Dirty Projectors – Knotty Pine

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Here is the sound that photographs make
When I see them
When I hear them
I see regions of sharp precision
Over abundance
Over indulgence
Tied together with rope and twine
Stuck together with paste and glue
Two old planks of knotty pine
A couple of nails that poke right through.

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Lyrics submitted by wrat

Track duration: 02:25


Knotty Pine song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:applestew, I think you're on the right track. To me, the sound that photographs make is something like nostalgia or a flood of memory. In this case, the nostalgia or memory has some mixed feelings associated with it. There are moments of clarity (i.e. "sharp precision"), but also captured in the photo are moments of reckless behavior (such as over abundance & indulgence - maybe getting too comfortable with a situation, taking a person for granted, or just being young & stupid). The clarity and the other stuff are all tied together in the photo and merged into one "sound" or memory. Perhaps the speaker uses the word sound to cleverly mask the meaning of the song, or maybe it is sound because it is a memory or an association of someone involved with music/the band/etc. Anywa, the two old planks of knotty pine seems like a metaphor for people who were once familiar to each other or familiar to the speaker - the fact that they're old suggests the passing of time, and the knotty part suggests that they've become hardened, more imperfect. I also like the use of the word pine as it has two meanings - pine as in the tree, and pine as in to pine away. As for the nails poking through, to me it means that looking at the memory (or hearing it - maybe sound = video) makes it sting a bit, and evokes a pain like nails puncturing through your skin. Just my thoughts, and a rather rough interpretation.
    Flag asSTARSfallxon July 16, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:and the whole song is "the sound that photographs make"
    Flag applestewon July 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:i think the lyrics describe a picture.
    "When I see them
    When I hear them
    I see regions of sharp precision"
    meaning its a sharp picture and
    "Tied together with rope and twine
    Stuck together with paste and glue
    Two old planks of knotty pine
    A couple of nails that poke right through"
    is the picture.
    i dont know, thats just my interpretation.
    Flag applestewon July 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
    Flag robsoncamaraon December 08, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:very catchy tune
    not exactly sure what it means though
    Flag pagefortyon August 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Awesome song
    Flag JimmieNeverDieson June 04, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:love it
    Flag dweston April 08, 2009   Link

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