This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
I'm made of bones, of the branches, the boughs and the brow-beating light
While my feet are the trunks and my head is the canopy high
And my fingers extend to the leaves and the eaves and the bright
Brightest shine
It's my shine
And he was a baby abandoned, entombed in a cradle of clay
And I was the soul who took pity and stole him away
And gave him the form of a fawn to inhabit by day
Brightest day
It's my day
And you have removed this temptation that's troubled my innocent child
To abduct and abuse and to render her rift and defiled
But the river is deep to the banks and the water is wild
I will fly you to the far side
While my feet are the trunks and my head is the canopy high
And my fingers extend to the leaves and the eaves and the bright
Brightest shine
It's my shine
And he was a baby abandoned, entombed in a cradle of clay
And I was the soul who took pity and stole him away
And gave him the form of a fawn to inhabit by day
Brightest day
It's my day
And you have removed this temptation that's troubled my innocent child
To abduct and abuse and to render her rift and defiled
But the river is deep to the banks and the water is wild
I will fly you to the far side
Lyrics submitted by MarcelLionheart, edited by chelonianmobile, Arachnivore
The Queen's Rebuke / The Crossing Lyrics as written by Colin Meloy
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
I really disagree with the theory that William is Isaiah resurrected. If that was the case, I don't think Isaiah's soul would come back to haunt/escort The Rake to the afterlife in The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!).
Agreed, thank you. Neither would his voice be the voice of a child. Neither would anyone able to wrestle the rake in self-defense be fit for a cradle. "Entombed"? sure, poetic. "Cradle?" I'm going to go pretty strongly toward a literal cradle. I think there's little reason to doubt.<br /> <br /> Granted, all, it would have added a lovely bit of coherency to an already great album, but the support for it just isn't there.
"Entombed" could be referring to the fact that if she hadn't saved the baby William, he would've died.
That is so cool about William possibly being a resurrected Isaiah! Ah, man. It's also interesting to think, that, if that's true, an additional reason for the Forest Queen to help the Rake is to 'repay' him for 'giving her her son'...
Anyway, it's the song of the slightly crazy mother figure that wants her son all to herself...
Question though: Is she literally a tree, or does she have a human form, or is it all a metaphor?
Oh, and isn't it kind of funny she says 'Brightest shine, it's my shine', and she [Shara Worden] is in a band called My Brightest Diamond?
"Question though: Is she literally a tree, or does she have a human form, or is it all a metaphor?"<br /> <br /> She isn't a tree. She's all of the trees. She's the spirit of the forest. Most folk tales will have her in some sort of human form when interacting with mortals, but her introduction is both metaphor and literal. She -is- the forest.
...Okay, so I know we're focusing a lot on the meaning of this song, but I've gotta go off topic and ignore that for a second...going by just the melody and its use of escalating riffs and tempo changes, I find this song intoxicatingly sexy for some reason. Does anyone else have that reaction when listening to the actual music or am I just really strange?
I've seen several interpretations that Margaret was the daughter of Annan Water "A forest's son/A river's daughter". But it makes me think why any parent (be them a body of water or not) would destroy their own children and their significant other. Because after William rescues Margaret, the boat sinks and they drown. Not the best parental figure, methinks.
Well, this is a fairytale. Think about Rumpelstiltskin, the girl's father gave her up to spin straw, knowing she could not, and knowing only to well she would die if she could not spin straw into gold. Look at Zeus in Greek myth. He'd kill his children all the time, I think it's just human nature to think up stories like that.
Such possessive passion for her son... and the emotion and anger that she brings forth in this song. I could listen to it forever....
The Decemberists + Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond= One of the best collaborations yet.
While sedition's idea is commendable, I don't believe that William is Isiah.
The timeline seems all wrong, if Isiah was able to fight the rake, he must have been at least a preteen, or even a young man.
I believe that this song is the key to the entire story. First: the queen talks of herself with "bones of branches" and "feet are trunks" a canopy. This leads me to think that she's more than just a queen elf or whatnot, but rather the human form of the entire forest that the story takes place in.
