Lay me down
Lay me down
Lay me down
Lay me down

Don't give in
Don't give in
Don't give in
Don't give in

Don't give in
Don't give in
Don't give in
Don't give in

Come to me
Come to me
Come to me
Come to me

Lay me down
Lay me down
Lay me down
Lay me down

Lay me down
Lay me down
Lay me down
Lay me down

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh



Lyrics submitted by chickenflicker

Track duration: 03:32


Quiet Houses song meanings
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13 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:I am not sure anyone could exactly say what this song means, since so much of the meaning is left to the listener. However, what I picture when I hear the song (with "darkening" in place of "don't give in") is someone calling out to another, most likely a lover. To me, this song is about a person who, as the night starts to fall, laments not having his/her lover with him/her.
    The first stanza of "lay me down" is the narrator thinking of the lover, the second stanza is the narrator noticing the darkness, and the third stanza reinforces the importance of the darkness to the narrator. The fourth stanza signifies the narrator wishing/asking for the lover to come back and be with him/her. The fifth stanza is the narrator realizing what he lost when he lost his/her lover, and the sixth stanza reinforces the importance of this to the narrator with repetition.
    The music supports this somewhat as well. The fast pace of the guitar-plucking seems almost frantic, and the bass drum sounds almost like a heartbeat. The narrator is scared. Some of the percussion elements drop out for the first to lines of "come to me," almost as if the narrator is holding his/her breath as he/she thinks about it (the guitar symbolizing racing thoughts). Then the elements such as tambourine rejoin the sound, as if he/she is feeling the momentary hope of the lover coming back recede.
    This is just what I hear, but with the vagueness of the lyrics, it is up to anyone's interpretation. That is part of the beauty in this song, and indeed the beauty in many of the songs produced by Fleet Foxes.
    Flag benjaminkon October 26, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I kinda heard "Docking in" as opposed to Don't give in or Darkening. Those two make more sense than what I hear.

    Going out on a limb here, and rationalizing to the best of my ability, lets assume docking in is correct.
    We then get:

    Lay me down - the course is being laid out and likely the shortest point between A and B.
    Docking in - the sailor or whoever is finally docking in at his destination
    Come to me - either the sailor's wife is calling to him or vice versa in one of those slow mo running towards each other kind of moments
    Lay me down - someones getting a little something something, with the oooooh ooooohs in for good measure.

    If it isn't docking in and is darkening instead, song gets kind of grim, as someone may be dieing/already dead, at least in my opinion. I'd like to think the song is a happy one however.

    As for the whispered part I can make this out of the first line:

    Quiet houses, lit up by candle light, in the pale of the night

    In a youtube video I can hear the second line as:
    Count your blessings, say goodbye, say goodbye, (something random goes here)

    That second line is a pain in the ass, I can't separate his voice from the instruments well enough.
    Flag Wingdingoon March 03, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Yeah i'm also curious as to what he sings in the end..it comes in somewhere around 2:30
    Flag what do i geton February 02, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:does anyone else hear whispering towards the end?
    if so what is robin saying?
    beautiful song, love the harmony.
    Flag randy79on June 24, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Hehe! Donkey Land? Well, that would be strange, for sure! I hear "darkening" with headphones on.
    Flag Hippybuggsgirlon January 04, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I kept hearing "Donkey Land", that's what brought me here. "Darkening" is much cooler. *lol*
    Flag LacyNicoleon August 16, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Haha cdn42, it was actually someone questioning if "donkey man" was the lyric that prompted Skye to confirm it was "darkening". So nope - not the only one! :)
    Flag meminemon April 26, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Am I the only one hearing 'Donkey man'?
    Flag cdn42on April 01, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I thought it said Darken air. Ha i was off.
    Anyways beautiful song even if it is
    just a few words being said over and
    over.

    I love it. Always will. <3
    Flag pecknoldbanharton March 16, 2009   Link
  • +5
    General Comment:It's actually "darkening", not "don't give in". Skye confirmed it after their Cambridge gig in November. Is this going to blow peoples' minds regarding their translation, or just make it easier to decide on said translation?
    Flag meminemon December 29, 2008   Link

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