Not sure all these lyrics are correct but this seems to be about a brief (sexual) encounter and likening that to how everything (including our lives) are miniscule and brief in the grand scheme of things, ie drops in the river/ a brief encounter. Love this band!

What I hear:

Crown of leaves, high in the window on a cold morning
Young today, old as a railroad tomorrow
Days are just drops in the river to be lost always
Only you, only you, you know.

Years ago, birds of a feather would arrive nightly
Gone you know, held to another like clutched ivy
On the shore, speak to the ocean and receive silence
Only you, only you, you know.

You hesitate so my memory fade, I'll hold to the first one.
I wouldn't turn to another you say, on the long night we've made
Let it go.

Only you, only you, you know.
Only you, only you, you know.

You hesitate so my memory fade, I'll hold to the first one.
I wouldn't turn to another you say, on the long night we've made
Let it go.

Speak to me slow my dear,
No ghost of course in here,
Pleased to be lonesome quiet and clear,
All is alone in here.

The crown of leaves is a symbol of ecstacy, revelry, intoxication, etc. It is associated with Bacchus, the god of said things. In the first verse, it's the morning after those events. The narrator is putting things into perspective- this is a fleeting moment.

I believe in the second verse the narrator is reflecting upon earlier days when he was younger and wilder. Now, he is alone and looking back on his past relationships. "On the shore, speak to the ocean and receive silence" is a powerful line. It could be that the 'shore' is the narrator's view of the future, and he feels alone.

I think we get down to brass tacks in the chorus: the narrator misses somebody who doesn't miss him back. He's remembering the night they had together, but knows he must "let it go". And, in the final section, he's resigned himself to his fate.

I LOVE THIS SONG SO FREAKING MUCH!

It rocks

I'm pretty convinced it's actually "Here as the caves of my memory fade."

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