Which brings me to my theory of William: there wass never a human baby. Rather, william is a SEED; an infant TREE. The queen is his actual mother, rather than his adoptive mother. She saw him, unable to grow due to being surrounded (entombed) by Clay rather than soil, took pity, and chose to give him an animal form. In "the Wanting comes in waves/repaid", the queen says that she gave him "motion" - an animal/human form.
In The Hazard of Love 4 (Drowned), there is a lyric that says "a forest's son/a river's daughter". I think that means that Margaret is in fact a daughter of the Annan Water, and both the Queen and Annan Water are trying to keep them apart. This also gives the song 'The Wanting Comes in Waves" new meaning: the wave is a literal wave of water: Margaret.
After the rake abducted Margaret, she queen game him the ability to cross the River so that William would be unable to resue margaret Thereby removing the object of his desires.
I also think that the entire Hazards of Love story makes more sense if you take a step back and consider it from a Meta point of view: as a kind of play or musical. The entire story is very Shakespearean, and if you consider the characters from the point of view as plaayers on a stage, some of the odd bits start making sense: the reason all the characters are human, for example, is because it's impossible to have singing and dancing trees and water.
That's what I think anyway, feel free to prove me laughably wrong
i love this interpretation, and i agree that Isiah and William could not be the same person, the timeline is wrong and something that important to the story would have been intimated a little more obviously to the listeners.<br /> <br /> As for the Annan water interpretation is makes perfect sense. and this explains why Annan would let the beast through only to save Margaret then take her back along with him on their return
I think TheRealCJ has a few good points, I must disagree with a few...<br /> <br /> I aagree that the Queen is rather ambiguous as to her form, but I believe that she must have at least some corporeal form (a la the ability for William, and later the Rake, to communicate with in Repaid and The Crossing. If one also looks at the title the Queen's Approach she must have some form rather than the forest, "Mother I can hear your foot fall now, soft disturbance in the dead fall how." The beginnings to the Queen's Rebuke seem to be boasting to me, she is claiming her power, how strong she is. At least, to me. At least, that's what it seems to be saying for me. <br /> <br /> It is hard to believe that William was never a human child, given the lines in The Queen's Rebuke. She found him 'entombed in a cradle of clay' and 'swore to save [him] from the world of men.' She states pretty clearly that she found him, not created him, or bore him. She gave him life, as William is pretty clear in stating during The Wanting Comes in Wave/Repaid. The Queen also claims to have found him abandoned, which to me suggests that he once belonged to a person (parents).<br /> <br /> In the Hazards of Love part 1, and then A Bower Scene it seems pretty clear that Margaret is simply a human girl from a sort of nunnery or school, perhaps. I took the line 'a forest's son, a river's daughter' as to be a question of the child's sex, rather than saying she is in fact the River's daughter. Of course, I could be wrong, as Annan Water seems to be quite clearly seperated from the forest, since the Queen seems to have little power over it.<br /> <br /> The Rake abducted Margaret, and the Queen made a deal with him, giving him permission to do whatever he wanted to her, 'to render her rift and defiled.' Pretty cold, honestly. However, the Queen didn't believe William would make his own deal with Annan Water, saying that the River could kill him as long as he was allowed to rescue his true love.<br /> <br /> Anyway, just don't agree with a couple of the things discussed. I think it's possible that Isiaah is William, given that the Queen found a child entombed and abandoned in a cradle of clay, possibly suggesting an Urn. It would be more clear if it were clearly William's voice playing Isiaah at that point. Anyway, just my thoughts.
This is the Forest Queen's song after Margaret has been kidnapped by the Rake. She doesn't want her adopted son to leave the forest or obsess over his lover, so she uses her powers to help the Rake and his victim to the other side of an uncrossable river (Annan Water) to get Margaret out of the way. Beautiful vocals, and explains the hero's origin and shapeshifting.
Also, I'm fairly sure it's "cradle of clay" and "I will fly YOU [the Rake] to the far side."
Woa! I just caught the bit about turning him into a fawn 'by day' so he is a man at night. A typical curse : ) ya know, like Ladyhawk!
I the line as "But the river is deep to the banks and the river is wild", but I'm not 100% sure
Yep.. it is "banks" not "bends"