This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
He could fall and she could weep
But as holy are her feet and hard with mention
But dear they may not speak
We fell tight when there is tension and their eyes could make us weak
And his heart was full of fire at the man he had become
And his soul was seldom higher with the falsities of fun
He could embrace sweet desire as in moments as they pass
But he feared it ever more, when he saw it didn't last
We walk up Holland avenue
and watch the rich as they consume
Their product made our hearts exude emptiness unrivalled by
The hunger that I could control
And he'd pray up to his God that he might save his soul
But the grey in this city is too much to bear
The grey in this city is too much to bear
And I believe you are meant to be seen but not to be understood
And I want to be held those eyes
I want to be held those eyes
You'll work your thumbs till they're sore
And you'll work my heart till it's raw
and you'll call and you'll call but you'll never be told
and I'll fall and I'll fall and I'll fall
and I'll fall and I'll fall and I'll fall
We are basic lies
We are basic lies
It's going to be pretty tough when you leave
You'll help to take a little part of me
To make sure you don't treat yourself mean
And I want to see all that you'll see
And we are basic lies
And we are basic lies
But as holy are her feet and hard with mention
But dear they may not speak
We fell tight when there is tension and their eyes could make us weak
And his heart was full of fire at the man he had become
And his soul was seldom higher with the falsities of fun
He could embrace sweet desire as in moments as they pass
But he feared it ever more, when he saw it didn't last
We walk up Holland avenue
and watch the rich as they consume
Their product made our hearts exude emptiness unrivalled by
The hunger that I could control
And he'd pray up to his God that he might save his soul
But the grey in this city is too much to bear
The grey in this city is too much to bear
And I believe you are meant to be seen but not to be understood
And I want to be held those eyes
I want to be held those eyes
You'll work your thumbs till they're sore
And you'll work my heart till it's raw
and you'll call and you'll call but you'll never be told
and I'll fall and I'll fall and I'll fall
and I'll fall and I'll fall and I'll fall
We are basic lies
We are basic lies
It's going to be pretty tough when you leave
You'll help to take a little part of me
To make sure you don't treat yourself mean
And I want to see all that you'll see
And we are basic lies
And we are basic lies
Lyrics submitted by crumbs, edited by siliconyoda, starvingartist79
Alpha Shallows Lyrics as written by Laura Beatrice Marling
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Official lyrics from lauramarling.com:
He could fall and shake and weep, By his holy are my feet, And heart with mention the dear that may not speak, We feel tight when there is tension, And our eyes can make us weep.
And his heart was full of fire, At the man he had become, And his soul was seldom higher, With the falsities of fun, Could embrace sweet desires in moments as they pass, but He feared ever more, he saw it didn't last.
We walk up Holland Avenue, And watch the rich as they consume, That product made our hearts exude, an emptiness unrivalled by, The hunger that I could control, He'd pray up to his God that he might save their soul.
The grey in this city is too much to bear, The grey in this city is too much to bear, And I believe we are meant to be seen, And not to be understood.
And I want to be held by those arms, I want to be held by those arms.
You'll work your thumbs `till they're sore, And you'll work my heart until it's raw, And you'll call and you'll call but you'll never be told. And I'll fall and I'll fall and I'll fall, And I'll fall and I'll fall and I'll fall.
We are basic light, we are basic light.
i think it's "i want to be held by those ARMS", not eyes. amazing song, my favourite off the new album.
Such an unbelievably great sound, esp the first half.
Amazing how much she grew since "Alas"
the last two lines are we are basic LIGHT we are basic LIGHT if it was lies it would totally change the meaning of the whole song
My opinion is that the man in the song is troubled by himself and by the world around him and he's trying to find the meaning to his life, while trying to save the rest of the world. A very difficult task when your own faith is shaken raw each morning and each emotion feels like its only a passing phase. The women keeps the mans spirit up. She believes that maybe what he was doing is the answer, to not understand "the rich as they consume" because it is not part of him but to continue in his toils to try and save them. And not be too hard on his self because he has a good heart. My biggest problem is i always believe the songs about a personal experience the writter had but Laura says thats most of the time not the case in plenty of her interviews and some come from stories...
'And I believe you are meant to be seen but not to be UNDERSTOOD.'
isn't it rather "You'll HAVE to take a little part of me" ? and i was thinking it's "and watch the riches they consume" (not rich as), but maybe i want to hear that. ;) wonderful song.
There is so much going on in this song. I'm not sure where to begin. Some of it seems so straightforward, and other parts are more elusive, and I'm not sure how all the pieces fit together.
BRAVE NEW WORLD.
do you think she wrote it based off of the novel? didn't mean for this to be two posts but I suppose the effect's a little more dramatic now. It fits entirely in my opinion and justifies the title... the lyrics can be interpreted to support Lenina's perspective, but deals most heavily with Max and John + such... what do you all think?
john darnielle's alpha couple songs? "alpha negative," "alpha rats nest," etc. that's what i though of. beautiful anyway. i think the twist she puts on the last lines is lovely - even if the official lyrics are "basic light," there's a nice light/lies/life ambiguity there.