[Colin]
Mother I can hear your foot-fall now
Soft disturbance in the dead-fall how
It proceeds you like a black smoke pall
Still the wanting comes in waves
And you delivered me from danger then
Pulled my cradle from the reedy glen
Swore to save me from the world of men

Still the wanting comes in waves
In waves
And waves
And the wanting comes in waves
And the wanting comes in waves

And I want this night
And I want this night
Oh

[Shara]
How I made you
I wrought you, I pulled you
From war I labored you
From cancer I cradled you
And now

This is how I am repaid
This is how I am repaid

Remember when I found you
The miseries that hounded you
And I gave you motion
Anointed with lotions
And now

This is how I am repaid
This is how I am repaid

[Colin]
Mother hear this proposition right
Grant me freedom to enjoy this night
And I'll return to you at break of light
For the wanting comes in waves
And waves
And waves
Still the wanting comes in waves
Still the wanting comes in waves
Still the wanting comes in waves
And you owe me life
And you owe me life

[Shara]
And if I grant you this favor to hand you
Your life for the evening
I will retake by morning
And so
Consider it your debt repaid
Consider it your debt repaid
Repaid
Repaid



Lyrics submitted by lazzyhorse

Track duration: 06:26

"The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid" as written by Colin Meloy

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC

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The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid song meanings
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25 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:This is where things begin to come together for me.

    "Swore to save me from the world of men" - For a split second, I wondered if he was gay. Then I crossed that off my mental list of possibilities.

    Running with the assumption that Margie and Will are singing from afar, I'm going to assume that Will is waiting for Mom (Queen) and knows that she did some nice forest voodoo magic to save him from scorn, but his wanting for Margie is upon him and he is tired of keeping some old woman company.

    On a sidenote, the Queen makes her grand appearance with some pretty bada** music and strong vocals. Very nice.

    Anywho, Queen agrees Will can have one night with Marge. Either they've been singing from afar, and he can now go to her; or they're already together, and they get to finish out their night. The first seems to make more sense at the moment.
    Flag SwimmingInSunDropon May 27, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I don't quite agree with the theory that William is Isaiah, though I do think he may have been either dead, crippled, injured, dying, or some combination of the above when the Queen found him. If he was a crippled baby that would be why he was abandoned, actually. "The miseries that hounded you/And I gave you motion" is the Queen reminding him how she healed his deformity/injury.

    The Queen is very reminiscent of how the fae are characterized, also known as the Fair Folk (if you use their actual names or unkind words you might summon them -- also why the Queen isn't named through the album). Think Titania and Oberon and A Midsummer Night's Dream: Selfish, needy, capricious, and no understanding of humanity or human relationships. It's natural for a mother to be protective of her son, and be upset that her little boy is becoming independent/in danger of getting his heart broken. It's NOT natural to be grasping after your son (most likely a fully grown young man) and sullenly reverse-Oedipusly jealous of his lady-love.

    The fae are also very prone to kidnapping babies and transforming people and making deals that go very very bad for the other guy... I don't think the Queen is necessarily the Queen of Fairies, but pretty similar.

    Also, Shara Worden is freaking amazing.
    Flag Yubi Shineson August 09, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is one of the most amazing I've ever heard.
    It gives me chills and butterflies and makes me smile.
    Hahahah, I think I'm in love with it.
    Flag dancegabbydanceon August 07, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:No one has mentioned it, but the Queen is most likely a Dryad. The Queen Forest Nymph.
    Flag fenwaygnomeon July 09, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:And I meant that in a non-degrading way to the song.
    Flag omghayleyon July 09, 2009   Link
  • -3
    General Comment:This song is just good.

    Stop over analyzing it.
    Flag omghayleyon July 09, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:"How it precedes you like a black smoke, oh"

    I could be wrong (I've misplaced my CD case recently), but it seems to me this line is:
    "How it precedes you like a black smoke pall"

    A pall is "anything that covers, shrouds, or overspreads, esp. with darkness or gloom." That certainly fits with the context of these first couple of stanzas, and after listening to it several times, I'm pretty sure I hear "pall."
    Flag Occamon July 06, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:'i gave you motion anointed with lotion' is referencing her changing him into a fawn. which is the spelling in the cd insert, Discovear.

    why did she change him into fawn? beats me. the lady is crazy.

    but the song is amazing, and Shona Warden blows me away.
    Flag SecretConvictionon May 07, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:AAH! AAAH! [Decemberist Spazz]

    Flag orypecion April 26, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:In this song, William begins by singing about his mother, The Queen. How he can always tell when she's comming. He continues by explaining the way she rescued him as a child from some terrible danger. She promised to save him from all other danger. He wants to be let go now, to see the rest of the world beyond where he's being held by the Queen. "The wanting comes in waves" is just WIlliam's way of explaining that this longing is just a phase. If she is to let him go, he'll come back and eventually forget about leaving. She protests by pulling the "mommy card", and reminds him how she saved him and asks "You repay me by leaving me on my own?" He makes a deal with her to let him go and he'll come back by the morning, reminding her that she owes him. She gives in, considering the debt repaid, but does leave him with the warning that after this one night, there'll be no more.
    Flag allen87on April 21, 2009   Link

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