so haunting but so compelling.